Gonzalo SUÁREZ LOVELLE
Gonzalo Suárez Lovelle (Las Palmas, 1998) is a PhD candidate in Interpreting Studies (Cycle XL), currently working on a research project entitled When Machines Meet Nuances: NMT Translating Sicilian Literature into Spanish. Alongside his doctoral research, he holds a permanent position as Collaboratore Esperto Linguistico (CEL) in Spanish at the University of Catania. His academic interests include translation and interpreting, linguistics, glottodidactics, and the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (E/LE).
Furthermore, he holds a four-year degree in Modern Languages and Translation from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (2020), with a thesis entitled Translating Cultural References from English into Spanish in A. Aciman’s (2019) novel Find Me (Supervisor: Prof. Maya García de Vinuesa). During his undergraduate studies, he was awarded two scholarships for international exchange programs: one at the Université de Montréal (Canada) in the academic year 2018/2019, and another at the University of Bologna, Forlì campus (Italy), in the academic year 2019/2020.
He subsequently earned a Laurea Magistrale in Conference Interpreting from the University of Bologna (2023), completing a final project entitled Corpus EFCIC: estrategias de pregunta y respuesta en ruedas de prensa futbolísticas interpretadas simultáneamente de español a inglés (Supervisor: Prof. Mariachiara Russo; Co-supervisor: Prof. Adriano Ferraresi; final mark: 109/110). During this period, he took part in the ReACTMe programme in medical interpreting and, upon completion, was awarded the America Giovani Award by the Fondazione Italy USA in recognition of academic merit.
He is also a certified examiner for the DELE diplomas (Diplomas de Español como Lengua Extranjera), issued by the Instituto Cervantes, for CEFR levels A1–A2, A1–A2/B1 for young learners, and B1–B2.
When machines meet nuances: NMT translating Sicilian literature into Spanish
This PhD project investigates the capabilities and limitations of neural machine translation (NMT) systems when translating Italian literary works into Spanish, with a specific focus on texts by Sicilian authors. It addresses the challenges posed by literary style, cultural references, and regional linguistic features, particularly in texts that feature code-mixing between Italian and Sicilian.
It focuses first on the analysis of NMT translations of Andrea Camilleri’s novels, then extends to the analyses of three contemporary Sicilian female authors: Claudia Lanteri, Evelina Santangelo and Maria Attanasio. The study also explores the potential of AI-powered computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools to enhance the post-editing process of NMT outputs. Finally, the project includes the creation of a parallel Italian–Spanish literary corpus to support future NMT training and promote greater accessibility of Sicilian literature in the Spanish-speaking world.
Conferences and seminars
- Speaker at the “Jornada de estudios de español como L2: aprender de los errores para potenciar la eficacia comunicativa”, organized by Università degli Studi Roma Tre (13–14 May 2024), with a presentation entitled: “Principios de intercomprensión y TAV aplicada a la glotodidáctica con la combinación italiano-español: análisis de las transferencias positivas y las interferencias en el aula de E/LE.”
- Speaker at the training course for teachers: "XI Jornada de Formación de Profesores de ELE del Instituto Cervantes Palermo. Nuevas tendencias y desafíos en la enseñanza de ELE (236)", organized by University of Catania (26th October 2025) with a a presentation entitled: AI-zando el Español durante la tavola rotonda La IA como recurso didáctico en ELE.
Conferences and seminars as a PhD student
- Speaker at the “III Convegno dottorale in Scienze dell’Interpretazione del DISUM”, organized by the University of Catania (15–16 June 2025), with a presentation entitled: “Conservare la memoria camilleriana: sfide della NMT nel tradurre la cultura siciliana”.
- Speaker at the "IX Giornate Internazionali sulla Traduzione" entitled "Tradurre l’anima: poetica e arte della traduzione" (4–5 dicembre 2025), organized by the University of Bari Aldo Moro, with a presentation entitled: Camilleri en voz alta: fonética, ritmo y traducción en español de “Gli arancini di Montalbano”.
- Attendee at the “II Congreso Internacional de Doctorado sobre Traducción”, organized by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (13–14 March 2025).
- Attendee at the “V Convegno Internazionale ASELIT, L’italiano tradotto e da tradurre”, organized by ASELIT (Asociación Española de Lengua Italiana y Traducción) and hosted by the Universitat de Barcelona (26–28 March 2025).
Affiliations
- Member of ASELIT (Asociación Española de Lengua Italiana y Traducción).
- Stagiaire member of Assointerpreti (Associazione Nazionale Interpreti di Conferenza Professionisti), Sicilia Region.