The overall research project.
‘Argument realization’ is a fundamentally important aspect of the syntax of a language which concerns the way in which verb meaning determines the number of arguments and their morpho-syntactic and semantic properties. The project will investigate this in detail for pre-modern Japanese, in essence giving a comprehensive account of the basic grammar of each of the stages of the Japanese language, from the beginning of its recorded history in the 8th century until the beginning of the 17th century. This will also enable us to describe the changes that have taken place between those stages of the language.
The project begins in January 2009 and finishes in September 2013. The initial phase of the project will consist in building an extensive electronic database of representative texts which will form the basis for the descriptive and analytical work of the project. The results of the project will bear on the description and understanding of pre-modern Japanese and its changes through time, impacting on understanding and interpretation of earlier texts. The project will also have a number of implications for general linguistic theory, both with regards to frameworks for understanding verb semantics and clause structure, and with regard to the application of syntactic theory to ‘dead’ languages.

The D.Phil. project.
The D.Phil. project can be on any area within the overall research project.

Application.
Candidates are expected to have an MA or M.Phil in Japanese or in Linguistics. Applicants from other fields, or with very strong undergraduate degrees, are welcome, but must have demonstrable competence in modern Japanese and in some form of pre-modern Japanese, as well as in linguistics.

Applications should be submitted through the usual Graduate Admissions Process for the University of Oxford (online information here) by 23rd January 2009. In particular, applicants are asked to take note of the following points:
1. Applicants should submit an application for the "Doctor of Philosophy in Oriental Studies".
2. Applicants should in their study plan and research proposal make clear that they wish to be associated with the research project 'Verb semantics and argument realization in premodern Japanese'. They should outline their interest in and background for the research project, but need not work out a detailed research proposal.
3. Applicants should make clear in their study plan and research proposal, and in the section marked “Funding”, that they wish to be considered for the studentship attached to the project 'Verb semantics and argument realization in premodern Japanese'. They should also indicate in their application whether they wished to be considered for admission even if their application for this particular funding is not successful.
For further information please contact: either the Oriental Studies Graduate Office (e-mail) or the director of the research project Professor Bjarke Frellesvig (e-mail).

More information : here