ERC Synergy Nilomorph PhD Scholarship: Describing West Nilotic Languages

The School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences is inviting applications for three postgraduate studentships that offer four years of funding and extensive associated resources.

The topic of these positions is the investigation of the sound systems and grammars of understudied West Nilotic languages, in particular the Burun languages and Thuri. These studentships form part of a vibrant international research network involving researchers with a wide range of specialisations at several institutions, brought together by a shared interest in non-concatenative morphology, and funded by a Synergy grant from the European Research Council.

About the scholarship

These three scholarships are funded by the European Research Council as part of the Synergy grant scheme, which supports cross-institution research projects. The specific project these three scholarships are part of is entitled “The evolution of suprasegmental morphology in West Nilotic” (Nilomorph). 

Nilomorph 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 non-concatenative morphology, that is, a morphological system 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 the West Nilotic languages were once much more conventional, using suffixes to mark grammatical categories. 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 includes three teams: 

  • the Description team (PI Bert Remijsen), which these postgraduate positions form part of and is based mainly at the University of Edinburgh;
  • the Morphology team (PI Matthew Baerman, lead), which is based mainly at the University of Edinburgh;
  • the Reconstruction team (PI Lameen Souag), which is based mainly at the CNRS – LACITO group.

The Description team includes the PI, three postdocs, and three postgraduate students; this group investigates a total of six West Nilotic languages: Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Thuri, and two Burun languages. The other two teams are similar in size and bring in a wide range of complementary expertise. Several researchers are based at institutions other than those of the three PIs, and there are also numerous research collaborators who are not formally part of the project but nonetheless closely involved on the basis of intersecting research agendas. 

This wider group meets regularly for informal presentations, journal discussions, and discuss topics relevant to the phenomena at hand. In sum, Nilomorph represents an extensive and vibrant research community, where descriptive research takes place in dialogue with a diversity of linguistic theories, typologies, and methodological approaches.

Within this wider project, the successful candidates will investigate the sound systems and grammars of understudied West Nilotic languages, in particular the Burun languages and Thuri.

The award covers tuition fees and a maintenance stipend at the UKRI rate (£20,780 in 25/26) for up to four years of PhD study. Progression to each year of the PhD programme is conditional on performance.

In addition, the award offers computing and recording equipment and funds to work with native-speaker consultants, conduct fieldwork in East Africa, attend conferences, and engage in impact activities with language communities (typically in relation to native-language literacy).


The award is open to UK and overseas students applying to start their first year of study for an on-campus PhD in Linguistics and English Language in academic year 2026/2027. Anyone with a UK 2:1 honours degree (or the international equivalent) in Linguistics, or a degree programme where Linguistics is central, is eligible to apply.


The successful candidates will be selected on the basis of the following criteria:

  1. excellent overall performance at undergraduate level;
  2. expertise in linguistic fieldwork / descriptive linguistics / language documentation, as developed for example in the context of an undergraduate course and a subsequent undergraduate dissertation;
  3. solid command of areas of linguistics that are most relevant to the project, i.e., phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax;
  4. meet the English language entry requirements for the PhD Linguistics and English Language;
  5. experience in the study of tone and other suprasegmentals;
  6. experience in the study of non-concatenative morphology;
  7. optionally, familiarity with the study of West Nilotic languages. 

Candidates are expected to start on 14th September 2026.


Applicants must submit an application to PPLS PG Enquiries (pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk) by Thursday 29th January 2026. The application package must include:

  • a personal statement stating reasons for applying for this post, and relevant qualifications that render the applicant suitable for this role;
  • a two-page CV;
  • official degree certificates (diplomas) and transcripts for undergraduate degree(s) and postgraduate degree(s) if applicable;
  • official translations of the certificates and transcripts if not in English;
  • proof that you meet our English language entry requirements
  • two academic references. 

To formally apply for this position, please send your application package to PPLS PG Enquiries (pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk) citing “ERC Synergy Nilomorph application” the message subject. Please ensure that you include “ERC Synergy Nilomorph” and your surname in all file names attached to your application.


A panel consisting of the PI of the Description component and other senior researchers within the Nilomorph project will rank eligible applications in terms of the academic quality of the applicants, with reference to eligibility and the above-mentioned criteria. A shortlist of the highest-ranked applicants will be invited to an interview. Interview invitations will be sent out in mid-February, and the interviews will be held in late-February or early-March. 

Applicants will be informed of the outcome by mid-March 2026.


If you have questions about this position, please email Dr Bert Remijsen at b.remijsen@ed.ac.uk

To apply, please send your application package to the Postgraduate Enquiries team at pplspgoffice@ed.ac.uk 


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