Dr Maria Sanchez-Ortiz

Biography

I joined the University of Aberdeen in 2016 as a Senior Lecturer in Translation and Interpreting Studies and have been actively engaged in translator and interpreter training for an extensive period. In addition to my academic role, I also undertake freelance translation and interpreting work. Since 1991, I have contributed to the teaching of translation and interpreting at several academic institutions across the UK, including the University of Bradford, the University of Leeds, and the University of Salford (Manchester).

Currently, I serve as the Programme Director for the MSc in Translation Studies (on-campus) and the MSc in Translation Studies (Distance Learning) within the School of Language, Literature, Music, and Visual Culture (LLMVC).I was responsible for designing and developing the undergraduate programme in Modern Languages and Translation and Interpreting Studies with Overseas Placement at LLMVC, which I also coordinated from 2017 to 2020.

From 2020 to 2023, I served as the Director of the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies at LLMVC, leading various initiatives to advance research and practice in the field of T&I. Currently, I co-direct the Centre for Multilingual Research, fostering interdisciplinary research, collaboration and innovation across a range of fields. 

I am also a Fellow of the UK's Higher Education Academy, a recognition I have held since 2015.

I supervise PhD students working in the fields of Translation and Interpreting. I am happy to hear from prospective postgraduates who are considering research in these areas and would like to explore potential supervision opportunities. 

Prizes and Awards

Awarded 'Best Undergraduate Lecturer', University of Aberdeen 2024-2025

Awarded ´Funniest Lecturer´, University of Aberdeen 2023-2024

Nominated for ´Best Undergraduate Lecturer´, University of Aberdeen 2023-2024

Nominated for 'The Most Inspiring Lecturer’, University of Aberdeen 2019-2020

Awarded 'Best Taught Postgraduate Lecturer', University of Aberdeen 2018-2019

Nominated for the award in Excellence in Teaching in the 'Teaching Supporting Widening Participation and Outreach Category', University of Aberdeen 2017-2018

Research Overview

My research interests fall in the areas of Translation Studies (theory and practice); Literary Translation; Interpreting Studies (theory and practice); Audio-visual Translation; Translator and Interpreter Training, and The impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Translation and Interpreting professions.

Some of my publications include:

(2024) ´Habitus Entrapment: The Constrictive, Deterministic Habitus of Peter The Venerable´ AWEJ for Translation and Literary Studies, 8, 1, 5-14

(2018) ‘(Over) note-taking in consecutive interpreting’, International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies, 6, 3, 150-156 

(2017) 'The Pragmatics of Translator Training in the 21st Century', International Journal of English Language and Translation Studies, 5, 2, 81-8

(2015) 'The Use of Footnotes in Literary Translation', Forum, 13:1, 111-129

(2011) 'L'amour de l'impossible: advertising and translation', Forum, 9:2, 233-54

(2009) The problems of literary translation: a study of the theory and practice of translation from English into Spanish, Bern: Peter Lang

(2007) 'The stylistic value of dialect in literary texts: can it be kept in translation?’, Turjumân, 16:1, 55-66 

(2007) 'Translation and sociolinguistics: can language translate society?’, Babel, 53:2, 123-31

(2000) 'Translation as a(n) (im)possible task’, Babel, 45:4, 301-10

(1996) 'Literary dialectal texts and their problems of translation’, Livius, 8, 185-93

Collaborations

Researcher on the European Graduate Placement Scheme Project funded by the EU (Oct 2012-March 2015) – “an international project and consortium of four partner institutions from four different countries (Germany, Spain, Poland, England) to further cooperation between higher education institutions and enterprise, while stimulating mobility. Its overall outcome was a placement model to be embedded into translation courses” 

Member, since December 2013, of the PACTE Research Group (Experimental Research on Translation Competence Acquisition), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona