Cristina Guardiano

Cristina Guardiano is a Full Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Department of Communication and Economics. Her research focuses on syntax, historical linguistics, and the Parametric Comparison Method (PCM), exploring syntactic variation across languages to reconstruct linguistic phylogenies. She specializes in formal syntax, differential object marking, and the intersection of syntax with computational and genetic data analysis.

• Key Affiliations: Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
• Research Themes: Syntactic parameters, language evolution, Romance dialectology, genetic-linguistic correlations

Guardiano's work integrates theoretical linguistics with interdisciplinary approaches, including collaborations with geneticists and computational linguists. Notable contributions include studies on the syntax of Italiot Greek, Sicilian dialects, and the application of parametric syntax to historical language classification. She leads initiatives like the TerraLing database to systematize cross-linguistic syntactic data.

Her teaching includes advanced courses on linguistics, parametric syntax, and the analysis of language evolution. She emphasizes critical evaluation of Large Language Models (LLMs) and their implications for linguistic theory.