At LUCL, researchers aim to understand, describe, and preserve the linguistic diversity of the indigenous Americas.

What is your preferred career path? Would you like to teach? Do you enjoy doing research? Or would you prefer a job that involves writing and editing? You will find that your Linguistics degree is a perfect preparation for the career of your choice.

At LUCL we study almost all aspects of a wide range of African languages. From phonology to anthropological linguistics, from theoretical syntax to urban youth languages, we study it all.

The specialisation in Modern Languages explores the structure, acquisition, history and use of five languages.

Workshop Series

Innovation through repetition. That is how university lecturer Jurriaan Witteman describes his research on the automatic processing of angry voices in the brain. The original research was conducted 20 years ago, but, with an NWO grant, Witteman is now going to see if those results are accurate.

In this dissertation, electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioural measures are used to investigate how allophonic tonal variants and sub-phonemic features are processed during Mandarin and Dutch speech production, visual processing of written words and reading aloud.

A linguistic prehistory of the Tarim Basin in Northwest China

This project, South American population history revisited: multidisciplinary perspectives on the Upper Amazon (SAPPHIRE), investigates population dynamics in western South America on the basis of traces in the geographical, genetic, archaeological, ethnological, and linguistic record.

PhD defence

Schuurman examines how Russia is escalating its covert operations against European countries.

A comparative analysis of legitimation strategies in tree hybrid regimes: Russia, Venezuela, and Seychelles.

Find out how to apply for Linguistics at Leiden University by following our step-by step guide.

Collaborative linguistic research on indigenous languages of Ecuador: description, documentation & materials

Morphology is the grammar of words. Morphologists study how words are built and what principles govern their form and their function.

On October 9th, Peter Alexander Kerkhof succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Peter Alexander on this great result.

At LUCL, researchers aim to contribute to a comprehensive and informed perspective on the human past.

On the 12th of May, Rita Barrera Virhuez-Eloranta successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Rita Barrera Virhuez-Eloranta on this achievement.

At LUCL, researchers aim to contribute to a comprehensive and informed perspective on the human past.

As a graduate of the MA Linguistics, with a specialisation in Linguistics, you will have developed a range of analytical and problem-solving skills that can be applied to many careers, in growing areas like speech technology, artificial intelligence, education, language documentation, language policy,…

Endangered languages can survive if they are taught properly to new speakers, such as people with a migrant background. This is what Professor by Special Appointment Felix Ameka will say in his inaugural lecture on 30 September. Dutch people can do their bit by being less ‘polite’ to people whose mother…

In the specialisation in Modern Languages you will explore the structure, acquisition, history and use of one or more of these five languages in depth: Chinese, English, French, German and/or Italian.

The Centre for Digital Humanities is pleased to announce that we are searching for two PhD Candidates who will carry out research within the Centre for Digital Humanities and the Leiden Centre of Data Science.

To be eligible for Linguistics at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

The Uzbek Ambassador Mr. Vladimir Norov visited Leiden University on 17 April. Mr. Norov met with the rector magnificus Professor Carel Stolker and attended the exhibition

Leiden University won the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Court Competition – English edition. The final round was held at 7 June 2019, in the ICC in The Hague.

Ornately decorated head pieces and jewellery, images of imposing mosques and photos of local people. The 'Splendours of the Silk Roads' exhibition depicts life and different cultures along this important trade route.

Studying Sumerian grammar in your free time: Bram Jagersma did it. He described centuries-old Sumerian using a modern method he devised himself. For this PhD research he was awarded the De La Court Award for Independent Research by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Science (KNAW).

To be eligible for Linguistics (research) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Paolo Sartori is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna. In Leiden he will deliver one guest lecture on Twilight of the Persianate: The Vernacularization of Central Asia (18th - early 20th Centuries) on 12 April and a masterclass on How can we…

On 26 June 2016 the Council of the Academia Europaea approved a class lists of scholars to be invited to accept membership at the Academia Europaea. Professor Lisa Cheng was elected for the section “Linguistic Studies”.

Lecture, Com(parative) Syn(tax) Series

Lecture, Com(parative) Syn(tax) Series

Lecture, Descriptive Linguistics Seminars

Lecture, Com(parative) Syn(tax) Series

Knowledge and culture subproject 2:

Three scholars of the Faculty of Humanities, Ahmad Al-Jallad, Thomas Fossen, and Tsolin Nalbantian, have received a Veni grant to implement their research plans over the coming years.

The University Executive Board has appointed Maarten Kossmann as professor for Berber Studies as of April 1, 2017. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics management team would like to congratulate Maarten with this appointment, which will strengthen LUCL’s descriptive linguistic research in general…

Bringing together scholars from a broad range of theoretical perspectives, The Language of Argumentation offers a unique overview of research at the crossroads of linguistics and theories of argumentation.