Linguistics is the scientific discipline that investigates the phenomenon of human language and communication in all its dimensions. It encompasses a very broad range of fields that study language either as a structure/system, as a sociolinguistic reality, or as a means of investigating the cognitive principles underlying language as a system.

Linguistic research covers many different aspects of the phenomenon of language, including the study of ancient languages and their development up to the present day, as well as research into contemporary linguistic data in order to identify systematic patterns in the way language is used by speakers and to develop digital applications such as speech recognition, machine translation, and many others.

The faculty members of the Linguistics specialization cover a large part of the field of Linguistics through both their teaching and their research activities.

At both undergraduate and postgraduate level, various aspects of language are taught within a range of areas, including:

• Dialectology (Morphophonology of Modern Greek Dialects, Fieldwork, Sociolinguistic Approaches to Dialectal Discourse)
• Historical Linguistics (Language Change, History of the Greek Language)
• Sociolinguistics (Dimensions of Linguistic Variation, Sociolinguistic Inequality, Languages in Contact, Language and Identity)
• Lexicography (Compilation of General and Specialized Dictionaries, Development of Lexicographic Databases)
• Lexicology (Word Analysis, Structure of the Lexicon, Specialized Vocabularies, Marginal Language)
• Morphology (Derivation, Compounding, Inflection, Comparative Morphology, Diachronic Morphology)
• Pragmatics and Discourse Analysis (Meaning and Implicature, Speech Acts, Conversational Organization, Discourse Genres)
• Semantics (Formal, Propositional, Lexical)
• Syntax (Theoretical, Comparative, Diachronic)
• Phonetics (Articulatory, Laboratory) / Phonology (Segmental, Prosodic)

— Faculty Members in Linguistics

— Special Teaching Staff (EDIP) in Linguistics

— Research Projects

Research conducted within the Linguistics specialization covers an equally broad range of topics, as reflected in the extensive and diverse research experience of its faculty members, both individually and collaboratively; their participation in funded national, European, and international research projects; and the large number of doctoral dissertations currently in progress or already completed under the supervision of faculty members in Linguistics.

In addition, the specialization is home to the highly successful Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects, which has been operating for approximately twenty years, while faculty members and students of the specialization have also organized numerous international conferences.

— Laboratories

Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects

The Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects (LMGD) of the Department of Philology at the University of Patras was founded in 2000 by Professor Emerita Angeliki Ralli, who also served as Director of the Laboratory from its establishment until August 2019. The Laboratory team has extensive experience in the documentation and study of dialects. The study of Modern Greek dialects constitutes an important endeavour aimed at preserving linguistic diversity and, through it, safeguarding cultural heritage.

Since September 2019, the LMGD has been directed by Professor of Dialectology and Phonetics Dimitris Papazachariou. Its research team consists of linguists who are faculty members of the University of Patras and other universities, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, and postgraduate students.

The Laboratory is housed in a specially designed space within the Department of Philology (Building 7, west wing) and is equipped with state-of-the-art electronic equipment, specialized bibliographic resources, and rare archival material.

Research conducted at the Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects represents the first systematic effort to study and document Modern Greek dialects through the creation of an organized database of spoken dialectal material. The research follows international developments in the documentation of endangered linguistic systems and makes use of modern technological tools in order to produce high-quality results.

The Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects aims to serve as a link between the academic community and local communities, encouraging local institutions and communities to take an active role in preserving their linguistic and cultural distinctiveness.

The resources produced by the Laboratory of Modern Greek Dialects constitute important reference points for contemporary dialectological research and are made available to both the academic community and local institutions. The dialect database, the electronic tri-dialectal dictionary, and the dialect map provide rich material for the study of linguistic varieties, as well as for research of historical and ethnographic interest.

— Conference Organization

• First Mediterranean Morphology Meeting (MMM1). Mytilene: September 1997
• Thermi International Summer School of Linguistics (TISSL). Mytilene: July 1999
• First International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 1). Patras: October 2000
• International Conference of Graduate Students in Linguistics (CONSOLE). Patras: December 2003
• Second International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 2). Mytilene: October 2004
• Third International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 3). Nicosia: June 2007
• Sixth Mediterranean Morphology Meeting (MMM6). Ithaca: September 2007
• Patras International Conference of Graduate Students in Linguistics (PICGL 1). Patras: March 2008
• Fourth International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 4). Chios: September 2009
• Second Patras International Conference of Graduate Students in Linguistics (PICGL 2). Patras: March 2010
• Fifth International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 5). Patras: June 2011
• Third Patras International Conference of Graduate Students in Linguistics (PICGL 3). Patras: May 2014
• Sixth International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 6). Patras: September 2014
• Morphological Variation and Contact. Patras: June 2015
• THALES: Pontus, Cappadocia, Ayvalık: In the Footsteps of Asia Minor Greek. Patras: November 2015
• Fourth Patras International Conference of Graduate Students in Linguistics (PICGL 4). Patras: May 2016
• Seventh International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (MGDLT 7). Rethymno: October 2016