Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is one of the largest universities in Germany. Thanks to its location in the Rhine-Main science region, the university can unfold to its full potential and showcase its innovative power and dynamism. Its status as a comprehensive university allows for multidisciplinary learning and teaching and has great potential for internationally renowned, interdisciplinary research. Almost all of its institutes are located on a single campus close to the Mainz city center – creating a lively academic culture for researchers, teaching staff, and students from every continent.

The advertised position is part of the DFG Research Unit “Phonologically Weak Units: Acquisition, Processing and Modality” (FOR 5757), which investigates weak elements such as reduced syllables in language development and processing. The joint project led in Marburg includes staff from the Universities of Mannheim, Frankfurt, Mainz and Erfurt as well as the Leibniz Institute for Lifelong Learning in Bonn and the Leibniz Institute for the German Language in Mannheim (https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/531445091?language=en).

The sub-project “Unlearning distributions of weak elements: Evidence from German-Turkish learners of L3 French” (https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/556832628?language=en) is concerned with prosodic transfer effects from German and Turkish onto the target language French. The project is led by Prof. Christoph Gabriel (Mainz) and Prof. Mathias Scharinger (Marburg) and offers exciting interdisciplinary approaches in the fields of phonetics, phonology, multilingualism and neurolinguistics.

Your tasks:
- Preparation and implementation of the collection of speech data
- Coordination of data collection in the partner laboratories
- Phonetic analysis of prosodic data
- Presentation of research results at conferences and publication of results in international journals
- Willingness to travel to France and Turkey to collect data
- Active participation in the events of the research group
- In case of the qualification goal of habilitation, there is a teaching obligation of two hours per week in the field of French linguistics

Your profile:
In addition to the general requirements according to public services law, applicants must meet the recruitment requirements stipulated in § 57 of the Hochschulgesetz of Rhineland-Palatinate.
- A successfully completed scientific university degree (diploma, master’s or comparable) in linguistics or phonetics or in related subjects, provided they have a linguistic component (e.g., teaching degree in German, French or Turkish)
- The qualification goal of habilitation requires a successfully completed doctorate in linguistics/phonetics or in related subjects with a linguistic/phonetic component
- In case of a doctorate as a qualification goal, a high motivation to complete this in the area of L2 acquisition
- Good knowledge of phonetics, phonology and prosody, an interest in neurolinguistics is desirable
- Experience in handling and analyzing speech data
- Independent and careful scientific working style, confidence in writing scientific texts and presentations as well as basic knowledge of statistics
- Good knowledge of French and English (at least B2), good knowledge of German or the willingness to acquire it is desirable. Knowledge of Turkish is an advantage.

The position is paid according to EG 13 TV-L and to be filled by 10/1/2025. The position is limited to a period of 4 years.

The position serves the purpose of academic qualification (doctorate/habilitation). In the case of a doctoral project, the scope of employment is 65%. In the case of a habilitation project you can be hired at post-doctoral level (provided the above-mentioned qualifications are available). The scope of employment will then be 100%.

Please let us know which qualification goal you are aiming for.

JGU is diverse and welcomes qualified applications from people with varied backgrounds.

We aim to increase the number of women in the field of research and teaching and therefore encourage female researchers to apply.

People with severe disabilities and people with disabilities who are treated equally in accordance with Section 2 (3) SGB IX will be given preferential consideration if they are suitable.

Are you ready for a new challenge and interested in this varied and responsible position? Then submit your complete application [cover letter, CV, relevant (work) certificates (with German recognition if applicable)] by 6/29/2025, via the „Apply now“ button, see https://stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de/#/jgu/job/48409

Job code: 116-2025
Published on: 5/30/2025
Application deadline: 6/29/2025
Temporary job: Temporary (period of 4 years)
Location: Mainz
Extent: 65% or 100% (depending on qualifications)
Start date: From 10/1/2025

Please contact Prof. Christoph Gabriel (https://www.romanistik.uni-mainz.de/gabriel/) if you have any questions!