Pointing gestures project, PhD studentship in Linguistics, La Trobe University Summary: A three-year PhD scholarship ($28,672 per annum) is available for research linked to the ‘When do gestures become linguistic? Understanding thegesture-language interface through a corpus-based study of pointing signs in signedlanguages’ project in the Linguistics Discipline Research Program at La TrobeUniversity. This is a three year project (July 2014-June 2017), funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project grant to Macquarie University(Sydney, Australia), La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia), University College London (London, UK) and Radboud University (Nijmegen, The Netherlands).This project will use corpus-based and experimental studies to compare pointingsigns in three sign languages (in Australia, the UK and The Netherlands) withpointing gestures used by hearing non-signers in order to answer the question: Whatrelationship do gestures have to language, both in speech and in sign? The PhDproject will focus on a topic related to pointing gestures used by hearingnon-signers and how they compare to pointing signs used in deaf signers.

The successful applicant will:
*   have a recent appropriate undergraduate degree and/or masters-levelqualification (preferably in linguistics or psychology)
*   ideally should have undergone relevant research training or experience
*   ideally have some competence in a sign language (strongly favored)

To apply, please submit a CV and a cover letter, addressing how you meet criterialisted above. In particular, include details about an undergraduate or postgraduatethesis, or any relevant publications, as evidence of research training. Closing date: 9th February, 2015 Position Enquiries: For more information about this scholarship or the relatedproject, please email Associate Professor Adam Schembri –a.schembri@latrobe.edu.au<mailto:a.schembri@latrobe.edu.au> La Trobe University’s success is driven by people who are committed to making adifference. They are creative and highly motivated, pursue new ideas and createknowledge. La Trobe is among the top 100 universities in the world under the age of50 (Times Higher Education Rankings 2013), one of Australia’s research leaders, andthe largest provider of higher education to regional Victoria. Our teaching andresearch address some of the most significant issues of our time and we’repassionate about driving change to benefit the communities we serve.