The topic is the comparative morphosyntax of the West Nilotic languages, and forms part of the European Research Council-funded project ‘NILOMORPH: The evolution of suprasegmental morphology in West Nilotic’, which sets out to explain how linguistic evolution took a highly unexpected turn in the West Nilotic languages of East Africa.
Some languages within this group have evolved systems of non-concatenative morphology in which multiple grammatical categories are expressed simultaneously within a single syllable, through specifications of tone, phonation, vowel length and vowel quality. Comparative evidence suggests that this evolved from a more conventional system of affixal morphology. The aim of NILOMORPH is to investigate this evolution, employing a combination of field linguistics, acoustic analysis, experimental linguistics, computational simulation, typology, and the historical-comparative method. The project is based jointly at the University of Surrey, the University of Edinburgh and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), with partners in North America (University of Oregon, Wayne State University, University of New Mexico, and University of Toronto).
The PhD position is focused on the comparative morphosyntax of the West Nilotic languages. The reconstruction of West Nilotic morphological evolution naturally presupposes an understanding of its grammatical system and its evolution, which includes a number of typologically striking and poorly understood categories such as ‘Austronesian-type’ voice systems in a number of languages. The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with members of the project team who are engaged in descriptive work in West Nilotic languages (primarily Dinka, Nuer, Reel, Shilluk, Thuri, and Burun varieties), as well as conduct independent fieldwork.
Supervisors: Professor Matthew Baerman and Dr Oliver Bond
Entry requirements
Open to any UK or international candidates. Starting in January 2027. Later start dates may be possible, please contact Professor Matthew Baerman once the deadline passes.
You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements for our PhD programme.
Candidate profile
- Excellent overall performance at undergraduate level
- Expertise in morphological and syntactic description and analysis
- Ability to meet the English language entry requirements for the PhD Linguistics
- Optionally, familiarity with the study of West Nilotic languages
How to apply
Applications should be submitted via the Linguistics PhD programme page.
In addition, please send a CV along with a one-page statement of interest to Alison Stubley (a.stubley@surrey.ac.uk)
Funding
UK or International fees covered, plus UKRI standard stipend (£21,805 for 2026-27 academic year) and support for conference travel. Funding is available for 48 months.
Application deadline
11 October 2026
Enquiries
Contact Professor Matthew Baerman
Ref
PGR-2627-002
UK or International fees covered, plus UKRI standard stipend (£21,805 for 2026-27 academic year) and support for conference travel. Funding is available for 48 months.