Dr. Julián Zapata

Dr. Julián Zapata is a certified translator, a translation researcher, and an entrepreneur. As a young boy, Julián discovered a fascination for anything related to languages and effective communication, from reading and writing poetry, to taking part in his high school’s public speaking competition. He grew up speaking Spanish and began learning foreign languages at teenage, in Canada, when he decided to pursue a career in translation.

He completed his PhD in Translation Studies (2016) at the University of Ottawa, where he also taught, for nearly a decade, an array of courses including English, Spanish and French translation; terminology and terminotics; translation technology and professional aspects of translation, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He was also a part-time professor at Université du Québec en Outaouais and Concordia University for several years.

Dr. Zapata has worked internationally in several projects related to translation process research, language and translation technologies, as well as translator training, with several publications and dozens of presentations, guest lectures and plenary speeches in more than 25 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. His research has been funded, notably, by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – société et culture, and Entreprise Ireland.

“I am thrilled to join the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures (LLC) at the TMU, in one of the most diverse and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Multilingualism and multiculturalism are at the heart of this city; the people here understand the challenges of communicating effectively in a world where thousands of languages coexist. I am looking forward to being inspired by the creativity of students and colleagues at the LLC and beyond, and to continue teaching, researching and innovating in languages and translation, human-centred technologies, and entrepreneurship.”