Amsterdam Centre for Language and Communication

The large and thriving linguistics community at the University of Amsterdam is unified in the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC), constituting a strong research environment: in 2016 it ranks 19th in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, the highest ranking in continental Europe. It is characterized by its broad scope: Linguists from various theoretical approaches, including Functional Discourse Grammar, Generative Grammar, Neural Networks, and Optimality Theory fruitfully collaborate in research and teaching. These theoretical perspectives are applied to different modalities of language (speech, signing, writing), variation in time (diachrony), variation in space (dialectal variation and language contact), first and second language acquisition, multilingualism, language creation (i.e., the study of Creole languages), language loss (pathology/disorders), and communication. Language is thus explored in the broadest possible sense, to uncover the underlying principles and mechanisms of our language system and the use of this system in communication.

The ACLC is embedded in the Dutch national research institute LOT ( Landelijke Onderzoeksschool Taalwetenschap), which organizes annual national linguistics conferences, publishes PhD dissertations written in The Netherlands, and offers courses to research MA students and PhD candidates, among other activities