Post-doctoral position is available in the interdisciplinary Max Planck Research Group on Comparative Population Linguistics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. The successful applicant will be expected to work on language contact in the Kalahari Basin with a particular focus on the underdocumented language ǂHoan; this will potentially involve close collaboration with a molecular anthropological project dealing with ‘Khoisan’ peoples. The project is planned as part of a broader collaborative interdisciplinary project on the ‘Kalahari Basin Area: A ‘Sprachbund’ on the verge of extinction’, for which a funding application is still pending; however, the ǂHoan contact project will be pursued regardless of the outcome of that application.

Applicants are required to hold a Ph.D. degree or at least to have submitted their Ph.D. thesis at the time the project starts. Prior experience with linguistic fieldwork is imperative, familiarity with ‘Khoisan’ languages is highly desirable, and an interest in interdisciplinary research is important. The position will be available for an initial period of two years, with a possibility of extension for up to 12 more months.

The Max Planck Research Group on Comparative Population Linguistics is an interdisciplinary group consisting of linguists, molecular anthropologists, and a social anthropologist devoted to the study of prehistoric language and population contact. Additional information can be found at our webpage listed above. The group is tied in with the Department of Linguistics at the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology, which has a strong focus on functional-typological research as well as on fieldwork-based language description; see

http://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua/

The ǂHoan contact project will be conducted in close collaboration with two other projects on ‘Khoisan’ languages carried out at the MPI-EVA; see

http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/taa/project and

http://www.hrelp.org/grants/projects/index.php?projid=131.

Interested individuals should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, a sample of their writing, and the names and e-mail addresses of two referees to Brigitte Pakendorf by e-mail (see contact information below).
In addition, they should arrange for the letters of reference to be sent directly to Brigitte Pakendorf. The deadline for applications is December 31st, 2008, and the position will ideally be filled soon after that; however, the exact starting date is negotiable. For further information, please contact Brigitte Pakendorf.

Application Deadline:
31-Dec-2008

Application Email:
pakendorf@eva.mpg.de

Contact Information:
Dr. Brigitte Pakendorf
pakendorf@eva.mpg.de