Language as Structure and as History
The Division covers the English language at every level of its structure, syntax, phonology, morphology, semantics and pragmatics, together with the social and cognitive dimensions of its use, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, applied linguistics and language pedagogy. The historical and diachronic study of language holds an equally central place, from language families and the earliest attestations of English to its present-day varieties, with particular attention to the mechanisms of language change and language contact. Teaching and coursework are conducted in English, with constant reference to Greek and other languages in comparative perspective.
From Texts to Data
Research in the Division draws on digitised and annotated corpora spanning successive periods of English and other languages, from the earliest written records to present-day usage. This material allows regularities and changes in linguistic structure to be identified systematically, related to historical and social conditions, and used to test theoretical claims against verifiable evidence rather than isolated examples. This approach is interdisciplinary and draws on modern tools and methods of analysis.
Research Infrastructure and International Partnerships
The Division maintains research infrastructure for building and studying digital corpora, with particular emphasis on the diachronic documentation of English and Greek. Its members take part in joint European graduate programmes, in summer schools and scholarly meetings on linguistics, and in the editing of international academic journals, placing the Division's teaching and research within a wider European and international network.
Skills with Multiple Applications
Studies in the Division develop precision in describing and analysing linguistic data, familiarity with computational and corpus-based methods, and the ability to argue from evidence. These skills are put to use in language teaching, translation, natural language processing, and language documentation and preservation, as well as in research and professional settings that call for systematic data analysis.