Even though the research activities of the centre are rooted in linguistic aspects of communication across language and cultural boundaries, the centre encompasses a broader perspective on translation than a strictly linguistic one. The centre will also promote research on the cognitive processes, which govern our communication, and on the technological tools that have become an indispensable part of almost all professional translation. The core competences of the centre fall within this linguistic, cognitive and technological triangle, but since the field of translation is so closely linked with philosophical, cultural, economic and language policy issues, the doors will be wide open to a range of related sciences.