The 3rd Cycle Course in Linguistics main objectives are the development of advanced level research work in General and Portuguese Linguistics, from the perspective of Cognitive and Functional Linguistics, and the elaboration of a doctoral thesis.

 

The curricular part offers training for the reflection and analysis of language, in general, and of the Portuguese language, in particular, as an integral part of cognition and a means of social interaction.

The 3rd Cycle in Linguistics is the only doctoral program in Cognitive and Functional Linguistics in Portugal and for the Portuguese language. The Centre for Philosophical and Humanistic Studies (CEFH) of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences is one of the main national centres for research and training in Cognitive Linguistics. Besides the implementation of this doctoral programme, CEFH was essential to develop the first Master in Cognitive Linguistics (since 1998), and to host five international congresses on Cognitive Linguistics (2000, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012) and to the development of several research projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on the field of the Cognitive Linguistics of Portuguese Language. The teaching staff of this doctoral program includes professors from the Catholic University of Leuven (Leuven) and from the University of Vigo.

Aims

• To provide specialized training and research in General and Portuguese Linguistics, from the perspective of Cognitive and Functional Linguistics;
• To explore the relationships between language, cognition and society, with an emphasis on Portuguese;
• To study language as part of cognition, in connection with other cognitive abilities (perception, attention, categorization, memory) and as a manifestation of individual, cultural, social and historical experience;
• To analyse language in its use and apply advanced empirical methods;
• To contribute for arguing in favour of a maximally contextualized analysis of linguistic phenomena;
• To recognize the central role of semantics and explore the perspectival, dynamic and encyclopaedic nature of meaning;
• To investigate both the structure and the use of Portuguese, as well as its variation, change and acquisition, including comparison with other languages;
• To use and develop Corpus Linguistics tools and apply them in usage-based linguistic analysis;
• To explore the Portuguese language phenomena and issues, in the context of recent advances in neurobiology of consciousness, philosophy of mind and cognitive sciences in general;
• To support training in existing research projects, such as Convergence and Divergence between European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese and Mozambican and Angolan Portuguese, Cognitive Grammar of Portuguese, Cultural Conceptualization of Emotions, and participating in the main international forums and publications on Cognitive and Functional Linguistics.