SCHOLARSHIP REGULATIONS
PHD SCHOLARSHIP
PROSODY AND INFORMATION STRUCTURE PERCEPTION
History and Purpose
The School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, invites applications for a PhD
studentship on the perception of prosody and information structure across languages. The studentship is funded as part of a Royal Society
of New Zealand Marsden Grant “Searching for focus in a shared world: the integration of prosody and syntax in cross-linguistic speech
perception”. The PI is Dr Sasha Calhoun (Victoria). Assoc. Prof. Enric Vallduví (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) is an AI on the grant. The
successful applicant will be based at Victoria University in Wellington (VUW).
The project investigates how listeners use prosodic and syntactic cues to focus in different languages, and the relationship between focus and
attention in speech perception. Dialogue models suggest that, in all languages, speakers use prosody and syntax as cues to the focus of their
message, facilitating the building of a shared discourse model (e.g. Vallduví to appear, CUP). However, there has been much less research on
how listeners integrate prosodic and syntactic cues to focus, and how this differs depending on the importance of these different cues for
focus-marking in different languages. Further, some psycholinguistic research suggests that focused words in an utterance are attended to
and processed more deeply (e.g. Cutler & Fodor 1979, Cognition; Braun & Tagliapietra 2010, Language & Cognitive Processes). However, this
research has mostly looked at English and other Germanic languages where stress is the primary cue to focus, so it is at present unclear whether
it is focus, or stress, or both, which draws attention. The PI will direct research using psycholinguistic methods to investigate how prosodic
and syntactic cues are used in the perception of focus by monolingual and bilingual speakers of Samoan and English, and how this relates to
attention in speech perception. The PhD student’s project is intended to complement this, using psycholinguistic methods to investigate the
perception of focus in another non-Germanic language.
Eligibility
Applicants should have an excellent background in the analysis of prosody and/or information structure. They should also have experience
in carrying out psycholinguistic research on speech perception, and good working knowledge of tools for such experimental work, such as
Praat and the R Statistics package. Applicants should hold a Masters or Honours degree in Linguistics or a related area, including course work
and ideally research projects in these areas. The applicant needs to be a native or near-native speaker of the language they propose to study.
Published descriptions must be available of the prosodic and syntactic expression of focus in the language, to provide a basis for perception
studies.
The applicants also need to meet the requirements to enter the PhD program in Linguistics and Applied Languages at VUW.
Total value
The Scholarship will provide a stipend to cover living expenses of NZ$27,500 pa, plus tuition fees (students will be responsible for payment of the
student levy and international insurance if applicable). Funding is also available for data collection in another country. The applicant will also have
access to contestable funding from Victoria for conference travel.
Tenure of award
One scholarship is to be awarded for three years.
Closing date for applications
The successful student is expected to start his/her PhD by 1 August 2016. Applications should be received by 15 April 2016.
How do students apply?
New PhD applicants should complete the PhD admission and Scholarship application online available from the link below and clearly indicating
that they wish to apply for the PhD scholarship in Prosody and Information Structure Perception.
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/fgr/prospective-phds/how-to-apply
The Expression of Interests statement should outline the project the applicant proposes to do as part of the grant described above, including
a brief overview of focus-marking in the language to be studied, the proposed methodology, and the applicant’s relevant background and
experience.
For further information regarding the project contact Dr Sasha Calhoun ([email protected])
Decision makers
Applications will be considered by a team led by Dr Sasha Calhoun.
What conditions are attached to acceptance of this Award?
Successful applicants will be required to sign a Victoria University Research Scholarship contract.