LINGUIST List 15.2496

Thu Sep 9 2004

Support: Language Acquisition: Student, U of Amstedam

Editor for this issue: Stephanie Stoll <stephanilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. J.deJong1, Support: Language Acquisition: Student, U of Amstedam

University or Organization: University of Amstedam
Rank of Job: Student
Specialty Areas: Language Acquisition, Specific Language Impairment,
Bilingualism


Description:

 
Job profile

The Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication at the Faculty of
Humanities is looking for a PhD-candidate for the project
"Disentangling bilingualism and Specific Language Impairment in
children". The appointment will be for a four-year period. The project
will be carried out under the supervision of Prof. dr. Fred Weerman
and Prof. dr. Anne Baker.The appointee is expected to write a PhD
thesis on the aforementioned topic, and to teach part of a course in
the second and third year of appointment.

Project description

Bilingual children with language problems create a challenge for the
clinical practice. After all, delays in these children may be caused
by either poor learning of the second language or by a specific
language impairment (SLI). SLI by definition affects the learning of
the first language as well as the learning of a second
language. Diagnostic criteria to disentangle the potential causes are
lacking to date. A systematic study of the two factors and their
interaction will be undertaken to provide an empirical basis for the
development of such criteria.
The project focuses on Turkish-Dutch bilingual children. The expected
differences between the effects of SLI and bilingualism will serve to
identify the respective influence of language impairment and the
bilingual situation. Areas of typological contrast between first
language (Turkish) and second language (Dutch) are selected for
investigation, in order to tease apart language-specific and
impairment-induced influences.
Within the project, both languages are investigated. The research
question for the PhD project is: To what extent can bilingualism and
SLI be distinguished in the Dutch output of Turkish-Dutch SLI
children? To answer this question, four linguistic variables are
explored: finiteness, agreement in the DP and IP domain, and verb
placement . For each variable, data from Turkish-Dutch children with
SLI are compared to data from non-impaired children. In addition,
bilingual children with SLI are compared to monolingual children with
SLI.

More information

A full description of the project, including the complementary
sub-project on Turkish, may be downloaded from www.hum.uva.nl/aclc
(under Vacancies). Further inquiries may be directed to Prof. dr. Anne
Baker (A.E.Bakeruva.nl, +31 20 525 3853) or Prof. dr. Fred Weerman
(F.P.Weermanuva.nl, +31 20 525 4737)

Appointment

The contract offered is in accordance with the CAO VSNU. Apart from a
salary, which runs up from 1,813 EUR (before tax) in the first year to
2,283 EUR (before tax) in the fourth year, the candidate will be given
the opportunity to participate in high-quality PhD-courses, both
nationally and internationally.

Job application

Candidates should have a solid training in linguistics at the MA
level. Their CV should highlight interest and familiarity with
theoretical linguistics as applied to the study of language
acquisition and/or disorders. Candidates with a knowledge of Turkish
are encouraged to apply. A full list of grades should be included and
a copy of the MA thesis. 
Applications should arrive at the ACLC office
(see below) before September 15, 2004. Applications arriving after
this date will not be considered. Interviews will be conducted in the
first week of October, 2004. The project starts November 1, 2004 with
the appointment taking place as quickly as possible..Apart from
submission of your documents through regular mail, we urge you to send
your letter of application including the documents listed above
electronically to A.E.Bakeruva.nl. Paper submissions should be sent
to ACLC-UvA, attn. Prof. Dr. A.E. Baker, Spuistraat 210, NL-1012 VT
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.


	

Address for Applications:

	Attn: Prof Dr Anne Baker
	Spuistraat 210
	Amsterdam, 1012 VT
	Netherlands 

	Applications are due by 15-Sep-2004

Contact Information:
	Prof Dr Anne Baker
 email: A.E.Bakeruva.nl
	Tel: +31 20 525 3853