M. Teresa Espinal

M. Teresa Espinal is a Professor in the Department of Catalan Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where she leads the Grup de Recerca de Lingüística Teòrica (Theoretical Linguistics Research Group) and is affiliated with the Center for Theoretical Linguistics. With a research career spanning over 40 years, she maintains active involvement in major international projects including the current EXPLETIVENESS AND EXPRESSIVE MEANING project (2024-2027).

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Hispanic Philology from UAB (1985), Master of Arts in Linguistics from University of London (1981), and Diploma in Linguistics from University of London (1980).

Professor Espinal's research focuses on theoretical linguistics with particular expertise in Catalan syntax, Romance languages, and semantic interpretation. Her fingerprint analysis reveals dominant research areas in Catalan Keyphrases (100%), Expression (53%), Speaker perspectives (43%), Negative Concord (39%), Syntax (38%), and Experimental Linguistics (37%). She has made significant contributions to understanding nominal structures, indefinites, and expressive meaning in Romance languages.

Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2022) shows continued scholarly productivity across multiple high-impact journals, with research spanning Romance syntax, Greek linguistics, and Basque polarity items. Her work demonstrates methodological diversity including experimental approaches and cross-linguistic comparison.

She has supervised 16 research projects throughout her career, including 15 major research grants from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Current projects include EXPLETIVENESS AND EXPRESSIVE MEANING (2024-2027) and LA INTERPRETACION DE LAS CATEGORIAS FUNCIONALES II (2021-2024).

Professor Espinal directs the Grup de Recerca de Lingüística Teòrica, which maintains strong research output in Catalan (100%), Syntax (49%), Romance languages (42%), Clitics (38%), and Grammar (29%). Her research group fosters international collaboration across multiple European institutions.