After successful completion of the course, students are expected: 

• To describe the basic goals and tenets of Generative Grammar, a theory which seeks to characterize the system of knowledge underlying speakers’ ability to produce and parse sentences when using language
• To be familiar with the rudiments of syntactic analysis and syntactic theorizing and argumentation
• To describe and analyze the major syntactic structures of Modern Greek (including e.g. word order and pro-drop, sentence/clause types and aspects of the nominal structure) as well as to understand their relevance to linguistic theory
  
  

• Adaptation to new situations
• Application of knowledge in practice
• Decision making
• Demonstration of social, professional and ethical responsibility
• Efficient search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information using the essential technologies
• Exercise criticism and self-criticism
• Independent Assignment
• Promotion of free, creative and inductive thinking
• Respect for diversity and multiculturalism

Short Course Description: 
The course deals with syntax, the core of grammar that connects meaning to sound, with a focus on the Greek language (taking cross-linguistic differences into account). More specifically, it introduces students to the study of the syntactic structure of the language from the point of view of Generative Grammar as it has been formed within the Minimalist Program, by presenting the relevant theoretical framework and the methodological tools for the analysis of empirical data. The course covers the definition of syntax and its place in grammar, phrasal structure (i.e. how phrases are formed and how syntax relates to the lexicon and morphology), as well as the interdependence relationships between individual lexical items within the phrase and the sentence (including cases of syntactic shifting). The discussion is enriched by also taking into account empirical evidence from the research field of psycholinguistics.

The course is organized as follows:

• Language, grammar and the subject of syntax (Week 1)
• Syntactic categories (“parts of speech”) (Week 2)
• Phrase structure (Weeks 3-4)
• The syntax-lexicon relation (Week 5)
• Argument types and grammatical functions (Weeks 6-7)
• Agreement and argument relations (Weeks 8-9)
• Left periphery I: Complement clauses (Weeks 10-11)
• Left periphery ΙΙ: Questions and Ᾱ-dependencies (Weeks 12-13)

Final written exam based on open-ended questions, short-answer questions and/or multiple choice questionnaires (including true/false questions): 70%

Essay assignment: 30%

Language of evaluation: Greek

Specifically-defined evaluation criteria become available via e-Class.

- Readings:

• Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2008). An introduction to the study of language (Trans. E. Vazou et al.., Ed. G. I. Xydopoulos). Patakis. [in Greek]
• Lekakou, M., & Topintzi, N. (Eds.). (2022). An introduction to linguistics: Foundational concepts and basic branches with an emphasis on the Greek language. Gutenberg. [in Greek]
• Philippaki-Warburton, I. (1992). Introduction to theoretical linguistics. Nefeli. [in Greek]
• Theofanopoulou-Kontou, D.  (1989). Generative syntax: Government and binding. Kardamitsas. [in Greek]

- Suggested bibliography:

• Carnie, A. (2012). Syntax: A generative introduction. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT Press.
• Der Dikken, M. (2013). The Cambridge handbook of generative syntax. Cambridge University Press.
• Roussou, A. (2015). Syntax: Grammar and Minimalism [Undergraduate textbook]. Kallipos, Open Academic Editions. http://hdl.handle.net/11419/581 [in Greek]
• Terzi, A. (2015). Comparative syntax and language disorders [Undergraduate textbook]. Kallipos, Open Academic Editions http://hdl.handle.net/11419/2642 [in Greek]
• Theofanopoulou-Kontou, D. (1989). Transformational syntax: From theory to practice. Kardamitsas. [in Greek]
• Van Valin, R. D. (2001). An introduction to syntax. Cambridge University Press.

- Related academic journals:

• Γλωσσολογία/Glossologia (http://glossologia.phil.uoa.gr/)
• Journal of Greek Linguistics
• Journal of Linguistics
• Language
• Lingua
• Syntax