Research and our scientific activities

The seminar “Traduire la République” (translating the republic) proposes to examine the Republic from a multidimensional perspective by questioning its political and legal anchors, in particular its capacity to circulate beyond liberal democracies and to adapt to the more constrained contexts of the Global South.

It also explores its cultural dimension as a forum for exchanges and cohabitation of identities, from Franco-Arab interactions to dynamics specific to the Horn of Africa. The semantic dimension is also addressed, by analyzing the explicit discourses and symbolic practices that shape representations of citizenship. Finally, digital environments were examined, in the light of their uses and infrastructures redefining the forms of civic engagement.

• April 2, 2025: presentation by Bernard Reber, Director of Research at Sciences Po, « Ajuster l’Intelligence Artificielle à l’Intelligence Républicaine » (Adjusting Artificial Intelligence to Republican Intelligence).
• May 6, 2025: lecture by Prof. Marco Giugni (University of Geneva, InCite laboratory), « Traduire la citoyenneté » (Translating citizenship).
• June 10, 2025: seminar led by Janie Pélabay (CEVIPOF – Sciences Po) and Réjane Sénac (CNRS, CEVIPOF – Sciences Po), « Langages de la citoyenneté : de la défense des valeurs de la République à la lutte contre les injustices » (Languages of citizenship: from defending the values of the Republic to fighting injustice).
• October 2, 2025: seminar led by Carlo de Nuzzo (Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich), « Traduire l’exclusion au nom de la République : la déchéance de la nationalité française, en perspective comparée » (Translating exclusion in the name of the Republic: the loss of French nationality, in comparative perspective).

Led by Prof. Manlio Cinalli, Prof. Marco Giugni and Dr Agata de Laforcade HDR

On November 19 and 20, 2025, ISIT’s teacher-researchers welcomed colleagues from the University of Geneva and the University of Milan for a workshop devoted to the study of citizenship in its political, legal, linguistic and cultural dimensions.

The first day focused on political dynamics (loss of nationality, local migration policies, urban governance and citizen mobilization). The afternoon explored linguistic dimensions, including digital identities, the grey zones of citizenship status, the translation of sensitive concepts and the linguistic structures of the relationship to truth.

The second day dealt with discursive and cultural dynamics: citizenship training through the arts in China, discourses on youth, collective action in Latin America, the experience of precarious populations in the face of Covid-19. The event concluded with a round-table discussion on contributions to thinking about and “translating” citizenship in an era of global change.

January 12, 2025

Human migrations are one of the major phenomena of our time, as part of a long history of mobility, exchange and circulation. Today, they are becoming especially important in a world marked by political, economic, environmental and social crises.

Contemporary debates swing between a security-based approach and a humanist approach based on fundamental rights. Moreover, migration in Europe presents contradictions: free movement for EU citizens but increasing restrictions for third-country nationals.

This colloquium aims to understand the complexity of contemporary migration through a multidisciplinary approach combining geopolitical, legal and linguistic-cultural analyses, with the aim of observing the tensions between logic based on the state and human dynamics, and of proposing avenues of reflection for new public policies and better social practices.

Following on from the January 12 seminar, researchers from ISIT, CERI at Sciences Po and the Centre Thucydide at the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas will be meeting to define the common themes they wish to explore together in the field of migration.

In January 2025, Agata de Laforcade and Manlio Cinalli took part in the conference for the launch of META-UN, a global awareness-raising project run by the 4EU+ alliance, at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. The conference was entitled: « Les Nations Unies : regard vers l’avenir – De l’histoire aux défis actuels et futurs de la gouvernance et du droit mondiaux » (The United Nations: looking to the future – From history to current and future challenges of global governance and law).

Agata de Laforcade spoke on the distinction between hard law and soft law in international law, while Manlio Cinalli addressed the concept of inclusivity (non-state actors, individuals, celebrities). Link: Reflections on META UN Inaugural Conference | LinkedIn

In July 2025, a special issue of the Journal of Law and Languages, Vol. 14 (2025), entitled “Artificial Intelligence and the Language of Law” (International Journal of Language & Law – JLL), was finalized under the co-direction of Agata de Laforcade, bringing together the contributions of authors who participated in an international conference co-organized in 2024 by ISIT, UPEC and the University of Milan on legal translation in the age of artificial intelligence in the European Union. Link: Vol. 14 (2025): Artificial Intelligence and the Language of Law | International Journal of Language & Law (JLL)

In July 2025, Agata de Laforcade was awarded her accreditation to direct research in law at the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas. Her monograph is entitled “La traduisibilité du droit pénal” (“The translatability of criminal law”).

In June 2025, Agata de Laforcade and Elvire Palem took part in a colloquium on humanoids organized by the Université Paris Panthéon-Assas, at which they presented the legal frameworks applicable to humanoids, as well as the legal and ethical challenges posed by humanoid robots. Link: Visages-Phases-des-humanoides-Ethique-de-la-surveillance-numerique-modeles-mondiaux-durables-et-droits-a-la-vie-privee.pdf

• Le dictionnaire face à l’essor de la traduction automatique et des intelligences artificielles génératives – Isit
  In June 2025, a study day on “Conception et usage du dictionnaire à l’ère numérique” (Design and use of dictionaries in the digital era) was organized at ISIT under the direction of Pascale Elbaz and Malek Al-Zaum. The event will be published in a special issue of Les Cahiers de lexicologie.
• SAGA and ISIT: a day of international exchange on languages and sustainable urban transitions – Isit
  In July 2025, ISIT hosted a study day on its Arcueil campus, organized in partnership with the SAGA (Translanguaging and sustainability research international research project on language and sustainability).
  The day brought together researchers in intercultural communication, urban planners, local councilors and international experts to discuss a fundamental issue: how do languages influence our collective actions for sustainable urban transitions?

“Le Yangsheng est-il mieux compris grâce au Grand Ricci ou à DeepSeek ?” (Is Yangsheng better understood thanks to the Grand Ricci or DeepSeek?) Lecture given as part of the Conception et usage du dictionnaire à l’ère numérique study day organized at ISIT on June 12, 2025.

“L’enrichissement de la langue française en faveur des transitions vertes et le rôle des terminologies” (enriching the French language in favor of green transititions and the role of terminology) with Cedissia About and Etienne Quillot. As part of SAGA Paris Co-Lab, ISIT Paris Panthéon Assas; SFU; LAB’URBA, Jul 2025.

“La post édition de textes de presse traduits automatiquement du chinois au français en formation initiale à la traduction : remédiation par repérage et classification des erreurs” (post-edition of press texts that were machine translated from Chinese into French as initial training in translation : remediation by identifying and classifying errors) Paper given as part of the Conférences midi of the Département Linguistique et Traduction, Université de Montréal, October 18, 2025.

“Peut-on post-éditer la pensée esthétique chinoise ? Une analyse diachronique” Paper given as part of the doctoral training program of the Département Linguistique et Traduction, Université de Laval, November 05, 2025. (Can Chinese aesthetic thought be post-edited? A diachronic analysis)

“Au-delà des caractères simples : analyse des combinaisons lexicales spécialisées autour du yangsheng en didactique de la traduction humaine et assistée par l’IA” (Beyond single characters: analysis of specialized lexical combinations around yangsheng in human and AI-assisted translation didactics). Paper given at the convention “Beyond Single Words: The Interplay of phraseology, Multi-Word Units (MWU) and Complex Noun Phrases (CNP) in specialized discourses and AI-assisted translation” organized by UPC’s ALTAE Laboratory on December 11, 2025.

Beyond Single Words 2025 – Sciencesconf.org

Pascale Elbaz, Céline Garbutt. “Former des traducteurs tri-actifs : Le passage par l’anglais constitue-t-il une aide pour la traduction du chinois vers le français ?” (Training tri-active translators: Does working through English help when translating from Chinese into French?) Former des traducteurs et des interprètes : des prérequis au marché du travail (Training translators and interpreters: requirements for the markets) – les éditions des archives contemporaines, pp.475 – 490, 2025, ⟨10.17184/eac.9782813005281⟩. ⟨hal-02481493⟩

Pascale Elbaz. « Quelle place et quelle modalité de relation aux experts dans un contexte d’apprentissage de la terminologie en master de traduction ». (What position and what modes of relations to experts are possible in a context of learning and terminology in Translation master’s ?) Syn-Thèses – Annual review of the French language and literature department at the Aristotle University of Thessalonica , 2025, “La didactique de la terminologie dans l’espace universitaire francophone : approches innovantes et outillées”, 16, pp.46-49. ⟨10.26262/st.v0i16.10651⟩. ⟨hal-05316542⟩ (Didactics and terminology in the French-speaking university domain: innovative and empowered approaches)

Pascale Elbaz, Anna Mohácsi-Gorove. “Contribution d’étudiants en formation aux besoins terminologiques d’un musée : aspects didactiques” (Contribution of students in training to the terminological needs of a museum: didactic aspects). Journal of Digital Terminology and Lexicography, 2025, ⟨10.25430/pupj.jdtl.1764781209⟩. ⟨hal-05432154⟩

Zhang Xiang, “L’apprentissage et l’enseignement des langues orientés vers la traduction : Impact sur le développement des compétences linguistiques et traductives dans un contexte d’enseignement supérieur » (Translation-oriented language learning and teaching: Impact on the development of language and translation skills in a higher education context). Supervisor: Louise Ouvrard, Plidam (EA 4514), Inalco ED 265; co-supervisor Pascale Elbaz, ISIT.

Chen Zechen, “Étude sur les pratiques de l’enseignement du français dans les universités des langues étrangères de la Chine d’aujourd’hui » (Study on French teaching practices in foreign language universities in China today). Supervisor: Louise Ouvrard, Plidam (EA 4514), Inalco ED 265; co-supervisor Pascale Elbaz, ISIT.

Ma Xiaolin, « Construction et production de connaissances interdisciplinaires : étude comparative de la traduction chinois – français des termes de la mécanique et de la médecine traditionnelle chinoise ». (Construction and production of interdisciplinary knowledge: comparative study of Chinese-French translation of terms in mechanics and traditional Chinese medicine). Director: Mocja Pecman, CLILLAC-ARP (EA 3967) at Paris Cité University, ED “Language Sciences” ED 62; co-director Pascale Elbaz, ISIT.