LINGUIST List 11.1068

Wed May 10 2000

Support: 2 Studentships at Edge Hill, UK

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Patrick Honeybone, PhD studentships in languge and linguistics - Edge Hill (UK)

PHD STUDENTSHIPS IN LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS

1. An ethnographic study of multilingual 
practices among members of a minority language 
community in contemporary Britain

2. The Phonetics and Phonology of Scouse Lenition
 
The department of English Language and Literature 
at Edge Hill College, Lancashire (UK) would like 
to announce that 2 full-time three-year research 
studentships are available for study in the areas 
given above. Candidates are invited to submit a 
proposal for research which would fit into these 
areas; further details of the topics are given below.

The successful candidates will register for a 
research degree in the department; study at Edge 
Hill is recognised by degrees awarded by the 
University of Lancaster. The award of a studentship 
carries with it payment of postgraduate tuition 
fees (for students from the UK and other European 
Union countries - worth 2,740 pounds sterling) and 
a maintenance grant at ESRC rates (currently at 
least 6,620 per year pounds sterling). It may 
also be possible for successful candidates to 
undertake some paid teaching in the department. 
Application forms are available from: The 
Personnel Department, Edge Hill, Ormskirk, 
Lancashire, L39 4QP. The closing date for 
applications is Friday 2nd June 2000.

- -------------------------------------

1. An ethnographic study of multilingual practices 
among members of a minority language community in 
contemporary Britain

Applicants are invited to propose a research project which focuses on
one of the 'newer' linguistic minorities in any part of Britain. This
project will investigate the nature and roles of specific
communicative practices engaged in by members of that community, as
well as the social values attached to those practices. The proposal
should specify the social domain(s) in which the research will be
conducted, and these may involve primarily intra-community contact,
for example in homes, or situations/events in which there is contact
between minority community members and members of the wider community,
for example in schools. 

Applicants should possess an MA qualification
in linguistics or a related discipline and/or be able to demonstrate
relevant sociolinguistic research experience. 

Informal enquiries may
be made to Dr. Jo Arthur or Dr. Joseph Gafaranga (tel. 01695
584389/4217, email: arthurjedgehill.ac.uk or
j.gafarangalancaster.ac.uk).

- -------------------------------------

2. The Phonetics and Phonology of Scouse Lenition

The 'Scouse' accent of English, centred around 
Liverpool and Merseyside, is known to involve a 
range of phonetic and phonological features 
which are unusual in English accents. These are 
of inherent interest in themselves and are also 
central to major phonological debates. Some of 
the best known of these features are the 
patterns of 'lenition' in which stops, such as 
/p, t, k/, are realised as affricates or 
fricatives. Despite some important work on the 
accent, the exact nature and patterning of these 
types of lenitions are not known.
Applications are invited for a research project 
which will involve the collection of original 
data in the nearby city of Liverpool and 
detailed analysis of the findings. Interested 
parties who wish to specialise in phonology, 
phonetics or socio-phonetics are encouraged to 
apply, as there will be space for the successful 
candidate to develop their own approach. It is 
envisaged that there will be a certain degree 
of collaboration with the supervisors and that 
the project will help to provide a new corpus 
of data which will enable the investigation of 
other Scouse phenomena. Informal enquiries are 
welcome - feel free to contact Patrick Honeybone 
(email: honeybopedgehill.ac.uk, phone: 01695 
584244).

The Edge Hill English department's website: 
www.edgehill.ac.uk/study/schsubj/human/english/engpage.htm