Francia Martinez, Ph.D.

Professor Francia Martinez was born in Cali, Colombia, the capital of salsa music. She earned her baccalaureate degree in Foreign Language Teaching and Education at Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia in 2003. Then, she moved to the United States to attend graduate school. She received her Ph.D. in Spanish Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2009 and worked for Ohio University as a Visiting Assistant Professor, Spanish Language Program Director, and Graduate Teaching Associates Coordinator, between 2009 and 2010.

Current Teaching Areas

Introductory and intermediate Spanish levels, advanced oral and written expression in Spanish, Spanish linguistics, foreign language methodology (CASL/CEHHS), Spanish for health care professionals (coming soon), and Latin American Survey (coming soon).

Check out Spanish 231: Spanish for Healthcare Professionals!

Research Interests

Sociolinguistics: Linguistic Landscape and Hispanics in the US in Detroit, Michigan (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Colombians)

Ph.D., University of Alabama, Spanish Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition

M.A., University of Alabama, Latin American and Spanish Literature and Culture

B.A., Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia, Foreign Language Education

Manuscripts in Progress

Martínez, F. (Writing). Bengali, Arabic, Polish, and Ukrainian in the Physical and Virtual Linguistic Landscapes of Detroit, Michigan.

Papers Published or Accepted for Publication in Refereed Journals

Martinez, F.E. and Kabbash, M. (2024 In press). Physical and virtual linguistic landscapes in Dearborn, Michigan: Exploring the function of Arabic language. Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies. Indiana University Press. 

Martínez, F. E. (2022). Politics, Language, and Cultural Identity: DetroitRicans and Puertoricanness in Detroit. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 9: 4, 1-41. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/1260

Martínez, F. E. (2020). Una lectura lingüística, visual y cultural del paisaje de ocho ciudades de Colombia. Hispanic Research Journal, 21, 545-588. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682737.2020.1903703

Martínez Valencia, F. (2015). English in advertising in Colombia. World Englishes, 34, 600-619. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12163

Martínez Valencia, F. (2014). A sociolinguistic study of a Hispanic colony in Detroit, Michigan. Southern Journal of Linguistics 38, 83-122.

Martínez Valencia, E. (2012). Recursos lingüísticos empleados en la prensa popular colombiana. Estudios Lingüística de la Universidad de Alicante: Revista de Lengua Española y Lingüística General: ELUA, 26, 211-234.

Martínez Valencia, F. E. (2011). La caricatura editorial colombiana: Una perspectiva semántica y pragmática. Revista de Filología y Lingüística de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 37, 213-227.