Dr. Jens Van Gysel
Unit Administrator
Dr. Jens Van Gysel holds a BA and MA in English and Spanish (Ghent University), an MA in Linguistics (Leiden University), and a PhD in Linguistics (University of New Mexico). In his research, he collaborates with the Indigenous Sanapaná people of Paraguay on the documentation and maintenance of their language, which is facing ever stronger social pressures as its speakers shift towards Spanish and Paraguayan Guaraní for daily communication. He also aims to produce cognitively and socially plausible descriptions of the grammatical structure of Sanapaná, and studies how its structures are changing under influence of the language endangerment situation. His dissertation was awarded the 2024 Mary R. Haas book award by the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. At the LAII, Jens manages the daily administrative operations of the Institute, including through the administration of fellowship and grant competitions, student advising, and building maintenance.
