Research Associate

Advertisement no. IRCC/EXT331/2026 (Job Reference Number 50949590)
IITB Project Recruitment: Project title: THE GROWTH OF GRAMMAR IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
About the project: This project aims to investigate early language acquisition across diverse Indian
languages to map key developmental trajectories in young children. By compiling and analyzing
naturalistic spoken data, it addresses a critical empirical gap in South Asian linguistics, where
cross-linguistic developmental studies remain scarce. Beyond advancing theoretical insights into
human cognition, the findings will inform early childhood education, support curriculum design, and
guide targeted intervention frameworks for children with developmental language delays.
Essential Qualifications & Experience:
1. Ph.D. in Linguistics (or submitted thesis awaiting viva) preferably with specialization in Syntax,
Formal Semantics, or Language Acquisition / Psycholinguistics.
2. Demonstrated research competency and strong theoretical grounding.
3. High diligence, organizational skills, and independence in managing project timelines.
Desirable Qualifications / Preferences:
1. Language Competence: Working proficiency / native competence in at least two of the following
languages (in addition to English): Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi.
2. Fieldwork Experience: Prior hands-on experience collecting linguistic or developmental data in
the field.
3. Technical Skills: Familiarity with annotation tools (e.g., ELAN, Praat) and statistical packages
for data analysis (e.g., R, RStudio).
Job Profile:
We are seeking a motivated, detail-oriented Postdoctoral Fellow to join a DST-funded project
investigating early language acquisition. The project involves experimental and observational
methodologies, empirical field data collection, corpus annotation, and theoretical analysis of child
language development.
Key Responsibilities
a. Design and execute experimental protocols (e.g., elicited production, comprehension tasks,
repetition tasks) and collect naturalistic child language data in field settings.
b. Transcribe, gloss, and annotate audio/video corpora.
c. Conduct quantitative and theoretical linguistic analyses on acquisition data.
d. Coordinate field logistics, participant recruitment, and ethics/consent workflows.
e. Prepare research manuscripts for publication and present findings at national/international
conferences
End date of Application 22.10.2026
For pay details and more information visit our website
https://ep.iitb.ac.in/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG9zdF9pbnN0X2d1aWQ9Q0Q4QTdDRUFERjI0MUZEMUE3QTRBRkU5OUZDODA2RUImY2FuZF90eXBlPUVYVA%3d%3d&sap-theme=sap_corbu&sap-client=300&sap-language=EN#

Work arrangement
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