Missions

The interdisciplinary ERC-Synergy project SHAPE investigates how shape is represented in cognition, language development, and across languages (spoken and signed). The Paris team, lead by Frank Seifart, investigates the variability of shape expression across a diverse, worldwide sample of spoken languages. The Postdoctoral Researcher will carry out cross-linguistic research on shape encoding, in collaboration with team members and independently steer selected research sub-projects, analyzing data collected on 40 languages, and collaborate with SHAPE's international and interdisciplinary network of field linguists and project partners.

Activités

- Conduct research on the cross-linguistic encoding of shape (semantic/morphosyntactic typology) across a global sample of languages.
- Contribute to designing and implementing standardized tasks for data collection in 40 languages.
- Perform typological analyses integrating SHAPE's experimental data, literature reviews, and expert consultations.
- Collaborate with SHAPE's sub-projects in Cologne, Trondheim, and Indiana
- Contribute to studies and publications across the project team, assuming a leading role in some of them

Compétences

Required:
- PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, or a related field.
- Prior research experience in functional-typological frameworks and semantic/morphosyntactic typology.
- Fluency in English
- Ability to lead research in a collaborative research context and communicate effectively across teams.

Preferred:
- Fieldwork experience and an established fieldwork site on a non-European language for collecting data using the project's set of experiments
- Prior research on nominal classification, positional verbs, noun semantics, or related topics
- Experience with quantitative methods for data processing and analysis (R, Python, etc.)
- Working knowledge of French or commitment to learning it.

Contexte de travail

Working conditions:
- 38.5 hours per week
- presence at 4-6 in-person project workshops per year in Paris
- presence at weekly online meetings

Offer:
- Three years full time employment with the possibility of one year extension
- Monthly gross salary starting at 4 292 € depending on experience, in addition to benefits
- A central role in a prestigious ERC-Synergy project with an international, interdisciplinary team.
- Access to Paris's unparalleled linguistic research community and resources.
- Partial remote work can be negotiated
- Opportunities for fieldwork, conference travel, and career advancement.
- Opportunity for independent research design, as well as mentorship from senior scholars

Application:
in one pdf file (max. 10MB), in English, including:
- CV, including names of two referees who have agreed to be contacted regarding this application
- motivation letter (max 2 pages)
- if applicable, pdf(s) of up to two relevant publication(s). For book-length publications, please provide a URL instead of a pdf.

Additional information:
- the selection process will include a first round of remote interviews in September, and a second round of in-person interviews in Paris in October
- for questions, contact Frank Seifart
- start date as soon as possible after February 2026, depending on availability, and (for non-EU candidate) on visa processing times