Two PhD Candidates in Descriptive and Documentary Linguistics
Fully funded 4-year PhD positions to document and describe endangered languages in eastern Indonesia.
Best for:Best for linguistics graduates with fieldwork interest, strong analytical skills, and a commitment to language documentation.
Overview
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics invites applications for two fully funded PhD positions focused on the documentation and description of unwritten endangered languages in eastern Indonesia as part of an NWO-funded project. The candidates will conduct fieldwork, build naturalistic text collections and lexicons, perform grammatical analyses, and evaluate automated AI tools for linguistic data annotation. Successful applicants will work closely with speaker communities and contribute to research on migration patterns and language contact. The position requires completing a PhD thesis and participating in the academic life of the institute in Leiden.
What you'll do
- Collect audio-visual linguistic and cultural data through field research in Indonesia
- Transcribe, annotate, analyse, and archive naturalistic language data
- Test and evaluate AI tools for automated linguistic data annotation and analysis
- Present research findings at academic workshops and conferences
- Publish research results and write a doctoral thesis within the four-year appointment
- Assist with bachelor-level teaching activities and knowledge dissemination
- Participate in project meetings and training sessions of the research group
Requirements
Degree required: Master's degree in linguistics or a closely related field
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; excellent research and academic proficiency.
Instruction: English
- Demonstrated interest in language documentation, field linguistics, or descriptive linguistics
- Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English
- Strong cooperative attitude and ability to engage in collaborative research
- Preference given to candidates from Indonesia in cases of equal suitability
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: 2026-10-25
Applications must be submitted through the university online portal before the deadline. Candidates must include a cover letter specifying the preferred position and motivation, a CV, grade transcripts, a writing sample or MA thesis, and contact details for two references.
- Cover letter
- CV
- Official transcript of grades
- Writing sample
- 2 reference contacts
Contact
Marian Klamer· Principal Investigator
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