The Sorbonne Centre for Linguistics – CELISO brings together the university’s lecturers and researchers specialising in the Germanic, English, Scandinavian, and Slavic languages. The research carried out at the centre is interdisciplinary in nature and focuses on shared themes (e.g., variation and change, motivation) and research areas (e.g., pragmatics, discourse analysis, didactics).

Each language has its own research traditions, which are updated as theories evolve, corpus development becomes more powerful and specialised, and the variety of texts and discursive genres is taken into account. This research is first and foremost dedicated to what makes each language unique; indeed, the distinctive characteristics of the languages when taken as a whole are edifying; what is evident in one is often also relevant, though perhaps less obvious, in another.

The research in the areas covered is rich and productive in terms of theory. This is evidenced by the number of publications, papers, members’ research, but also transversal research seminars, regularly held scientific conferences, and collaborative work with international institutions such as New York State University.

Both fundamental research and applied linguistics inform the work produced. It directly involves the immediate application of specialised discourse analysis (which allows for a better understanding of the professional fields covered) and foreign language teaching. The regular publication of research and grammar books aimed at teachers and students as well as research in language didactics attest to this fact. The research’s direct impact on society and teaching is in line with current European expectations, especially when it comes to facilitating the interface between science and society as well as making multilingualism accessible to all.