Description of the thesis topic

The position is embedded in the interdisciplinary Language Redux (http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/projets/Redux/), research project, funded by a high-profile Consolidator Grant from the European Research to PI Matthias Urban (http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/equipes/Index.asp?Langue=FR&Page=Matthias%20URBAN&Equipe=12).
The project will start in August 2024 and carry out frontier research on the historical dynamics of language geographies. It will explore a new approach to language history and investigate the process by which the areas in which languages are spoken shrink as they are gradually replaced by others. In this way it aims to identify old linguistic distributions that have been replaced elsewhere, opening up a new perspective on language history.

Work Context

The project, in turn, is part of the dynamic research environment of the Lyon-based CNRS research unit “Dynamique du Langage (DDL)”. One of its core missions is to carry out research on the variability of human languages, and their history. Like the LANGUAGE REDUX project, DDL subscribes to an interdisciplinary approach to the language ecologies that support and constrain the development of this diversity. Staff members include descriptive linguists who focus especially on languages of Eurasia and South America; typologists; historical linguists and psycholinguists.

The successful applicant will enroll with Université Lumière Lyon 2 (https://welcome.univ-lyon2.fr/) and be part of the doctoral school 3LA l'École Doctorale 3LA (Lettres, Langues, Linguistique & Arts). Their research affiliation will be with the Dynamique du Langage laboratory (UMR 5596 UMR 5596 http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/), within the DiLiS research stream (DiLiS (Diversité Linguistique et ses Sources http://www.ddl.cnrs.fr/equipes/index.asp?Langue=FR&Equipe=12&Page=Presentation).
The successful applicant will be based in Lyon area, with a workstation at the DDL laboratory (14, avenue Berthelot, 69363 Lyon CEDEX 07).

Constraints and risks

This successful applicant will investigate processes in which the areas where languages are spoken shrink, and the changes the languages undergo during the process. The focus will be on Eurasia. Thanks to the attestation of languages up to several millennia in the past, the continent is particularly suited for long-term investigation.

The project team will be composed by two PhD students (including the position advertised here); a postdoc with a background in macroecology or geography; a postdoc with a background in molecular anthropology; and a GIS developer who will collaborate and support the work of the PhD students. The team will likely be international. The working language of the research group will be English.

The successful applicant is expected to relocate to the Lyon area. In addition to governmental social security support and access to health care, benefits include assistance in relocation from Espace Ulys, the university's support center for international scientists; subsidized meals; and tickets for public transport in Lyon at a reduced price.

Additional Information

Duties of the successful applicant :
• Collecting data on language range reduction in Eurasia from extant literature
• Digitizing and curating the data, aided by a GIS developer
• Carrying out comparative research on the linguistic changes that happen across languages as their ranges reduce
• Preparing data and analysis for presentations and publications in the form of articles (including ones co-authored with other team members) that lead to a cumulative PhD thesis
• Contributing in an active and constructive manner to the success of the team as a whole
• Completing required training with the doctoral school

Required qualifications :
• MA in General Linguistics or a closely related field
• Background in historical linguistics, language contact research, and/or language typology
• Interest in the broader ecologies in which languages are embedded and used, interest in anthropology and interdisciplinary work
• Willingness to acquire skills in GIS
• Very good proficiency in spoken and written English
• Capacity for working both independently and as part of a team


Additional desirable (but not required) qualifications :
• Reading skills in Russian
• Basic oral and written proficiency in French, as institute-level administration is carried out partly in French
• Background knowledge about the linguistic diversity and history of (parts of) Eurasia
• Experience with quantitative and statistical analysis of linguistic data
• Experience with GIS systems

Applicants should submit the following:
• a letter of motivation
• a CV
• two samples of academic writing (e.g. published work, MA thesis, term paper, completed draft of article). Please append these two your CV and submit as a single file.
• names, affiliations, and email addresses of two referees who are willing to supply letters of reference in support of the application. Please include these in your letter of motivation

Please note that applications must go through the CNRS job portal. No application will be accepted by email.