3 PhD positions and 1 postdoc (all for 4 years, 1 FTE) are available in the project Microcontact. Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective, starting in June 2017 or soon after at Utrecht University.

The three PhD projects are:

PhD1 – Person-driven auxiliaries and differential object marking in contact

PhD2 – Deixis in contact: pronouns, determiners, adjectives and adverbs

PhD3 – Subject clitics in contact

Tasks for the three PhD candidates will include:

• completion and defence of a PhD thesis within four years;

• carrying out fieldwork in one of the countries listed above, in agreement with the Supervisor and Division of Labour within the team;

• regular presentation of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;

• publication of at least two peer-reviewed articles in established international journals;

• co-organisation of workshops and conferences;

• participation in all training programmes and expert meetings scheduled for the project;

• participation in selected training programmes scheduled for the Research Institute, Graduate School and the National Research School.

Qualifications Requirements for the three PhD candidates will include:

• a (soon to be completed) (research) Master’s degree in linguistics or Romance linguistics, with a focus on generative syntax;

• excellent English oral proficiency, academic writing and presentation skills;

• fluency in one or more of the contact languages of the project: French, Spanish, Portuguese;

• knowledge of at least one of the following Italian regional languages: Abruzzese or Neapolitan; Piedmontese; Salentino or Sicilian; Veneto;

• an outstanding record of work in the Master's degree;

• ability to meet deadlines and work both as an independent researcher and as part of a team;

• ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary team;

• excellent organizational, social and communication skills.

Fieldwork experience and/or knowledge of Italian are a plus.

The postdoc project is entitled

Auxiliaries, differential object marking, deixis and subject clitics in diachrony

Tasks for the post-doctoral researcher will include:

• carrying out data-mining and research on ancient Romance texts;

• work in archives, mostly in Italy and in the Netherlands but also in America, if needed;

• setup of a small database of diachronic Romance texts complementing the interactive atlas for synchronic data;

• publication of at least two peer-reviewed articles per year in established international journals;

• co-editing of a volume;

• co-authoring of a monograph with the PI;

• co-organization of workshops and conferences;

• co-supervision with the PI of the PhD students;

• regular presentation of intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;

• participation in all training programmes and expert meetings scheduled for the project;

Qualifications Requirements for the Postdoc will include:

• a (soon to be completed) PhD in Romance diachronic generative syntax or diachronic syntax of a Romance language;

• extensive knowledge of generative Romance diachronic syntax;

• an outstanding publication record;

• excellent English oral proficiency, academic writing and presentation skills;

• fluency in one or more of the contact languages of the project: French, Spanish, Portuguese;

• proven ability to work in team and to supervise junior scholars;

• ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary team;

• excellent organizational, social and communication skills.

Fieldwork experience and/or knowledge of Italian are a plus.

The full job description and application form, together with the instructions on how to apply, can be found here (3 PhD candidates 'Microcontact: Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective'(1.0 FTE each) and Postdoctoral researcher 'Microcontact: Language variation and change from the Italian heritage perspective' (1.0 FTE).

The deadline for application is 25 February.

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