Aida Villaécija
Aida Villaécija
Linguist and Translator
I hold a PhD in Translation and Language Sciences from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), obtained in 2023. My research focuses on morphology in both in spoken and sign languages, as well as corpus development and accessibility.
I currently work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (TransMedia Catalonia) in the WEL project. I am also teaching in the Llengua i Literatura Catalanes BA degree at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).
Since 2019, I have been collaborating with the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC) on the creation of the first reference corpus and the lexical database of Catalan Sign Language (LSC).
ORCID: 0000-0002-2981-8485
Abstract of my PhD dissertation in LSC: video
Recent projects
October 2024 - present
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Postdoc Researcher
WEL (From written to oral texts in Easy Language: easy audios in cultural visits and video games) is a three-year project (2023-2026) in the research group TransMedia Catalonia at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. We are working on the evaluation of specific linguistic features and the impact of transferring an Easy language written text into an oral text.
September 2019 - present
Catalan Sign Language Reference Corpus
IEC (Institut d'Estudis Catalans)
Interpreter and Linguist Collaborator
The project began in 2012 and involves the creation of the first reference corpus of Catalan Sign Language. The corpus will be the research and reference tool for linguists, language professionals and users. My duties include the elaboration of materials and lexicographic records and the revision of the annotations and tagging.
January 2024 - October 2024
Microdiachrony in endangered languages across modalities (MICRODIAC(H)RO)
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Researcher
We focused on two endangered languages of different modalities: Catalan Sign Language (LSC, Catalonia) and Griko (an Italo-Greek variety from Salento, southern Italy). We explored how diachronic change can be detected over a relatively short period and create research corpora to study grammatical change.
May 2019 - December 2020
Creation of didactic materials in LSC
Universitat Pompeu Fabra and CREDA
Subtitler
The project involved creating materials in LSC for teaching and didactic purposes. These materials included video recordings covering topics such as Social and Natural Sciences, among others, along with corresponding questions and answers. I was in charge of the subtitling of all the teaching materials: guidelines, translation, simulation, correction of errors and readjustment.
January 2019 - December 2020
Subtitler and researcher
Sign-Hub was a project funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program with a duration of 4 years. A platform with various resources was created for the linguistic, historical and cultural documentation of the heritage of Deaf and Sign communities. I participated in the writing of two chapters on the LSC Grammar and in the subtitling of the documentary "We were there, we are here" about the context of the Deaf community in the Civil War, Postwar and World War II.
Contact
If you share research interests or would like to collaborate with me, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Department of Translation and Interpreting and East Asian Studies
08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès)
Email: aida.villaecija@uab.cat
aida/dot/villaecija/at/uab/dot/cat