计算语言学博士职位

Institution/Organization: University of Tübingen Web Address: https://uni-tuebingen.de/de/291885

Level: PhD

Duties: Research, Teaching

Specialty Areas: Computational Linguistics; General Linguistics; Typology

Description:

The project "Global Basic Lexicon" (GloBasLex) is a research project of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities within the framework of the Academy Program of the German Federal and State Governments. It aims to compile a 1,000-concept basic lexicon across most of the world's languages for which dictionaries are available. The data will be uniformly transcribed in IPA and enhanced by morphological annotation. Accompanying research will focus on modeling large-scale patterns in lexical typology and historical linguistics. The data will be made publicly available to facilitate research in comparative linguistics, language technology, anthropology and other fields. GloBasLex is projected to run until 2040. For more information, see the project webpage at https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/291885 .

For the GloBasLex project, the Department of Linguistics at Tübingen University is seeking to fill the position of a

Doctoral Researcher (m/f/d) in computational comparative linguistics (TV-L E13, 100% until end of 2029, 4 SWS teaching duties)

starting at the earliest possible date. The project is based at the Linguistics Department of Tübingen University. The doctoral researcher will participate in ongoing research within the GloBasLex endeavor, and pursue a dissertation project within this wider framework.

The dissertation will be tailored to the successful candidate's background and interests. Two directions are possible:

1. Lexical typology: The data from the first phase of GloBasLex — 3,200 concepts across 248 typologically balanced languages, with full morphological annotation — provide a uniquely rich basis for research on cross-linguistic colexification and semantic maps. The dissertation will build the infrastructure for processing the morphological annotations and apply existing tools to extract and visualize a large-scale loose colexification network, capturing not only synonymy but also cross-linguistically frequent derivation and compound patterns. The doctoral student will carry out a focused study on a subtopic of interest emerging from these explorations. In the final stage, an efficient inference algorithm will be applied to derive a semantic map encoding implicational universals of colexification, which will be evaluated against attested pathways of semantic change. Candidates with a background in linguistic typology, lexical semantics, or computational linguistics are particularly encouraged to apply.

2. Lexical phylogenetics: The GloBasLex data afford the construction of standardized computational phylogenies for a large number of language families at once. The dissertation will develop an algorithmic pipeline from GloBasLex word lists to distributions over phylogenies, and apply it uniformly across families. Candidates with a background in computational linguistics, historical linguistics, or bioinformatics and an interest in phylogenetic methods are particularly encouraged to apply.

Both projects require quantitative and programming skills (e.g., R, Python, or Julia). Previous experience with lexical databases would be a plus.

The position includes a teaching obligation of 4 semester hours per week (4 SWS). The salary is figured according to the union contract TV-L, E13, depending on professional experience.

The period of employment is limited to the first funding period, which ends on December 31, 2029.

Applications should include a CV, a statement of research interests and relevant experience, as well as names and addresses of up to two references. Applications should be sent as a single pdf file by email to the address below. The position will be filled as soon as possible. Deadline for applications is May 15, 2026.

Disabled applicants will be preferred if they have the same qualifications as non-disabled applicants. The University of Tübingen strives to increase the proportion of women in research, and therefore encourages qualified female scientists to apply.

Please send your application electronically as a single pdf file to [email protected] .

Application Instructions: Deadline for applications is May 15, 2026

Mailing Address for Applications: Germany Web Address for Applications: https://uni-tuebingen.de/de/291885 Email Address for Applications: [email protected]

Contact Information: Gerhard Jäger