I am a third-year PhD student in linguistics at University at Buffalo, where I am advised by Jean-Pierre Koenig and affiliated with UB GramLab and the UB fieldwork group. My research spans morphosyntax, discourse pragmatics, and indigenous language documentation, with fieldwork experience in Mandarin, Hakka, Balti, Bimoba, Quechua, and Aymara. I hold a BA from Beijing Foreign Studies University and an MA from Columbia University.
Research
Language and Emotion
How does grammar encode emotion cross-linguistically? How are the linguistic expressions of emotion constrained by the interlocutors' relationship, experiences, and knowledge? Currently I'm working on the affective suffixes attested in Quechua and Aymara varieties.
Zhong, Juan & Gladys Camacho-Rios. 2026. Unlocking evaluative verb morphology in a Central Andean Oral Story. Paper presented at Unlocking Evaluative Morphology II: Semantic values and pragmatic motivations, 20–22 April 2026, Alicante, Spain. [abstract]
The Grammar of Dish Names
How do we categorize complex concepts linguistically? Complex compounds provide a lens for understanding the interface of morphology/syntax, and lexcon/grammar. My qualifying paper investigates the structure and meaning of complex compound nouns using a Mandarin dish name dataset.
Zhong, Juan & Jean-Pierre Koenig. 2026. The grammar of dish names in Mandarin Chinese. Paper to be presented at the 33rd International Conference on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, 3–4 August 2026, Bergen, Norway. [abstract]
Language Documentation
Since 2021, I have initiated an ongoing Hakka documentation project (AYHAK), in which I collaborate with community members to document, analyze, preserve, and promote the language. Click here for more details about my AYHAK project.
Zhong, Juan. 2026. Anyuan Hakka documentation project. Paper presented at 4to Coloquio Internacional de Lingüística en Bolivia [Presentation in Anyuan Hakka], 20–21 March 2026, La Paz, Bolivia. [abstract]
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.
Other Areas
Previously, I worked on second language acquisition and pedagogy.
Zhong, Juan. 2019. Chinese demonstrative gāi: A linguistic investigation and its pedagogical implications. Paper presented at the 5th International Forum on Linguistics and Chinese Education (IFOLCE-5), 4–7 October 2019, New York. [abstract]
Zhong, Juan. 2019. A task-based program for teaching English to children of migrant workers in Beijing. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching, 19–21 August 2019, Ottawa, Canada.
Hu, Lingjun & Juan Zhong. 2019. Discovering the strategies for written corrective feedback in Chinese language teaching: Insights from 3rd year CIB program. Paper presented at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA), 5–7 April 2019, Seattle.
Teaching
Instructor of Record
Language, Society, and the Individual (2026 Fall & 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.
Guest Instructor
Languages in East Asia (October 15), for Languages of the World instructed by Dr. Gladys Camacho-Rios (2025 Fall), Department of Linguistics, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
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
Co-student officer, Committee on Indigenous Languages and their Sustainability (COILS), Linguistic Society of America, 2026-2028.
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.