I’m an Iberian Studies graduate turned translation studies PhD turned corpus linguist and discourse analyst, currently based in Warsaw, Poland.

I started out studying Spanish language and culture. Literature and translation made me ask how language mediates between the world around us and the ways we make sense of it. I later explored this question in my PhD through linguistic worldviews and literary translation. Today, I approach it through social and discursive lenses: how does language participate in social change and what can a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective tell us about this relationship?

As a corpus linguist and discourse analyst, I work primarily on language, gender and linguistic innovation across Polish, English, and Spanish (sometimes Portuguese, too). I’m particularly interested in how communities and institutions use language to name new experiences, reconceptualize existing categories, and negotiate social norms.

I also work for academia as a system. At the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP), I design and admin initiatives supporting researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities. On top of that, I analyze research policies, especially those at the intersection of Open Science, Research Cultures, and research assessment.

My work has always been driven by my values: studying language as part of social life, keeping an eye for inequalities in knowledge production, dissemination and access, and questioning the growing marketization of academia and its consequences for research and society.

Beyond research

Outside academia, heels pole dancing is basically my other job. I also (try to) trek, travel around Poland whenever I can, dream of new pairs of Pleasers and Salomons on a daily basis, and, in true Warsaw fashion, take specialty coffee (it has to be acidic!) much more seriously than necessary. Although I’ve long been obsessed with Spain, lately I’ve been looking increasingly up north, especially towards Norway.

I do love Polish rap, rarely miss OFF Festival, and am an unapologetic Rosalía fan. I read quite a lot and have a particular affection for truly terrible movies.

I share my life with two cats, Magika (a tuxedo) and Chada (a calico), and a Catalan Sheepdog, Kazia, currently in her furry whippet era. They’re all named after Polish rappers. Can you guess which ones?