Shortly after the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting classrooms received their first students in the 1992-1993 academic year, research activity in the field also started up at UPF. In the early years, one of the most powerful tools for this research was the University Institute for Applied Linguistics (IULA), created at UPF in 1994 and whose founders included the renowned philologist Teresa Cabré, today president of the Institute for Catalan Studies (IEC). Upon its creation, the IULA absorbed a pre-existing research group: the Neology Observatory (OBNEO).

The IULA became a leading institute in the field of linguistics, in both Spain and Latin America, in the 1990s, bringing together much of the research in this field. Since the first calls for applications under the Catalan government’s research group support programme (SGR), the department has gradually built a map of stable research groups in the disciplines related to translation and language sciences. Within this map, strategic importance has been given to internationalization, through the incorporation of researchers with PhDs earned at universities from outside Spain (40% of the current permanent or tenure-track teaching staff) and, in general, through UPF’s participation in international partnerships and networks in these research fields. Thanks to the ICREA research intensification programmes (Sènior and Acadèmia), the department has succeeded in implementing cutting-edge research lines in the field of language sciences and projects for the transfer of knowledge to society (with grants from Researcaixa).

Today, a total of eight research groups are affiliated with this UPF department within the framework of the SGR programme. (see list of current SGR research groups) Laia Mayol, current head of the department’s Research and Transfer Area, noted the multiple potential social benefits of research in these fields. ‘There is research that can be applied in the educational sphere, in teaching, to language teaching, to work with bilingualism, etc. We can also detect cognitive disorders based on language disorders or carry out projects to ensure web content accessibility for people with disabilities.’ In this regard, she noted that computational linguistics is of growing importance, for example, to develop artificial intelligence and machine-learning applications.

Mayol added that, thanks to the Internet and technological applications, researchers now have access to much larger volumes of data. ‘You used to be able to do research with 5,000 words; now, you can do it with millions.’ Of course, she warned, this also means learning to work with large volumes of data, so ‘you have to know a lot of statistics to do linguistics. [...] We are moving towards an increasingly hybrid landscape, one that blends ICT and the humanities’, she concluded. 

Research centres, centres for studies, and UNESCO chair

• The specific research centre Institute of Applied Linguistics (IULA):** In 2016, the former university institute became a specific research centre (CER, from the Catalan). Its lines of research are mainly in fields such as lexicons, language variation, and technological applications in linguistics and translation. The following research bodies are currently linked to it:

  • The SGR research group IULATERM: Stands out for its development of technological resources for processing linguistic data, such as text analysers and corpora, as well as for scientific outreach initiatives, such as the IULAMED portal. (more information in the section on current SGR research groups)

  • The UPF research group INFOLEX: Focuses on the study of the lexicon and information (semantics, morphology, syntax, etc.) linked to each term included in, or potentially eligible for inclusion in, both mono- and bilingual dictionaries.

  • The research group with the UPF-specific name Neology Observatory (OBNEO): Analyses the phenomenon of the emergence of neologisms in use, in Catalan and Spanish. It has promoted tools and terminology search engines such as BONEO, a database of lexicographic neologisms documented in social use (in the media, on social networks) and Garbell, a neologism analysis tool, carried out as part of the Institute for Catalan Studies (IEC) Research Programme.

• LSC-UPF Actua Centre for Catalan Sign Language Studies: Linked to the translation and interpreting studies offered by UPF, its scope goes well beyond training to include research, dissemination and awareness-raising. Amongst other things, it performs advisory tasks and promotes networking amongst social actors and LSC professionals.

• UNESCO Chair in Language Policies for Multilingualism: A research network created in 2018 and currently made up of 25 institutions, including universities and research centres from around the world, whose main purpose is interdisciplinary research in the field of multilingualism from various angles, such as education, linguistics, sociology, political science, economics or linguistic rights.