Anthropological Linguistics: PhD Student, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Institution/Organization: James Cook University
Department: The Cairns Institute, FASS
Web Address: http://www.jcu.edu.au/sass/staff/JCUPRD_043649.html

Level: PhD

Duties: Research

Specialty Areas: Anthropological Linguistics
Language analysis

Description:

Applications are invited, from suitably qualified students, to enter the PhD
program of the Language and Culture Research Group within the Cairns Institute
of James Cook University Australia. Supervision will be provided by Professors
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald and R. M. W. Dixon.

Our PhD candidates undertake extensive fieldwork on a previously undescribed
(or scarcely described) language and write a comprehensive grammar of it for
their dissertation. They are expected to work on a language which is still
actively spoken, and to establish a field situation within a community in which
it is the first language. Their first fieldtrip lasts for about nine months.
After completing a first draft of the grammar, back in Cairns, they undertake a
second fieldtrip of two to three months. Fieldwork methodology centres on the
collection, transcription and analysis of texts, together with participant
observation, and judicious grammatical elicitation in the language under
description (not through the lingua franca of the country). Our main priority
areas are the languages of tropical Amazonia and the Papuan and Austronesian
languages of New Guinea. However, we do not exclude applicants who have an
established interest in languages from other areas.

PhDs in Australian universities generally involve no coursework, just a
substantial dissertation. Candidates must thus have had a thorough coursework
training before embarking on this PhD program. This should have included courses
on morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonology/phonetics, taught from a
non-formalist perspective. We place emphasis on work that has a sound empirical
basis but also shows a firm theoretical orientation (in terms of general
typological theory, known as basic linguistic theory).

The Cairns Institute is a world centre for advanced study relating to the
tropics. Professor Alexandra (Sasha) Aikhenvald is Research Leader for People
and Societies of the Tropics. Together with Professor R. M. W. Dixon, she heads
the Language and Culture Research Group (LCRG), which includes Research Fellows
and a growing number of doctoral students. Senior scholars from across the world
opt to spend their sabbatical in the Cairns Institute.

The LCRG has strong links with anthropologists and archaeologists, with
scholars working on environmental issues, and with the School of Indigenous
Australian Studies, all within James Cook University.

The scholarship will be at the standard James Cook University rate, Australian
$20,427 pa. Students coming from overseas are liable for a tuition fee; but this
may be waived in the case of a student of high merit. A small relocation
allowance may be provided on taking up the scholarship. In addition, an
appropriate allowance will be made to cover fieldwork expenses. The scholarship
is for three years (with the possibility of a six month extension). The deadline
for application by international students (starting in 2010) is 31 August 2009;
the deadline for students with Australian and New Zealand passports is 31
October 2009. The academic year in Australia commences about 1st March.
Successful applicants would take up their PhD scholarships between January and
June 2010.

The application procedures for international students can be found at:
http://www.jcu.edu.au/prospective/studyoptions/postgraduate/JCUDEV_002585.html .
The 2010 Scholarship application form for international students can be found
at: http://www.jcu.edu.au/grs/scholarships/index.htm

Prospective applicants are invited, in the first place, to get in touch with
Professor Aikhenvald at sasha.aikhenvald@jcu.edu.au, providing details of their
background, qualifications and interests (including a curriculum vitae).

Application Deadline: 31-Aug-2009

Mailing Address for Applications:
Attn: Prof Alexandra Aikhenvald
The Cairns Institute, JCU
MacGregor Road
Cairns Queensland 4878
Australia

Web Address for Applications: http://www.jcu.edu.au/prospective/studyoptions/postgraduate/JCUDEV_002585.html

Contact Information:
Prof Alexandra Aikhenvald
Sasha.Aikhenvald@jcu.edu.au
Phone:61(0)740421117
Fax:61(0)740421390