PhD position in Frisian speech technology (1.0 FTE)

Recent advances of machine learning have led to substantial improvements in speech technology. These advances have mostly been focused on languages with many resources available, such as English. However, there are a gamut of compelling scientific challenges for lesser-resourced languages. In this project, the scope therefore will be on the regional language Frisian, which is spoken in the Northwest of the Netherlands. Specifically: (1) Frisian synthesis: building on existing approaches (e.g., those at Campus Fryslân), investigating techniques to improve the quality of the voice, and/or e.g., develop approaches to make the synthesis reflect the diversity of Frisian varieties, (2) Frisian automatic speech recognition (ASR): building on and improving existing approaches, also allowing for recognition of regional variety in Frisian, and/or (3) investigating the development of a search system for unlabelled acoustic Frisian data. The exact focus depends on the interests and background of the applicant, provided the focus is on speech technology for Frisian.

As the position will be integrated in the Speech Lab Groningen and the Center for Groningen Language and Culture at the Faculty of Arts, collaboration with other PhD students (Martijn Bartelds, Wietse de Vries) who are (partly) focusing on speech technology for the regional Groningen language variant is important for the project. To further benefit this project, it will be co-supervised by two experts on Frisian speech technology, D. Matt Coler at the Faculty Campus Fryslân, and Dr Jelske Dijkstra of the Fryske Akademy, both located in Leeuwarden. Collaboration with (PhD) student projects (such as those of Phat Do, Frank Hopwood, and Xiyuan Gao) conducted at these institutes is expected to benefit all involved projects. The project should contribute to infrastructure for speech technology for Frisian, specifically taking advantage of current projects on speech recognition and speech synthesis at Fryske Akademy and Campus Fryslân. To facilitate the integration in the two institutes in Leeuwarden, besides the main work place in Groningen, the candidate may spend a part of the week in Leeuwarden and would have a workspace at Campus Fryslân.
The successful applicant is committed to conducting independent and original scientific research focusing on the above field, to reporting on this research in international publications and presentations, and to presenting the final results of the research in a PhD dissertation. The PhD candidate will participate in local, national and international training activities, including summer schools and conferences, to maximally develop their potential.

As a member of the Graduate School for the Humanities, the PhD candidate may participate in courses, seminars and summer schools organized by Dutch national graduate school Landelijke Onderzoekschool Taalkunde (LOT) or by the Groningen Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences (BCN).

This PhD project offers a unique opportunity to work in an international research environment as well as to acquire valuable teaching experience: the PhD candidate is expected to conduct 0.3 FTE teaching during the second, third and fourth year of their appointment (0.1 FTE yearly).