4 July: FYI -- corpus linguistics (BE,NL)
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The Department of Linguistics of the KU Leuven and the Centre for
Language Studies at RU Nijmegen are looking for a *PhD candidate* for
a jointly funded (joint doctorate) project entitled
Using big data to model syntactic variation in Belgian and
Netherlandic Dutch.
Project outline
While Belgians and Dutchmen are well aware that they use different
words, and that their pronunciation diverges, they are mostly
oblivious to the fact that there are also grammatical discrepancies
between Belgian and Netherlandic Dutch. Few Belgians, for instance,
will realize that the preposition ‘voor' in 'Jan maakte (voor) haar
een boterham' is optional for them, whereas it is indispensable for
almost all the Dutch.
How come there are such outspoken syntactic differences between two
varieties (in a comparatively small language area) which did not begin
to diverge before the 16th century? And where do these differences
come from? In order to answer these questions, we draw on large
subtitle and newspaper corpora, and marshal machine translation,
machine learning, and automated semantic classification technologies
to access the syntactic motor, or motors, of Dutch.
What we offer
Full-time position for 4 years (remuneration is in accordance with the
official Belgian scales for academic personnel and bursaries – see the
KU Leuven jobsite for more information).
The PhD-candidate will be stationed at the KU Leuven, but the position includes internships at the Meertens Institute Amsterdam and the RU Nijmegen.
Profile
We are looking for a PhD-candidate with
- experience in big data analysis and natural language processing
(such as statistical machine translation, machine learning,
automatic semantic classification,…); experience with variationist
linguistics and (preferably functional) syntax;
- experience with different types of fixed- and mixed-effects
regression analyses;
- a good deal of mobility (in view of the required internships)
- good communication skills (both written and oral – the candidate
will be asked to present his or her work at conferences, and to
write papers), as well as strong interpersonal skills.
Candidates who do not speak Dutch are expected to acquire a good
proficiency in the (early) course of the project.
Submit
If you are interested in this PhD-project, please send your curriculum
vitae and a motivation letter to qlvl@kuleuven.be by August
10. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview at the end
of August. The project is scheduled to start on October 1 2017.
For more information about this project, or a more extensive project
description, please email Stefan Grondelaers (S.Grondelaers@let.ru.nl)
or Dirk Speelman (dirk.speelman@kuleuven.be).
Prof. dr. Antal van den Bosch
Director
Meertens Instituut
antal.van.den.bosch@meertens.knaw.nl
M + 31 (0)6 244 224 34
Postbus (PO Box) 10855
NL – 1001EW Amsterdam
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 185
NL – 1012DK Amsterdam
T + 31(0)20 462 85 00
meertens.knaw.nl
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