Jesus Gonzalez Franco

Graduate Teaching/Research Associate

About Jesus Gonzalez Franco

I am a doctoral candidate in linguistics at the University of Arizona and a lecturer at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). My journey in linguistics began as an undergraduate at CSUDH, where I initiated a research project on Santa Ana Zegache Zapotec (SAZZ), a language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. This foundational experience ignited my passion for language documentation and revitalization.

My research interests center on language revitalization, phonology, and documenting endangered languages, explicitly focusing on Oto-Manguean languages. I am dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of linguistic diversity and advocating for preserving languages at risk of extinction. As an educator, I strive to inspire my students to explore the complexities of language and its role in cultural identity.

Projects

-Indigenous Languages of the Americas and their Structures (ILAS) Working Group.  

-In 2016, I began research on an endangered language variety from Oaxaca, México, called Santa Ana Zegache Zapotec (Zegache Zapotec).  

Research Interests

  • Zapotec
  • Language documentation and revitalization
  • Morphology
  • Phonology/Phonetics 
  • Lexical semantics
  • Spanish
  • Language contact/change
  • Bilingualism
  • Language acquisition