PhD position in linguistics on language geography and historical linguistics — language isolates
The position is embedded in the interdisciplinary Language Redux (http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/projets/Redux/), research project, funded by a high-profile Consolidator Grant from the European Research to PI Matthias Urban (http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/annuaires/index.asp?Langue=FR&Page=Matthias+URBAN& ). The project will carry out frontier research on the historical dynamics of language geographies. It will explore a new approach to language history and investigate the process by which the areas in which languages are spoken shrink as they are gradually replaced by others. In this way it aims to identify old linguistic distributions that have been replaced elsewhere, opening up a new perspective on language history.
The project, in turn, is part of the dynamic research environment of the Lyon-based CNRS research unit “Dynamique du Langage (DDL)”. The successful applicant will enroll with Université Lumière Lyon 2 (https://welcome.univ-lyon2.fr/) and be part of the doctoral school 3LA l’École Doctorale 3LA (Lettres, Langues, Linguistique & Arts). The successful applicant is expected to relocate to the Lyon area. In addition to governmental social security support and access to health care, benefits include assistance in relocation from Espace Ulys, the university’s support center for international scientists; subsidized meals; and tickets for public transport in Lyon at a reduced price.
This successful applicant will investigate processes in which the areas where languages are spoken shrink, and the changes the languages undergo during the process. The focus will be on language isolates, which, as the last members of lineages, are a particularly important class of languages in this context.
Duties of the successful applicant :
– Collecting data on language range reduction of isolates worldwide from extant literature
– Digitizing and curating the data, aided by a GIS developer
– Carrying out comparative research on the linguistic changes that happen across languages as their ranges reduce
– Preparing data and analysis for presentations and publications in the form of articles (including ones co-authored with other team members) that lead to a cumulative PhD thesis
– Contributing in an active and constructive manner to the success of the team as a whole
-Completing required training with the doctoral school
Required qualifications :
– MA in General Linguistics or a closely related field
– Background in historical linguistics, language contact research, and/or language typology
– Interest in the broader ecologies in which languages are embedded and used, interest in anthropology and nd interdisciplinary work
– Willingness to acquire skills in GIS
– Very good proficiency in spoken and written English
– Capacity for working both independently and as part of a team
Additional desirable (but not required) qualifications :
– Basic oral and written proficiency in French, as institute-level administration partly is carried out in French
– Background knowledge about the linguistic diversity on a world-wide basis
– Experience with quantitative and statistical analysis of linguistic data
– Experience with GIS systems
Applicants should submit the following:
– a letter of motivation
– a CV
– two samples of academic writing (e.g. published work, MA thesis, term paper, completed draft of article). Please append these to your CV and submit as a single file.
– names, affiliations, and email addresses of two referees who are willing to supply letters of reference in support of the application. Please include these in your letter of motivation
Applications must go through the CNRS job portal. No application will be accepted by email. Link to the official job ad (with some additional information): https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR5596-RABMAK-021/Default.aspx?lang=EN
Application Deadline: 06-Nov-2024
Mailing Address for Applications:
Attn: Matthias Urban
Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (DDL), UMR 5596
14 avenue Berthelot
69363 LYON Cedex 07
FRANCE
Web Address for Applications: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/Doctorant/UMR5596-RABMAK-021/Default.aspx?lang=EN
Email Address for Applications: matthias.urban@cnrs.fr
Contact Information:
Matthias Urban
Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage (DDL), UMR 5596
14 avenue Berthelot
69363 LYON Cedex 07
FRANCE