[RNLD List] Call for Applications for Postdoc Fellowship in Computational Linguistics (Deadline: 2021/05/05)

[Michaela Stang]

[apologies for cross-postings]

Dear colleagues,

We'd appreciate it if you shared the posting below on our postdoc position
through your networks. Also, if you know of recent or forthcoming PhD's
who'd be interested in the creation of language technological resources and
in Indigenous languages, we'd be most happy if they applied.


Please refer to the following link for detailed and up-to-date information
about the position and how to apply:
https://21c.tools/2021/04/06/postdoc-computational-linguistics-2021/



Job Title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow / Computational Linguist
Specialization: Computational Linguistics; Indigenous Language Documentation
Job Rank: Post Doc / Computational Linguist
Specialty Areas: Computational Linguistics

Description:
The SSHRC-funded (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada), university-community Partnership “21st Century Tools for
Indigenous Languages” invites applications for a full-time Postdoctoral
Fellowship, beginning in Fall 2021 (start date negotiable). Position is
tenable for 2 years, subject to review after the 1st year.

This 7-year Partnership is led by the Alberta Language Technology Lab
(ALTLab) in the Department of Linguistics, University of Alberta. Its
partners include 13 institutions and Indigenous language communities and 31
individual researchers and educators in Canada, the United States, and
Norway. Further details of our Partnership can be found at:
https://21c.tools and http://altlab.artsrn.ualberta.ca.

Members of our Partnership (https://21c.tools/people) have been developing
computational models of the phonetics, morphology, lexis, and syntax of
Indigenous languages in Canada and North America, starting with the
Algonquian and the Dene language families, to create software applications
that support their continued use in daily life by both speakers and
learners. These include intelligent electronic dictionaries,
spell-checkers, linguistically analyzed text collections, computer-aided
language learning tools, as well as text-to-speech synthesizers and optical
character recognition. The languages we have gotten the furthest with are
Plains Cree (Algonquian) and Tsuut’ina (Dene).

Duties:
The tasks of the Postdoc will include the following, allowing for variation
based on the successful applicant’s competences and interests:

- participation in/responsibility for the continued development of our
existing computational morphological and phonetic models (primarily using
finite-state technology) and end-user applications for the Algonquian
and/or Dene and/or other Indigenous languages we are working with;
- participation in/responsibility for the application of new computational
methods (e.g. machine learning techniques such as neural networks) in the
morphological and phonological modeling of these languages;
- participation in/responsibility for the development of new computational
morphological and phonetic models and applications for Indigenous languages
other than the ones we are working on, preferably spoken in Canada;
- partial training and supervision of undergraduate and graduate students
(M.A/Ph.D level) in developing models, applications and resources for
Indigenous languages;
- engagement with Indigenous community consultants on collecting primary
linguistic data and gathering feedback from field-testers;
- participating in the dissemination of the results as publications in
scientific journals; and
- other administrative responsibilities.


The postdoc is expected to work with and support the activities of multiple
partners in the Partnership, and may be co-located or based at other
Partners for part of their tenure. The Partnership has allocated dedicated
funding to this end. The fellowship comes with an annual salary (in CAD) in
line with SSHRC policies (
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/postdoctoral-postdoctorale-eng.aspx),
and benefits.

Qualifications:
Successful applicants will have specialized in the computational modelling
(text and/or speech) of morphologically rich languages, with a willingness
to learn the essential morphological and phonetic characteristics of the
languages we are working with.

The applicants should have recently completed, or be about to finish, a
Ph.D degree in linguistics or an associated relevant discipline.

By the end of the Postdoc appointment, the successful applicant will have a
set of skills allowing them to partner with Indigenous communities and
field linguists to develop a range of sophisticated tools in support of
language maintenance and revitalization.

Application Instructions:
The application should include:

- a research statement (ca. 2 pages) outlining past experience and current
research interests and, in particular, how these align with and contribute
towards the goals of our Partnership project;
- a Curriculum Vitae (with a List of Publications);
- 1-3 relevant academic writing samples; and,
- 3 letters of recommendation (sent directly to the Project Director, Dr.
Arppe, by referees).
- Moreover, applicants are REQUIRED to contact Dr. Arppe in advance to
discuss their research plan and application.

Applications should be sent to our Partnership email (21ct4il at gmail.com).
For inquiries please email Dr. Antti Arppe (arppe at ulberta.ca). Review of
applications will begin by May 5, 2021, and will continue until the
position is filled.


Application Deadline: 5-May-2021 (Open until filled)
Email Address for Applications: 21ct4il at gmail.com
Contact Information for Inquiries: Dr. Antti Arppe (arppe at ualberta.ca)
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