Applied linguistics based on the description of the lexicon of natural languages is a field of study and work that paves the way for research and production of different resources necessary for languages. It is a multifaceted field in various senses:

  • First, because all languages must have textual and lexical resources for representation of reality (corpora, dictionaries, terminology). These expression and communication resources are constantly updated due to social progress. Lexicon is the component of languages that changes more quickly. 
  • Second, because lexicon reflects the social status of languages and the way in which social groups perceive and transmit reality. 
  • Third, because lexicon is one of the keys to organizing information and to detecting, manually and automatically, the most representative content of texts, both general and specialized.

1

To acquire basic training in models of description of lexicon and in methodology for vocabulary analysis (lexical morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics).  

2

To acquire the appropriate knowledge and necessary skills to create and to extract relevant information from textual resources (corpora) and lexicons (dictionaries) by using language technologies.

3

To get to know some lines of research (applications to lexicon) that are developed at the Institute for Applied Linguistics (IULA) of Universitat Pompeu Fabra: forensic linguistics, language planning, dialectology, development of corpora and dictionaries, neology, and development of language technology. 

 

Faculty

The faculty responsible for this specialization develop their research within the framework of the different research groups of the IULA (Institute for Applied Linguistics). Their lines of research include: terminology, neology, specialized lexicography, specialized discourse, lexical variation and change, lexicology (morphology, semantics and lexical syntax), language technologies, computational linguistics, and corpus linguistics, among others.

Courses

The following courses are specifically associated with this specialization:

  • Morphology and the Lexicon
  • Terminology, neology and society 
  • Vocabulary and Language Teaching

The following methodological course is strongly recommended for this specialization:

  • Corpora and Computational Tools

The other required methodological course can be chosen according to the student’s academic interests.

Languages of instruction

The courses in the specialization are generally taught in Spanish, although it is necessary to know enough English to be able to follow the methodological and advanced foundational courses. In the case of some courses, written work can be presented in other languages with prior authorization from the instructor.

Career paths after the Master’s

  • Linguistic specialists for official terminology centres and terminology units at international organizations.
  • Specialists in language technologies for technology companies.
  • Specialists in lexicography, terminology and neology for the publishing sector.
  • Linguistics specialists for the development of language resources (dictionaries, grammars, terminologies, textual corpora) at language academies.
  • Language planning specialists for government centres and the private sector.
  • Specialists in various branches of applied linguistics, especially in the creation and maintenance of lexical and textual resources and computer tools, and in language planning and management, for public and private language services.
  • Specialists in language technologies for libraries and documentation centres (information retrieval, document indexing, terminology management).
  • Researchers for research and development centres in applied linguistics, especially in the creation of linguistic tools and resources.