This volume brings together a selection of papers presented at an international conference on Translation Studies in Barcelona in 1998. The papers illustrate four areas that are of particular interest in translation research today in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The purpose of the first section, ‘Investigating Translation Paradigms’, is to reach a critical revision of existing paradigms and to develop new ones in approaching the translated text. The second section, ‘Investigating the Translation Process’, focuses on the skills, knowledge and strategies that make up translation competence. The third section, ‘Investigating Translation and Ideology’ addresses not only the ‘invisible’ influence of ideologies on the translator, but also the role of translators in transmitting ideology. The fourth section, ‘Investigating Translation Receivers’ envisages translators as communicators caught between the opposing trends of localisation and globalisation. This tension can be seen in the selection of the papers, some of which reflect on research carried out in recently established translation centres in Spain, while others discuss the latest work of scholars from long established centres in other countries.