Two PhD candidates, Descriptive/Documentary Linguistics in Indonesia

Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics

Is looking for:

Two PhD candidates, Descriptive/Documentary Linguistics in Indonesia
Starting date: Between February-July 2027; exact date to be determined by mutual agreement.

Vacancy number: 16880

Deadline: October 25, 2026

Description

Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) invites applications for two fully funded PhD positions within the NWO project ‘Usku and Banda: Automated Documentation of Endangered Languages of Eastern Indonesia’.

The two PhDs in this project will each work on the documentation and description of a small unwritten endangered language in eastern Indonesia.

The first PhD project focuses on Usku (also called Afra), a Papuan language spoken in the north-eastern part of the Indonesian province Papua in the western half of New Guinea. Usku is a moribund isolate with around 100 speakers that is surrounded by communities speaking languages belonging to other Papuan families.

The second PhD project focuses on Banda, an Austronesian language spoken by 4,000 speakers on the island of Kei Besar in the Indonesian province Maluku.

As the younger generations of speakers of Usku and Banda are reported to be switching to the dominant national language Indonesian, it is unlikely that the languages will be transmitted to the next generation, and both languages may become extinct within two generations. For this reason, documentation of these two unique languages is extremely urgent.

For both Usku and Banda, the aim is to develop, in close collaboration with the speaker community, a documentary record of linguistic practices in the form of a rich, naturalistic text collection and an extensive word list (lexicon). The transcribed and annotated lexicon and corpus will form the basis of the grammatical analysis of the language’s phonology, morphology and syntax. This analysis will allow us to address questions such as: (i) How do the words and grammatical structures of Banda/Usku reflect possible inherited (vertical) family relationships and ancestral history? (ii) Which of these words and structures may have been acquired through (horizontal) contact with neighbouring languages or Indonesian/Malay? (iii) What does this tell us about the community’s socio-cultural history and their relationships with other communities? This information is expected to provide important insights into earlier patterns of migration and contact in the region.

In the course of their documentation activities, both PhDs will test and evaluate the various AI tools that are being developed by the senior team members to carry out automated tasks of transcription, translation, morphological segmentation and glossing of data from small and underdocumented languages.

These PhD positions are part of an NWO-funded Open Competition Large project involving PI prof. dr. Marian Klamer, external partner dr. Eline Visser (Uppsala University) and research engineer dr. Sophie Villerius.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Collecting audio-visual linguistic and cultural data through fieldwork in Indonesia;
• Transcribing, annotating, analysing and archiving naturalistic language data;
• Testing and evaluating tools for automated linguistic data annotation and analysis;
• Presenting (joint) research results at workshops and conferences;
• Publishing (joint) research results and writing a PhD-thesis within the period of appointment;
• (Assisting in) teaching activities at bachelor level;
• (Assisting in) the organisation of knowledge dissemination activities
• Participating in meetings and training sessions of the project research group

Selection criteria

• A Master’s degree in linguistics, completed before the start date;
• Demonstrated interest in language documentation, field linguistics, descriptive linguistics or similar;
• Excellent research and academic English skills;
• Working knowledge of Indonesian, or willingness to acquire this within the first half year of the project;
• A strong cooperative attitude and interest to engage in collaborative research;
• Fieldwork experience in a non-western context is a plus;
• Preference will be given to candidates from Indonesia in cases of equal suitability.

Terms and conditions

Appointment will be according to the terms of the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO Nederlandse Universiteiten). The employment will be for a period of four years. The first contract will be for 12 months with an extension for the following 36 months contingent on a positive of performance and compatibility. You are expected to work in Leiden and the appointment must lead to the completion of a PhD thesis.

Salary range from € 3,204.- gross per month in the first year for a fulltime appointment to € 4,051.- in the fourth year (pay scale for PhDs, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities), plus substantial additional holiday and year-end allowances. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break.

Starting date: Between February-July 2027; exact date to be determined by mutual agreement.

Research at our faculty/ institute

Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) is one of seven Institutes that falls under the Faculty of Humanities. With over 120 linguists working at the Institute, it is a rich research environment that prides itself on fostering scientific excellence. At LUCL we offer extensive research support to our researchers.

LUCL has a longstanding tradition in the study of the world’s languages and features unique linguistic expertise. Current theoretical insights are combined with modern methodological approaches in its research profile area ‘Language Diversity in the World’. Researchers from our six umbrella research groups are experts in their respective fields while finding innovative ways of collaborating with colleagues in other fields and disciplines.

The Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University is a unique international centre for the advanced study of languages, cultures, arts, and societies worldwide, in their historical contexts from prehistory to the present. Our faculty is home to more than 6,000 students and 800 staff members. For more information see:Humanities

Diversity

Fostering an inclusive community is a central element of the values and vision of Leiden University. Leiden University is committed to becoming an inclusive community which enables all students and staff to feel valued and respected and to develop their full potential. Diversity in experiences and perspectives enriches our teaching and strengthens our research. High quality teaching and research is inclusive.

Questions?

For further information on the research project and the PhD positions please contact the PI, Marian Klamer, m.a.f.klamer@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

For practical questions, please contact the Institute Manager, Maarit van Gammeren: m.s.k.van.gammeren@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Applications

Applications should be submitted no later than 25 October, 2026 via the blue button in our application system. Your application should include the following information:

• A cover letter, in which you indicate which of the two positions you are applying for and explain your motivation;
• A full academic CV;
• A list of all Bachelor and Master-level modules you have taken, with an official transcript of grades;
• A writing sample, preferably your MA thesis and an article or term paper that you wrote that pertains to the topic of the position;
• The names and email addresses of two references, including your MA thesis supervisor(s), who may be approached by the selection committee (no reference letters).

The vacancy closes on 25 October 2026. Interviews will take place in the first half of November 2026.

Enquiries from agencies are not appreciated.