I'm a third-year PhD student in linguistics at University at Buffalo, advised by Jean-Pierre Koenig. I'm also a member of UB fieldwork group and UB GramLab.
My research interests center around morphosyntax, pragmatics, and typology. Languages I have conducted fieldwork on include Hakka, Balti, Bimoba, Quechua, and Aymara.
Prior to joining UB, I received my BA from Beijing Foreign Studies University and my MA from Columbia University. Here is my CV.
Research
Complex Compound
What is a word? What is a phrase? When we form words out of multiple words, where is the limit? Complex compounds (compounds consisting of three or more members) provide a lens for understanding the boundary between morphology and syntax. My qualifying paper investigates the structure of complex compound nouns using a Mandarin dish name dataset.
Information Structure
How do interlocutors manage each other's attention in conversation? To address this question, I've explored focus constructions in different Chinese dialects, Yucatec Maya, and Bimoba.
Emotionality
Recently, I have been curious about the interaction between emotion and language. How is emotion grammaticalized cross-linguistically? How are the lingusitic expressions of emotion constrained by the interlocutors' relationship, experience, and knowledge? Currently I'm working on the emotional suffixes attested in Quechua and Aymara varieties.
Language Documentation
Born and raised in Anyuan, China, I speak Anyuan Hakka, a lesser-studied variety of the Hakka language. Since 2021, I have initiated an ongoing Hakka documenttaion project (AYHAK), in which I collaborate with local community members to document, analyze, preserve, and promote the language. Click here for more detials about my AYHAK project.
Other Areas
Previously, I worked on second language acquisition and language pedagogy.
Teaching
Instructor of Record
Language, Society, and the Individual (2025 Spring), Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
Introduction to Linguistic Analysis (2024 Fall), Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
First Year Chinese II (2022 Spring) and Third Year Chinese N (2021 Fall), Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University.
Teaching Assistant
Language, Society, and the Individual instructed by Brian Hayden (2024 Spring), Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
Introduction to Linguistic Analysis instructed by Dr. EunHee Lee (2023 Fall), Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
First Year Chinese N I-II, Third Year Chinese N I-II, Fourth Year Chinese Adv I, Fifth Year Chinese I, Intermediate Chinese I-II, Advanced Chinese I-II, Business Chinese I-II, and Advanced Business Chinese (2017-2021), Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University.
Service
Board of Directors Member, Graduate Linguistic Association, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 2022-2023.
Program Assistant, Chinese Language Program, Columbia University, 2019-2021.
Coordinator Assistant, Chinese Language Program, Columbia University, 2018-2021.
Associate Director, Alumni Association - Beijing Chapter, Center for International Foreign Language Teacher Education (CIFLTE), 2017-2019.
Selected Work
Zhong, J. Anyuan Hakka: An IPA illustration. (in prep.)
Akobundu, U., Baiz, J., Camacho-Rios, G., Lin, X., Silvestre-Cruz, N., Spies, S., Townes, G., & Zhong, J. Complex Consonant Clusters in the Morphotactics of Southern Bolivian Aymara Verbs. Second Annual Meeting of Phonetics/Phonology in Upstate New York (PHUNY 2), 3 May 2025, Buffalo, United States.
Zhong, J. Nominal compounding: A comparative analysis of South Bolivian Quechua and Tarma Quechua. Sociedad Científica de estudiantes de la Carrera de Lingüística e Idiomas, UMSA. 10 January 2025, La Paz, Bolivia. [slides]
Zhong, J. Chinese demonstrative gāi: A linguistic investigation and its pedagogical implications. The 5th International Forum on Linguistics and Chinese Education (IFOLCE-5), 4-7 October 2019, New York, United States.
Zhong, J. A task-based program for teaching English to children of migrant workers in Beijing. The 8th International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching. 19-21 August 2019, Ottawa, Canada.
Hu, L. & Zhong, J. Discovering the strategies for written corrective feedback in Chinese language teaching: Insights from 3rd year CIB program. The 2019 Annual Conference of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA), 5-7 April 2019, Seattle, United States.
Feel free to email me to discuss more about my work.