PhD Position: Philosophy of Language and Experimental Linguistics

Are you fascinated by how we use language? Then join the new NWO research project ‘Commitments in Communication’ as a PhD candidate. You will aim to understand commitments in communication, combining linguistic experiments with theoretical communication analysis.

By speaking we undertake commitments, obligations to others to act in certain ways. We do this both by performing speech acts and by choosing certain vocabulary. Within linguistics, the notion of commitments has popped up in accounts of a wide range of phenomena (ranging from promises to rising declaratives, and from evidentiality markers to transparent free relatives). In our society, issues about commitment come up in the media and even in court rooms.

Despite the central place of commitment in both our language make-up and our society, a true understanding of how we undertake, attribute and avoid commitments through language use is lacking. This understanding is what this project aims to contribute to.

You will perform a series of experiments in which you measure the commitments that discourse participants undertake as interpreted by the participants in the experiment. This is measured using explicit and implicit judgments. For the latter, you will use, inter alia, physiological measures such as fEMG. Combined with theoretical discourse analysis (as used in the fields of semantics, pragmatics, philosophy of language, conversational analysis and dialogue modelling), the series of experiments will result in four journal papers, to be integrated into a dissertation.

You will participate in relevant conferences, workshops and seminars, and communicate your findings through publications in proceedings and peer-reviewed journals. In addition to your research, you will have a 12.5% teaching load. You will also have the opportunity to further develop your skill set by attending courses that are relevant for your project and general development.

Would you like to learn more about what it’s like to pursue a PhD at Radboud University? Visit the page about working as a PhD candidate.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €3,059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,881 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies
Staff and students in the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies reflect on the great challenges of our time, exploring concepts, belief systems and worldviews. In this way they provide philosophical and religious context to the societal debate and contribute to the analysis and solution of major societal challenges. The faculty has over 180 staff, organized in eight academic departments and four support departments. Our academics collaborate in six research centres and teach more than 1,000 students.

Our staff and students are committed. The lines of communication are short and each individual student and staff member is given ample attention. You can find more about our mission and vision on the 'About PTRS' page.

Radboud University
At Radboud University, we aim to make an impact through our work. We achieve this by conducting groundbreaking research, providing high-quality education, offering excellent support, and fostering collaborations within and outside the university. In doing so, we contribute indispensably to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. To accomplish this, we need even more colleagues who, based on their expertise, are willing to search for answers. We advocate for an inclusive community and welcome employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. Will you also contribute to making the world a little better? You have a part to play.

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The Center for Cognition, Culture and Communication studies fundamental and applied questions at the intersection of cognition, culture and language. Its profile is strongly interdisciplinary, combining state-of-the-art philosophical theorising with recent scientific findings in psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence and cognitive neuroscience.