Assistant Professor (Sociolinguistics)

University of Hawaii•Honolulu, HI

31d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a full-time, tenure-track position in Linguistics, with a specialization in sociolinguistics, to begin Fall 2027, pending position clearance and availability of funds. The department seeks a colleague whose research centers on language variation and change in language contact situations. The successful candidate will examine linguistic and social factors that affect language maintenance, shift, or revitalization, for situations involving contact of spoken and/or signed languages, which could include pidgins, creoles, home or village sign languages, language varieties, or low-resource languages. Desired research foci include one or more of the following: the sociolinguistics of revitalization; typological perspectives on language contact; the sociolinguistics of multimodal contact; and computational sociolinguistics, including the application of social network modeling or the investigation of the sociolinguistic impacts of language technology and new media. The successful candidate will also contribute to the department’s strong commitment to language sustainability in the Pacific, Asia, and beyond; the study of language through data-driven methods, including experimental, documentary, and computational approaches; and community engagement in language work. Researchers with expertise in the languages of Oceania are especially encouraged to apply. The Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa offers BA, MA and PhD degree programs in Linguistics. The campus is committed to integrating Native Hawaiian language, culture and/or values into its academic and campus environment.

Requirements

Doctorate (PhD or equivalent) in Linguistics, Anthropology, Applied Linguistics or related field from a college or university of recognized standing. (ABD will be considered, but doctoral degree must be awarded by August 1, 2027).
Experience, expertise, and evidence of an active research program in sociolinguistics.
Evidence of relevant teaching experience or demonstrated ability to establish a successful teaching program.
Evidence of engagement with language communities, including collaborative, community-based, or community-directed research, teaching, and/or service.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively and collegially.

Nice To Haves

Expertise in one or more other areas that will broaden or enhance the strengths of our linguistics community, including but not limited to: language revitalization/reclamation, language policy, language documentation, language acquisition, sign language linguistics, linguistic typology, historical linguistics, computational and experimental methods.
Expertise in the languages of Oceania.
Demonstrated excellence in teaching, training, and supervision of graduate and undergraduate students.
Record of and/or demonstrated commitment to securing external funding.

Responsibilities

Develop and teach undergraduate/graduate courses in the designated area of specialization and in general areas based on the needs of the department.
Supervise and mentor graduate and undergraduate students.
Serve on department committees, including chairing graduate committees.
Conduct and publish original scholarly research in an area of specialization.
Pursue opportunities for external funding.
Strengthen the department’s research and teaching in sociolinguistics and language contact, including by convening research groups and organizing international meetings.
Contribute service at the department, college, university, and community levels.
Other duties as assigned by the Department Chair.