The first truly comprehensive grammar of the Greek language to be produced, concentrating on the real patterns of use in today's Greek.Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language is a complete reference guide to modern Greek grammar.It is the first truly comprehensive grammar of the language to be produced, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Greek, and will provide the standard reference work for years to come.The Grammar is an ideal reference source for the adult learner and user of Greek. It is suitable either for independent study or for use in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types.The volume contains a comprehensive description of Greek grammar, offering an analysis of the complexities of the language and providing full and clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on the Greek spoken and written by native speakers today.An extensive index, glossary of linguistic terms and numbered paragraphs provide readers with easy access to the information they require.Features include:* detailed treatment of all grammatical structures* up-to-date examples* separate and detailed treatment of syntax* particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty

One of the core challenges in linguistics is elucidating compounds—their formation as well as the reasons their structure varies between languages. This book on Modern Greek rises to the challenge with a meticulous treatment of its diverse, intricate compounds, a study as grounded in theory as it is rich in data. Enhancing our knowledge of compounding and word-formation in general, its exceptional scope is a worthy model for linguists, particularly morphologists, and offers insights for students of syntax, phonology, dialectology and typology, among others. The author examines first-tier themes such as the order and relations of constituents, headedness, exocentricity, and theta-role saturation. She shows how Modern Greek compounding relates to derivation and inflection, and charts the boundaries between compounds and phrases. Exploring dialectically variant compounds, and identifying historical changes, the analysis extends to similarly formed compounds in wholly unrelated languages.

This book, first published in 1990, is a study of both the specific syntactic changes in the more recent stages of Greek and of the nature of syntactic change in general. Guided by the constraints and principles of Universal Grammar, this hypothesis of this study allows for an understanding of how these changes in Greek syntax occurred and so provides insight into the mechanism of syntactic change. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.