Speech Prosody is the biennial meeting of the Speech Prosody Special Interest Group (SProSIG) of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA).

Like any language, the natural sign languages of deaf communities differ from each other in their grammars and lexicons. A growing number of studies indicates that sign languages make use of the gestures of hearing speakers to build linguistic structure. This implies that variation and similarities…

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

An in-depth history of Large Language Models—and what their ubiquity, disruption, and creativity mean from a wider sociopolitical perspective.

This dissertation provides a detailed description of the interaction between verb semantics and the two grammatical voice categories in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Rigveda.

These are our lecturers (in alphabetical order) for the 2025 Summer School in Languages and Linguistics.

Sociopragmatics is a rapidly growing field and this is the first ever handbook dedicated to this exciting area of study.

On the 18th of June, Abel Warries successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Abel on this achievement!

This project investigates the sources of variability in prosody comprehension.

In our HANDS!Lab for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies, we run projects pertaining to sign language linguistics with a focus on Africa. In addition, we are running projects on sign language teaching, tactile signing, deaf people’s experiences with the legal system, and deaf history.

Data sets available for scientific/research purposes.

Lecture, CHiLL series

Speech Prosody 2024 includes seven special sessions. When making a submission, authors are asked to indicate whether they want their paper to be considered for a special session. You can find descriptions of each below.

Conference

PhD Research Projects:

Knowledge and culture subproject 4:

An English-taught bachelor’s programme is a perfect way to prepare for the international job market! Starting in September 2017, two new English-taught bachelor’s programmes addressing topical issues, each from its own perspective, will be offered by Leiden University’s Faculty of Humanities.

What is the impact of religion and its discourse on the lives of queer people in countries where LGBTQIA+ individuals are not accepted? University Lecturer Eduardo Alves Vieira wants to know just that. With an NWO-grant, he will take a closer look at the inclusive religion movement in Brazil.

On the 23rd of November, Angoua Tano succesfully defended his PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Tano on this great result.

On the 11th of May, Jean Chavula succesfully defended her PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Jean on this great result.

On the 11th of October, Micheal Swanton succesfully defended his PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Micheal on this great result.

On the 8th of May, Laura Migliori succesfully defended her PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Laura on this great result.

On the 21st of September, Benjamin Suchard succesfully defended his PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Benjamin on this great result.

On the 21st of June, Marieke Meelen succesfully defended her PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Marieke on this great result.

On the 10th of November, Sara Petrollino succesfully defended her PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Sara on this great result.

On the 10th of February, Qian Li succesfully defended her PhD-thesis and graduated. LUCL congratulates Qian on this great result.

Japanologist and linguist Martine Robbeets is going to use her newly acquired ERC Consolidator Grant to study the origins and spread of Trans-Eurasian languages, which include Japanese and Turkish. With it, she’s tackling one of the most controversial subjects in language history.

Across cultures, parents help their children master the social and linguistic codes needed in adult life. Recent research on language socialization found important cross-cultural differences, pointing out the need for more diversity for a full understanding of this process. Deaf communities form…

SAILS likes to occasionally organise workshops about topics that relate to our programme. On this page you can find more information about previous workshops.

On this page you will find more information about the selected projects of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund for 2025.

How do you make niche subjects interesting and accessible? Benjamin Suchard, historical linguist and researcher, seems to have created the perfect recipe, which consists of his various projects alongside his regular research, including a Twitter account and a major international film.

Study information

Study information

On the 12th of December, Ria Huijgen-Koolen successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Ria on this achievement!

Leiden University offers ambitious students the latest knowledge and the freedom to develop their own area of expertise.

Psycholinguistic research

This PhD project investigates how automatic sign language recognition technology can be further developed to analyse static images and textual descriptions of signs.

Using brain imaging to discover the area in the brain that recognizes emotion.

Research framework CIAS

Can smart suggestions help translators work better with machine translation? As machine translation becomes the norm, professional translators are asked to correct its output; a process called post-editing. But how can we make this easier and more effective?

Once you have obtained your bachelor’s degree, you will be ready for the next step: continuing your studies or entering the job market. Completing the Linguistics bachelor’s programme provides excellent preparation for both options.

Conference

The LUCL Labs consist of four spaces equipped to conduct high-quality experimental linguistic research.