Two open full-time positions in Linguistics at KU Leuven (research group QLVL)

17 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

KU Leuven

Research Field

Language sciences » Linguistics

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

29 Mar 2024 - 00:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38 hours/week

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA

Reference Number

BAP-2024-102

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101119511

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

- PHD PROJECT: UNDERLYING DIMENSIONS IN CONCEPTUAL CHANGE
Distributional semantic methods offer a powerful tool for analysing changes in the textual representation of lexically identifiable topics: an automated analysis of the changing contexts in which words like 'migrant' or 'democracy' appear reveals shifts in the conceptual associations of these concepts. Such a distributional method can be greatly enhanced by doubling it up upon itself, i.e. by distributionally identifying the similarity among context words associated with the target items, and subsequently analysing the latter in terms of the emergent underlying dimensions. The goal of this project is to: 1) apply and refine state-of-the-art vector space modelling and other distributional semantic methods to diachronic datasets, with a focus on higher-order collocates; 2) document examples of semantic change and their distributional dimensions; 3) form a general hypothesis about the distributional dimensions of conceptual change; 4) recommend a best practice workflow for similar applications. The linguistic focus of the project will be decided depending on the candidate's background.

- PHD PROJECT: THE PROTOTYPE STRUCTURE OF CONCEPT DRIFT

Linguistic diachronic semantics as developed in Cognitive Linguistics has highlighted the relevance of prototype effects in changes of lexical meaning. The views recently put forward by historians on the structure and evolution of historical concepts (viz. Kuukkanen's seminal work) resemble linguistic prototype theory, but the similarity has not been made explicit, nor has it been systematically explored. The goal of this project is to: 1) document the theoretical relationship (similarities and differences) between historians' accounts of the structure of political and social concepts and linguistic prototype theory; 2) apply and evaluate tools developed for linguistic diachronic semantics in the service of humanities questions about conceptual change; 3) recommend best practice and/or adaptations for using methods based on linguistic prototype theory for humanities research questions. The linguistic focus of the project will be decided depending on the candidate's background.
 

Requirements

Research Field

Language sciences

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Additional Information
Benefits

We offer you a full-time 3-year PhD position, pending a positive evaluation by the doctoral committee at the end of the first year. The gross amount of the doctoral scholarship (tax-free) will be approximately €2.947,24 per month if you are single with no dependent family members. It will be higher if you have a registered partner without income and/or dependent child(ren); it will be lower if you have a registered partner with income. The PhD projects will be supervised by Prof. Dirk Speelman and Prof. Dirk Geeraerts. You will be given support to participate in European and international conferences and publish your science in respected scientific journals. You will be offered the opportunity to participate in training camps and research conventions organized by the CASCADE network. In addition, you will be provided with career guidance and encouraged to develop skills for science-adjacent careers including through courses via the KU Leuven International Doctoral School for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The research group also supports the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and embraces Open Science.

Eligibility criteria

We seek a candidate with a Master's degree in Linguistics or equivalent, combined with a strong interest in quantitative and computational methods.
A successful candidate will ideally:
- Have a strong interest in linguistics and semantics- Be well-versed in quantitative corpus-linguistic methods and have a basic understanding of distributional semantics- Have at least intermediate programming and/or data-analysis skills- Be creative with a strong interest in fundamental and applied scientific research- Be able to work well as a team player- Have good academic performance at the MSc and BSc levels- Demonstrate an ability to write and communicate in English- Be eager to learn new techniques- Be able to integrate in an international and diverse working environment
Additionally, the following eligibility rules apply:
- All applicants recruited in a MSCA Doctoral Network must be doctoral candidates (which implies that they are not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment)- MSCA Mobility Rule: Applicants of any nationality are accepted but must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment.

Selection process

 Applicants are requested to enclose the following documents in English with their applications as a single PDF file:
- A curriculum vitae, including possible publications- A report (max. 3 pages) describing the applicant's research activities (activities in the scientific community, interdisciplinary work and international research activity)- A written vision (max. 1 page) for the applicant's position in the CASCADE project based on what is described in this document
For more information, please contact Prof. dr. Dirk Speelman (mail: [email protected] ). 

You can apply for this job no later than 29/03/2024 via the online application tool

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

KU Leuven

Country

Belgium

State/Province

Vlaams Brabant

City

Leuven

Postal Code

3000

Street

Leuven

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://easyapply.jobs/r/EjFaOaE21mc6aE2BAikD

Contact

State/Province

Leuven

City

Vlaams Brabant

Street

Leuven

Postal Code

3000

STATUS: EXPIRED