You can ask virtual assistant Siri about the weather, but you can’t have a real conversation with it yet. You can’t refer to anything that’s been said before, or ask the system why it says what it says. Stephan Raaijmakers, Professor by Special Appointment from TNO, hopes to change this.

What categories exist in the languages of pastoralists? Do these semantic concepts reflect universal or languagespecific tendencies? What (environment? culture?) governs the similarities (or the differences) attested crosslinguistically in cattle colour systems?

Experimental research

The pre-master's is a bridging programme for students who have applied for the MA Linguistics, but who, according to the Board of Admissions, still have deficiencies in their educational background. Once you have completed the pre-master’s programme, you will be admitted to the relevant specialization…

Lecture, Workshop

How do social and political developments influence the process of meaning-making in different parts of the world? Why is a particular discourse interpreted in numerous ways depending on the context it is produced and propagated? And how are culture, politics, history, and language intertwined?

Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Arabia

This project examines the notion of sacred fertility and sacred landscapes, associated rituals and material culture, both archaeological and ethnographic manifestations in the Horn of Africa.

This project aims to investigate the underlying (neurocognitive) linguistic processes of ellipsis resolution, particularly gapping.

On November 21st, Frederick Boswell succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Frederick on this great result.

When literature, cultural aspects, and data-driven language learning meet in a classroom.

Argumentation and rhetorics is the study of how we convince people verbally. In other words, what do people say and how do they say it?

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to a novel theory of syntax, which analyzes grammar from a semantic perspective.

On the 10th of November, Martin Kroon successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Martin on this achievement!

On May 3rd, Varun de Castro Arrazola succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Varun on this great result.

On the 29th of June, Martin Kohlberger successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Martin on this achievement!

I am Nargess Asghari. I came to the Netherlands in 2017 to study Linguistics at Leiden University. I wrote my pre-master’s and master’s theses on Iranian Sign Language and Berbey Sign Language (an emerging family sign language in the village of Berbey, Mali), respectively, under the supervision of Dr.…

Empirical and experimental research focusing on literary, legal, medical and audiovisual translation.

LeiCenSAA is dedicated to the study of Ancient Arabia and the sharing of knowledge and expertise on this topic. Thefore it aims to collaborate closely with other research in the field.

The Historia Naturalis Brasiliae Reconsidered

On the 6th of July, Anthony Jakob successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Anthony on this achievement!

If you want to follow a full academic programme, the next step after obtaining your bachelor’s is a master’s degree (MA) at a Dutch or international university. And there may be no better place for your further master’s study than Leiden University!

If you have a question, there are various ways to get in touch with us.

If you have a question, there are various ways to get in touch with us.

We are delighted to announce that Speech Prosody 2024 will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands (02–05 July 2024). The conference aims to showcase the facets of prosodic variation and their role in the production, comprehension, and acquisition of speech in order to obtain a better understanding of the…

On the 2nd of July, Axel Palmér successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Axel on this achievement!

On the 25th of September, Alzenir Mendes Martins de Menezes successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Alzenir on this achievement!

The LUCL Office coordinates the day-to-day running of the institute. It is responsible for handling general enquiries and can assist with all practical matters concerning LUCL and its staff.

Professor Nivja de Jong has been included in the list of most influential scientists by Elsevier Data Repository. This list of scientists with the highest impact is compiled annually based on citations. De Jong appears on the annual list for the third consecutive time.

On the 6th of November, Niels Schoubben successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Niels on this achievement!

Do you have any questions about the bachelor's programme Linguistics? Don't hesitate to contact us!

As a doctor, coming to a decision together with a patient: how do you do that in the best possible way? Researchers Geert Warnar and Roosmaryn Pilgram, who jointly teach a course within the MA in Dutch Studies, are entering into a virtual collaboration with the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa to find the…

The English Language and Culture programme focuses on four areas, namely: philology, literature, linguistics and language acquisition. It also offers several specialisation options, ranging from renaissance literature to the use of metaphors.

Conference, Symposium

University lecturer Lucien van Beek has been awarded a LUF Praesidium Libertatis Grant. He will use the sum of 75,000 euros to research the thinking of people in ancient and prehistoric times. To do that, he will look for unusual or striking metaphors in the earliest Indo-European languages.

NIMAR offers educational programs (BA-level) about Morocco, the Arabic world and North-West Africa.

The Faculty of Humanities has 8 institutes:

Welcome to the conference site of ICEHL-21, which will be held in Leiden, 7-11 June, 2021. If you are on Twitter, you may be interested in following @ICEHL21 for regular news, updates and reminders.

Do you have a question about student life in Leiden, studying at Leiden University or do you want more information about a specific course? You can get in contact with a student from the Linguistics master's directly!

Do you have a question about student life in Leiden, studying at Leiden University or do you want more information about a specific course? You can get in contact with a student from the Linguistics master's directly!

In August 2024 LUCL published its Self-Assessment for the past 6 years (2018-2023), which is now made open access. The international evaluation committee made the site visit in October 2024 and their report is expected to appear in March 2024.

PhD defence

You can do a degree in Artificial Intelligence at Leiden University, but its role is also increasing in other degree programmes.

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

The BA in Linguistics programme draws on Leiden University’s renowned expertise in linguistics to bring students the widest range of subjects and languages offered by any institute in Europe. As a student, you will have the chance to study nearly extinct languages, to be involved in experimental research…