<OT> Postdoctoral fellowship in Exemplar-based Phonology

[Rutgers Optimality Archive]

The Department of Linguistics at the University of Alberta invites
applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Fellowship, beginning early
2009 (start date is negotiable), on exemplar-based approaches to
phonology.

A fundamental question of linguistic theory is how spoken language is
encoded in the mental lexicon. The standard view, that phonological
patterns are learned over symbolic representations, has increasingly
come into question, as failing to provide a natural account of
frequency effects and gradient sound change.  An alternative view is
that words and phrases are stored as clusters of exemplars, including
detailed, individuated memories of the speech signal. Speech
processing, under this view, involves massive comparison of exemplars,
with phonological patterns (as well as low-level patterns of gradient
phonetic variation) emerging as abstractions over the raw data.

A cutting-edge area of inquiry, then, is the development of explicit
computational models which perform this sort of comparison on real,
variable-length speech signals. The Postdoctoral Fellow will be
expected to participate actively in the conceptualization,
implementation, and testing of such models, and dissemination of
results. Further details of this project, part of an international
collaboration with computer scientists at University of Sheffield
(Speech and Hearing), can be found at
http://www.ualberta.ca/~kirchner/PEBLS.

The fellowship will be at the rate of $31,500-$42,000 (Canadian) per
annum, plus benefits and research-related travel expenses.

Preference will be given to applicants with a specialization in
phonology, phonetics, or computational linguistics, and with good
programming skills, including some familiarity with (or willingness to
learn) Matlab/Octave.  Applicants should have recently completed, or
be in the final stages of completing, their PhD.

The application should include a cover letter outlining past
experience and research interests, CV, and two or three academic
writing samples. Letters of recommendation should be sent directly by
three referees.  These materials may be sent electronically or by
surface mail.  The position remains open until filled.

Applications for the assistantship should be sent to:

 Robert Kirchner
 Department of Linguistics
 University of Alberta
 Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E7
 Canada
 email: kirchner at ualberta.ca