Hi, I'm a second-year PhD student in linguistics at University at Buffalo and a member of the fieldwork group at UB. I obtained my bachelor's degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Beijing Foreign Studies University and my master's degree in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. I work on morphosyntax, pragmatics, and language documentation, and I cook and paint for fun. Here is my CV.
Research
Morphosyntax
I am interested in how complex compounding provides a lens for understanding the boundary between morphology and syntax. I have developed an HPSG analysis of the internal structure of dish names across languages under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Pierre Koenig.
Pragmatics
My work in this area centers around how interlocutors highlight focal information in discourse. Languages being investigated include different Chinese dialects, Yucatec Maya, and Bimoba.
Emotion and Language
Recently, I have been thinking how emotions as experience-based constructs shape and are shaped by language use cross-culturally. To what extent are languages infused with emotions? How are the lingusitic expressions of emotions related to the speaker or the event agent? For example, are the affective suffixes attested in Quechua and Aymara (South Bolivian varieties) subject-oriented, speaker-oriented, or neither?
Language Documentation
I was born and raised in Anyuan, China, and I speak Anyuan Hakka, a lesser-studied variety of the Hakka language. Since 2021, I have initiated an ongoing Hakka documenttaion project, in which I collaborate with local community members to document, analyze, preserve, and promote the language. For example, in 2024 I have developed an introductory course of general lingusitics and taught it in Anyuan Hakka to a group of community members who have no prior lingusitics background. The course provided easy access to linguistic knowledge for local community memebers who do not speak English (or Mandarin) and equipped them with basic lingusitic tools to better understand Anyuan Hakka, their own everyday language. I also run an Anyuan Hakka online chatting group with young generations from Anyuan. The chatting group meets biweekly online, which creates a vibrant space for people who are from Anyuan but have (im)migrated to other places for study or work to continiously speak Anyuan Hakka and maintain their proficiency.
Other Research Areas
Previously, I worked on language pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition.
Feel free to email me to discuss more about my work.
Publication
Zhong, J. Anyuan Hakka: An IPA illustration. (in prep.)
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.
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.