WORDS IN OUR THOUGHTS

Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU); España; On-site; EUR 17,000 - 21,000; Full time

Job summary

Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herrikiko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) in Spain leads the WIOT project, which investigates how language and thought relate, integrating philosophy, linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to understand how linguistic and conceptual abilities develop across populations.

The call offers First Stage Researcher (R1) PhD positions within WIOT, aiming to advance knowledge about language development, polysemy, and autism-related language use, under

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Linguistics or Philosophy is required (in phil language or psychology areas).
• PhD positions: First Stage Researcher (R1) applications for WIOT project.

Education

Master's degree in Linguistics or Philosophy

Job description

Organisation/Company Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) Department Vice-Rectorate for Research Research Field Philosophy Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 5 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Words in Our Thoughts (WIOT) investigates the relationship between language and thought, advancing the central hypothesis that words and concepts are not separate entities but are, in fact, the same thing. Rather than viewing concepts as pre-linguistic mental representations to which words are subsequently attached, WIOT argues that language is constitutive of distinctively human thought: concepts take form through the words of spoken or signed languages.

The project combines this theoretical proposal with two main areas of empirical research. First, it examines polysemy in typical language development, asking how children’s acquisition of words with multiple meanings contributes to the development and expansion of their conceptual repertoire. Second, it studies language and concepts in atypical development, particularly autism, investigating whether differences in autistic individuals’ use of words correspond to differences in conceptual organization.

By integrating philosophy, linguistics, developmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, WIOT aims both to provide a new account of the role of language in human cognition and to shed light on how linguistic and conceptual abilities develop across typical and atypical populations.

MASTER’S DEGREE IN LINGUISTICS OR IN PHILOSOPHY (IN THE PHIL LANGUAGE OR PSYCHOLOGY AREAS)

Additional Information

Additional comments

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY SECTIONS 4 AND 7 OF THE CALL