I agree with Rewt, you'll have plenty of background reading to do, and you'll be doing this throughout your phd. You have techniques to learn, previous research in your area to build on. You might not be doing physical work but now is when you have to start building your understanding of your topic, by the end of say 6-8 months you need a clear view on what you hope to achieve and how you plan to go about doing that. And then speaking from experience, that can all change rapidly and your work go in a completely different direction.
Don't worry about the first few months too much more than getting to grips with the ideas and past work in your field. And good luck!

I can only speak from my own experience. I was accepted onto my PhD project in August but due to legal back and forth between the Uni and external company sponsor, I didn't actual start until February of the following year. This was only an issue of no income for those months but there was no issue with the funding, once it had been awarded to the project the Uni had 12 months to start using it or it would have been allocated to a different project and funding would have had to be applied for to the funding awards body.

So a short delay to finish your current degree should not be an issue, as I'm sure they are aware of your studies when you applied for the position.

Good luck!

I wouldn't worry too much right now, given the current climate maybe look at this as 4 years security of employment on a subject you wanted to work on (which I assume by you applying for the phd position in the first place).
It can easily take six months to a year before you have a grasp on the subject and start doing or even planning something of importance.
Try to give yourself time and don't put pressure on yourself that everything has to be done in the first few weeks or months, that's simply not the case. Take small steps and if you feel the same in six months, talk it over with your supervisor.
Once you quit you might never have this chance again. So think long and hard before giving yourself the chance to move forward with this.

Yes it's an adjustment. I don't like the colour switch at all. Sadly I've seen forums change a lot over the years and not always for the better of the communities using them. But so far it's an improvement as the old forum was outdated by a long way. Early days though.
Still, there's something to be said for nostalgia.

What do you mean by food traceability? Import export? From farm to supermarket, from farm to consumer home. Traceability in food processing, farming standards, slaughter house, the 'big four' supermarkets have a huge role. The import standard regulations.

Are you talking about contaimination from source, from processing plants, packaging issues, storage issues, sell/use by dates.

You should have a few places to find data, and then you can work based on consumer needs, trending, what currently works, the gaps you want to fill with your project or just offer improvements on current standard levels.

Cost of implementing your idea should also be a consideration. A solution that is cost prohibitive isn't a solution at all. Reach out and contact researchers in your area, discuss their work with them, maybe not even those in the food industry, stats people, computer science people that know already what sort of algorithms are already used to project things in the food industry, or any industry that's consumer or health care based.

You have a couple of years still, you've got time.

If funding rules out a joint project I'd still work it that department PT become part of your work, maybe not in a supervisor role but why not see if you could later publish something together, based on a 'placement' or collaboration that allows you to spend time in department PT learning as much as you can, maybe over a summer or so?

Are these 'departments' actually different universities? Because I know cross department help in projects can happen in the sciences, you usually just need a willing supervisor who has the time to invest in your project and happy to have their name on your publications. If you have work that is looking like publication worthy then your current supervisors should have too much problem with you finding an expert to contribute to your project. If you don't you may just have to wait it out another year or so until you are at a stage where this department PT could be a benefit without having a claim on your funding.

I'd speak to your current Dept A supervisors when you have a clear option - a plan where Prof X in Dept PT is willing to work with you on the theory of Y so you can implement that with Dept A - and publish.

Talking about a possible collaboration on your work is a brighter note than telling your current supervisors you want to transfer to Dept PT because you lack knowledge. The PhD is yours remember, you have to do all of the work, if supervisors in Dept A aren't willing to offer that and they've spoken to you about their inability to offer that advice/guidance then speak to them about approaching this other Prof.

It's best to keep the lines of communication open so your current supervisors are aware that you have problems that need to be addressed for your project to succeed, either they find that help for you or you explain that you've found a source at Dept PT that could provide the insight.

My problem wasn't the work, it was the breakdown of my relationship with my industry supervisor. I went from having a submission ready thesis to having him want changes every time I gave him the finished draft. My Uni were all ready to submit, I had my viva penciled in to, now over two years later, six months ago he handed my 'final-final-final' draft back with at least 30 question marks in places that make so no sense.
Just looking at my laptop (where all my PhD work is) makes me feel sick to my stomach. Luckily I've worked in industry straight from finishing my project with no issues but I'd like my PhD, I worked damn hard for 4 years on that and it should have been submitted at least 2 years ago but my Uni just told me that I had to complete whatever changes my industry supervisor wanted because the research was carried out using his lab.

Ouch. The cold hard truth. In the UK Pharma jobs are 95% in those areas and 5% elsewhere. If I was you I'd stay in academic research. Better salary there too.

We had a 12 hour limit on outside work during my PhD. Over that and funding could be withdrawn. It won't be possible at all if you want to submit on time so be careful towards the end of your project.

Like you said, the department PCs can do the heavy lifting. Don't spend a lot of money on something not that important. Most PhD students end up living in their writeup spaces anyway.

Also keep in mind if the start date isn't for months they won't be in any rush. Just wait for a few more weeks then maybe email HR or any contact that was given with the description.

The best place to get an answer to this, if not from a Linguistics prof, is a career advisor at the university you are considering. Maybe look at the skill specifications of any current Linguistic jobs being advertised.
Your BA and MSc won't disadvantage you if you then have a PhD in Linguistics. But it also sounds like you aren't sure which path you want for your career and if that comes through during an interview you could be passed over for someone who presents as very committed and can give a good answer to the 'where do you see yourself in 5/10 years' question.

What do you mean 'you don't think so'?
You are trying to prove you have the ability to research a PhD level question in a field that no matter the area will require you to show you can pinpoint the main issue, improve on the ideas already present in th field of study, do the work scientifically, and present results that further the knowledge and offer more questions to consider.
You can achieve exactly this by offering a presentation of whatever scientific work you have completed to date.
What exactly do you think you should be doing if not this??

If you provide your own funding most applications will be of interest to a university. If you are applying to funded PhDs the Uni will only care if they make you an offer and you tell them you're waiting to hear back from your other applications. You can accept one position and later withdraw for a better offer but this is frowned upon. But really, who cares, this is your career. Good luck.

Nowadays, if you don't know the PI, your application will need publications, proof you can provide funding for projects, and are an 'expert' in the field. These things do matter in STEM