Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton invites applications to a fully funded interdisciplinary PhD studentship on The role of linguistic input through a speaker’s lifespan. This project will commence in the 2018/19 academic year and is undertaken within the ESRC-funded South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP).
This project brings together language acquisition and formal linguistic theory to reveal the characteristics of “first language attrition” and explore implications for current conceptions of grammar. You will examine the extent to which first language attrition can be attested in speakers who have acquired a complete adult grammar but whose language input changes during their lifespan as a result of extensive exposure to another language (e.g. due to migration). You will identify what kinds of input conditions engender grammatical attrition and the kinds of linguistic features that are susceptible to it, exploring the consequences for current models of the architecture of the language faculty.
We are looking for highly qualified applicants who by September 2018 will hold either an undergraduate qualification (for 1+3) or Masters-level qualification (for +3) in linguistics. The project requires particular experience in language acquisition, syntactic theory, and ideally a working knowledge of at least one foreign language.
Supervisory Team: Dr Glyn Hicks (Lead Supervisor) and Dr Laura Dominguez
Details of eligibility can be found here: http://www.esrc.ac.uk/skills-and-careers/studentships/prospective-students/am-i-eligible-for-an-esrc-studentship/
Contact Dr. Glyn Hicks (Glyn.Hicks@soton.ac.uk) for further information.
For more information and application details please see: https://jobs.soton.ac.uk/SCDTP947817F4.
The closing date for applications is 11.59pm (GMT) on 31st January 2018.
