jeudi 28 mars 2013

Bourses doctorales, sémantique, pragmatique, à Utrecht

L'institut de Linguistique d'Utrecht (OTS) offre deux bourses de doctorat dans les champs de la sémantique et de la pragmatique. La date limite est le 1er mai.

Les conditions offertes par ces bourses sont excellentes, et le département de linguistique d'Utrecht est un des grands centres de linguistique mondiaux.

2 PhD researchers in Semantics and Pragmatics (1.0 fte each)

Job description

The PhD projects are part of the programme "Restriction and Obviation
in Scalar Expressions: The semantics and pragmatics of range markers
across and throughout languages, awarded to Dr. Rick Nouwen by the
European Research Council (ERC). This programme investigates the
division of labour between semantic and pragmatic mechanisms in
creating scalar meanings. In particular, the projects in the programme
study the distribution of epistemic inferences triggered by scalar
expressions, across different domains of language and across different
languages. It aims to derive a linguistically informed theory of the
semantic-pragmatics interface.

Ph.D. project 1 will examine cross-linguistic variation in numeral
constructions. The main tasks in this project are: (1) to conduct
large-scale language surveys and elicitation interviews resulting in a
database of cross-linguistic variation in numerical constructions; (2)
to extract from these data a theory of quantification and scalarity.

Ph.D. project 2 will examine variation between scalar constructions in
different domains of natural language (e.g. numeral, spatial,
temporal). The main tasks in this project are: (1) to compare and
extend existing analyses of scalar expressions throughout language;
(2) to translate insights from various domains of language to a
comprehensive theory of quantification and scalarity.

A further task for both Ph.D. students is teaching. Both projects
include research visits to experts in the field outside of Utrecht
University, as well as ample opportunity for conference visits. This
AiO traineeship involves taking graduate courses offered by the Dutch
National Graduate School in Linguistics (LOT) as well as by the
Humanities Graduate School (transferable skills). The traineeship
culminates in the writing of a dissertation, potentially on the basis
of published articles.

Qualifications

Applicants should have:

- a Masters degree (or equivalent) in linguistics or a related field
in hand by October 1, 2013;

- demonstrable knowledge in at least one of the following areas:
(formal) semantics, (formal) pragmatics, syntax, logic, philosophy of
language; knowledge in more than one of these areas is highly
desirable;

-excellent command of English, both spoken and written;

-the willingness to work in a closely collaborating team;

-the ambition to pursue an academic career in an internationally
oriented scientific community.


Offer

We offer a (AiO) PhD position with a gross monthly salary starting at
 2,083 in the first year to  2,664 in the fourth year of
appointment. The successful candidates will be offered an initial
contract as a PhD student for 18 months. Upon positive evaluation of
the PhD students performance the contract will be extended by 2,5
years. We offer a pension scheme, a holiday allowance of 8% per year
and flexible employment conditions. Qonditions are based on the
Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities.

About the organisation

Utrecht University, founded in 1636, has developed into one of
Europes largest and most prominent institutes for research and
education. The faculty of Humanities, with nearly 7,000 students and
nearly 900 staff members, offers an inspiring and dynamic working
environment. Our research and education programmes focus on culture,
history, arts, literature, media, language, philosophy and theology,
covering the period from classical antiquity to the present day. We
pay special attention to interdisciplinary and international
collaboration, the use of new media, and high-quality teaching and
research. The research programmes are organised in four institutes:

- Research Institute for History and Culture (OGC),
- Utrecht Institute of Linguistics OTS (UiL OTS),
- ZENO Research Institute for Philosophy,
- Research Institute for Theology and Religious Studies (INTEGON).

The Utrecht University Graduate School of Humanities monitors and
guarantees the outstanding quality of education programmes for
Research Master and PhD students.

The enthusiastic colleagues, the workplaces and excellent facilities
provide a stimulating, professional atmosphere. Moreover, the faculty
of Humanities offers attractive terms of employment.

About 130 researchers are affiliated to the UiL OTS, with 19 full
professors, a dozen postdocs en roughly 50 PhD-researchers. The goal
of the UiL OTS is to develop scientific expertise in the area of
language and communication. UIL OTS features a stimulating,
innovative, and internationally oriented research environment that
offers opportunities for a broad professional development. We have
excellent experimental facilities, including two EEG labs, several eye
tracking labs, and access to MRI scanners via the Neuroscience &
Cognition Utrecht focus area.

Additional information

Dr. Rick Nouwen (Project PI), r.w.f.nouwen at uu.nl, tel. +31-30-253
8313 (6006).

Dr. Maaike Schoorlemmer (PhD coordinator), m.schoorlemmer at uu.nl,
tel. +31-30-253 6183 (6006).

Apply

Applications should include:
-CV (including contact and education details);
-a letter of motivation;
-an academic transcript of courses and grades;
-a sample of written work (e.g. a copy of the MA thesis, a term paper,
or a published or unpublished article); -contact details of two
referees (names, affiliations, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses);
-two reference letters (optional).
It is possible to apply for both positions, in which case please
indicate your preference.

Job interviews, live or via Skype, are expected to take place in the
second week of June 2013. Interviewees will be expected to submit a
written response (maximum 2 pages) to the project description one week
in advance of the interview. This response will serve as a starting
point for the interview. The project description is available at:
http://ricknouwen.org /rose.pdf.

Preferred starting date: 1 October 2013

Apply until: 01/05/2013

Please use the Utrecht University vacancy website to apply, at:
http://www.uu.nl/EN/informationfor/jobseekers/Pages/vacancies.aspx

vendredi 22 mars 2013

Forum des sciences cognitives

Comme l'année dernière, le cursus de linguistique informatique sera présent avec un petit stand au 12e forum des sciences cognitives, samedi 30 mars 2013.

Le thème cette année est "quand la conscience fait science". L'entrée est libre.

vendredi 1 mars 2013

post-doc: linguistique computationnelle, systèmes de dialogues, pragmatique

Bourse post-doctorale de 3 ans ouverte au ZAS (Berlin), sur un projet intitulé  "Pragmatic Requirements for Answer Generation in a Sales Dialogue". Date limite le 15 mars.



Job Type: Researcher, full time, 36 months
Specialisation: Computational linguistics, dialogue systems, pragmatics
Application Deadline: 15-March-2013
Email: benz@zas.gwz-berlin.de
Web: http://www.zas.gwz-berlin.de/pragsales.html?&L=1

The Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin, Germany, invites
applications for a post-doctoral researcher specializing in
computational linguistics with expertise in developing dialogue systems
with a starting date of June 1st, 2013, or soon thereafter. The position
will be part of a research project funded by the German Research
Foundation on "Pragmatic Requirements for Answer Generation in a Sales
Dialogue" (PRAGSales; Principal Investigators: Anton Benz, ZAS, and Ralf
Klabunde, University of Bochum). The goal of the project is to model
three interacting pragmatic aspects of utterance generation between an
artificial consultant and human customers: the use of rhetorical
relations, framing effects, and implicatures. The key innovative aspect
of this project is the application of game theoretic methods to the
generation of pragmatically optimal answers. Recent years saw the
development of theoretical models. The implementation should help to
further refine these models, and to test the sustainability of their
theoretical assumptions. The applicant should have
  • Interest to work with game theoretic methods in pragmatics.
  • Solid experience with developing complete dialogue systems.
  • Knowledge of both statistical and rule-based methods for natural language processing.
  • Solid programming skills.
  • Ability to work independently and self-motivated.
Basic knowledge of German is considered necessary, and applicants with good command of German will be given preference. Further, knowledge of
discourse semantics and / or computational semantics is an advantage.

The salary is figured according to the union contract named TVöD E13.
The period of employment will be for 36 months. The project PRAGSales is
partly located at the ZAS, and partly at the University of Bochum. It is
conducted under the joint supervision of Anton Benz (ZAS) and Ralf
Klabunde (University of Bochum). The place of employment for the current
position is Berlin, Germany. It will be affiliated to the
semantics-pragmatics group at the ZAS.

Applications should include CV, an outline of research experience, as
well as names and addresses of up to three references. Applications
should be sent by email to the address below. The position will be open
starting June 1, 2013. Applications received by March 15, 2013 will
receive full consideration, although interviews may start at any time
and will continue until the position has been filled.
Disabled applicants will be preferred if they have the same
qualifications as non-disabled applicants. The Centre for General
Linguistics (ZAS) is a leading research centre in the field of
theoretical and experimental linguistics, and strives to increase the
proportion of women in research and teaching, and therefore encourages
qualified female scientists to apply.
Further information can be found at the application website address below.

You are welcome to seek further information by contacting Anton Benz via
e-mail, e-mail address below.

Application Deadline: 15-March-2013
Email Address for Applications: benz@zas.gwz-berlin.de

Web: http://www.zas.gwz-berlin.de/pragsales.html?&L=1