1 PhD Research position in Discourse annotation from a multilingual perspective in Netherlands | Utrecht University

Job description

The department of Languages, Literature and Communication houses a group whose research focuses on machine translation of discourse phenomena. It will be starting the MODERN SNSF project on the modeling of inter-sentential dependencies (connectives and referential expressions) to improve the output of machine translation systems. Researchers involved include Ted Sanders, Arnout Koornneef and Sandrine Zufferey.

The goal of the PhD-project is to further develop a method for the annotation of coherence relations in discourse, to apply this method to a corpus of Dutch texts, and subsequently to texts in other languages in order to build contrastive analyses. The focus will be placed on the way coherence relations are realized across languages as well as on the interface between relational and referential coherence (pronoun resolution).

Requirements

You are a holder of an MA or equivalent degree in linguistics with a specialisation in pragmatics or discourse, language use, language and communication or the like. Given the requirement to annotate discourse relations in Dutch for the project, we are looking for native speakers of Dutch. Excellent demonstrable command of English as well as either French or German is also required. Previous experience in natural language processing and translation is a plus.

Conditions of employment

The position is offered for an initial period of 18 months, 1.0 FTE, to be extended by another 18 months upon positive evaluation. Your monthly gross salary will start at € 2.083.-, based on a full-time basis. We offer a pension scheme, a holiday allowance of 8% per year and flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities.The appointment will start as soon as the necessary work permits and documents are obtained, with a target starting date of April 1st, 2014. More information: terms of employment.

Organisation

Utrecht University has great ambitions for its teaching quality and study success rates. This also applies to its clear research profiles which are centred around four themes: Sustainability, Life Sciences, Youth & Identity, and Institutions. Utrecht University plays a prominent role in our society and contributes to finding the answers to topical and future societal issues.

The Faculty of Humanities has around 7,000 students and 900 staff members. It comprises four knowledge domains: Philosophy and Religious Studies, History and Art History, Media and Culture Studies, and Languages, Literature and Communication. With its research and education in these fields, the Faculty aims to contribute to a better understanding of the Netherlands and Europe in a rapidly changing social and cultural context.

The faculty is divided into four departments, which includes the Department of Languages, Literature and Communication. This department with its two Schools monitors bachelor education and master programmes in the areas of Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Celtic as well as Linguistics and Literary Studies. The research programmes in these areas are carried out under the supervision of either the Research Institute for Cultural Inquiry (ICON) or the Utrecht Institute of Linguistics (Uil OTS). The Utrecht Institute of Linguistics (UiL OTS) is one of Europe’s leading departments of linguistics.

The enthusiastic and motivated colleagues and the excellent facilities in the historic town centre of Utrecht, where the Faculty is located, provide a stimulating professional atmosphere. Moreover, Utrecht University offers attractive terms of employment.

Informal inquiries can be addressed to Prof. Ted Sanders (Αυτή η διεύθυνση Email προστατεύεται από τους αυτοματισμούς αποστολέων ανεπιθύμητων μηνυμάτων. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε τη JavaScript για να μπορέσετε να τη δείτε.), Dr. Sandrine Zufferey (Αυτή η διεύθυνση Email προστατεύεται από τους αυτοματισμούς αποστολέων ανεπιθύμητων μηνυμάτων. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε τη JavaScript για να μπορέσετε να τη δείτε.) or Dr Maaike Schoorlemmer (Αυτή η διεύθυνση Email προστατεύεται από τους αυτοματισμούς αποστολέων ανεπιθύμητων μηνυμάτων. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε τη JavaScript για να μπορέσετε να τη δείτε.).