The main body of my work is focused on the exploration of the interface between syntax and morphology in the domain of nominalizations, based on original data drawn from Greek and Malagasy (Austronesian). Malagasy is particularly interesting in this respect as it has a number of different types of nominalizations with very rich and quite transparent morphology, and with diverse distributional properties. I have conducted extensive field work with native speakers in Madagascar and have collected data relevant to my dissertation, as well as my work in Malagasy language acquisition. The broader agenda of my research is to capture generalizations related to the distribution of category-changing morphemes crosslinguistically. 

I believe that theoretical generalizations based on data from better-studied languages are only valid if they can be shown to also explain patterns attested in a variety of lesser-studied languages. Recent work in comparative syntax and syntactic typology has provided new insights into the cross linguistic distribution of morphosyntactic elements and has aided the advancement of syntactic theory. This work has provided the necessary analytical tools to reinterpret long-standing typological generalizations, such as word order universals and principles that govern syntactic structure crosslinguistically. An exciting, new area of research has been established with the ‘cartographic’ research program (c.f. Rizzi, Cinque, and others), that aims to map the functional projections in the different syntactic domains. My work aims to further advance this line of research and our understanding of the mechanisms that govern crosslinguistic variation and the constraints that restrict the number of possible structures and orders in human languages. In the domain of morphosyntax I explore the possibility that a number of phenomena, including derivational processes such as nominalizations, that have been traditionally assumed to fall within a separate grammatical component of morphology, can be explained by using independently-motivated syntactic mechanisms. If this is on the right track then the grammatical component can be simplified, a desired consequence. The results of my dissertation work show that this line of research is promising. 

A parallel area of research that interests me is how children and adults acquire the syntactic structures that I study. I believe that a strong syntactic theory must also explain patterns of language development for both children and adult learners and have actively been engaged in work on language acquisition. Comparative research in this area is not widely available and new contributions provide significant insights that can inform syntactic theory as well as theories of language development. Following my work on Malagasy morphosyntax, I became involved, in collaboration with Professors Edward Keenan and Nina Hyams, in a project that investigates the syntactic structure of Malagasy from a language acquisition point of view.  The data for the project was gathered, transcribed, and coded by Professor Cecile Manorohanta, Université Nord, Antsiranana, Madagascar. Preliminary results of this project have been submitted to Natural Language and Linguistic Theory and have been presented at a number of conferences. This research is guided by a ‘universalist’ approach to grammatical development, which assumes that a standard guiding principle of the generative enterprise is that grammars do not vary in wild and unpredictable ways, and that child grammars, like adult grammars, fall within the limits imposed by the principles and parameters of Universal Grammar. I aim to further pursue my work in Malagasy language acquisition and have started creating a new corpus of child data, in collaboration with my contacts in Madagascar. The corpus contains longitudinal data of three children (2, 4 and 6 years old) and will provide a rich empirical domain for further exploration of how Malagasy children acquire the syntactic properties of their language. 

I am also interested in Second Language acquisition and have conducted experimental research in the acquisition of English by adult Greek learners. In the future I aim to further pursue this area of research drawing from my field work and contacts in Madagascar. Most Malagasy native speakers learn French very early and recently the teaching of English has gained considerable interest. These trends can provide a significant area for experimental work on the acquisition of these two languages by Malagasy speakers and offer a valuable empirical base for theoretical work in the field. 

Finally, I am interested in typological generalizations related to the Austronesian languages. In the domain of nominalizations I have gathered information on how nominal structures are derived in a number of Austronesian languages and intend to further explore this area of research in the future.