Introduction
I am a theoretical linguist currently working as a “Hundred Talents Program” researcher at Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China). Before taking up my current position (May 2020), I studied at the University of Cambridge (Gonville & Caius College), from where I received my PhD degree in Linguistics (Oct. 2019). Before Cambridge, I had studied at Beijing Foreign Studies University (majoring in Hungarian). I am curious about all aspects of human language and am particularly fascinated by its syntactic module. I mainly work within the theoretical framework of Noam Chomsky’s transformational generative grammar but am open-minded about other frameworks too. I enjoy learning new perspectives and am always happy to observe how different theories converge. I also actively explore interdisciplinary directions in my research and endeavor to seek common ground across paradigms.
Research
My main research area is syntax (and its interfaces with morphology/semantics). I do both synchronic and diachronic research and am particularly interested in understudied Chinese varieties, many of which are also endangered. I have worked on the following Chinese varieties either directly or indirectly (e.g., via supervising student projects):
- Mandarin: Standard Mandarin, Dongying Mandarin, Sichuan/Chongqing Mandarin
- Wu: Wenzhou Wu, Xinchang Wu
- Jin: Gaoping Jin
- Hakka: Heyuan Hakka
Beyond Chinese, I am interested in detailed crosslinguistic comparison in general. Languages I have previously worked on include English, German, Hungarian, Japanese, etc. Below are some specific phenomena I have investigated:
- Complex/compound words
- Aspects and event structure
- Semifunctional/semilexical vocabulary items
- Sentence-final particles
Aside from empirical studies, my research also involves a highly conceptual and metatheoretical aspect. Below are some of the more abstract issues I have worked on:
- Foundations of syntactic categories
- Theory of linguistic features
- Category theory and its application in linguistics
Overall, my academic enthusiasm lies in formally rigorous and logically consistent analysis of human language. Outside of my main research domains, I also like thinking about the following language-related topics:
- Internet language (e.g., emojis, neologisms)
- Writing systems (especially Chinese characters)
- Linguistically aided language learning
Projects
In progress
- Categorical linguistics (linguistics + mathematics), since 2019
Applying category theory to theoretical linguistics, with a focus on the big picture and general directions [a glimpse] - Resultative compounds in Chinese dialects, since 2017
Examining the internal syntax of resultative verb compounds across Chinese varieties [latest talk] - Noncanonical pronouns, since 2021
Investigating pronominal items that cannot be easily put in established categoriess [a new book chapter] - Typology of semilexicality, since 2021
Surveying different types of semilexical elements across a wide range of languages and attempting to provide a unified account within the framework of root syntax [preliminary results] - Hilbert’s epsilon operator, since 2021
Comparatively examining the application of Hilbert’s epsilon operator in linguistics [manuscript#1 (09/2021), manuscript#2 (02/2022), a related talk (06/2021)]
Degree works
- PhD dissertation (defended with no corrections)
University of Cambridge, 2019
On the formal flexibility of syntactic categories [abstract, archived version] - PhD first-year report
University of Cambridge, 2016
A minimalist study of complex verb formation: Crosslinguistic patterns and variation [full text] - MPhil dissertation (High Distinction)
University of Cambridge, 2015
Structural variation in Chinese compound verbs: A comparative study of Standard Mandarin and Dongying Dialect [full text] - BA dissertation (Outstanding)
Beijing Foreign Studies University, 2013
A magyar és a német igekötők összehasonlítása szintaktikai és szemantikai szempontból [A comparison of Hungarian and German verbal prefixes from syntactic and semantic perspectives] [full text in Hungarian]
Selected publications
journal | edited volume | conference | departmental | general audienceJournal
- 2022 (with Ke Javena Wu). Ways of telicization in Chinese resultative compounds. Studies in Generative Grammar, 32(3), 425–459. (peer-reviewed and extended version of the SICOGG23 proceedings paper)
- 2018. Severing telicity from result: On two types of resultative compound verb in Dongying Mandarin. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 27(3), 275–307.
- 2017. Prosodically-driven morphosyntactic change? Revisiting the history of Chinese disyllabic words. Cambridge Occasional Papers in Linguistics 10, 152–196.
Edited volume
- 2023 (with Li Nguyen and Theresa Biberauer). Alternative pronominal items: Noncanonical pronouns in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Afrikaans. In L. Paterson (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Pronouns. New York: Routledge, pp. 148–164. New
- 2020. Categorizing verb-internal modifiers. In T. Biberauer, S. Vikner, A. Bárány & J. Douglas (eds.) Syntactic architecture and its consequences I: Syntax inside the grammar. Berlin: Language Science Press, pp. 357–384.
Conference
- 2023 (with Chenghao Hu). Result marker vs. result highlighter: on the internal syntax of Chinese resultative compounds. Talk at the “Resultatives: new approaches and renewed perspectives” workshop. Singapore, Mar. 20–22. [slides]
- 2022. Weakening cartography: on the formal foundation of functional hierarchies. Poster at the 24th Seoul International Conference on Generative Grammar (SICOGG24). Online, Aug. 12–14. [e-poster, paper (preprint), paper (official)]
- 2022. A formal linguistic approach to affective emojis in CMC. Talk at the Seoul International Conference on Linguistics (SICOL2022). Online, Aug. 11–12. [slides]
- 2022. Category theory in theoretical linguistics: A monadic semantics for root syntax. Poster at the 5th International Conference on Applied Category Theory (ACT2022). Online, Jul. 18–22. [e-poster, abstract]
- 2022. The logic of words: A monadic decomposition of lexical meaning. Talk at the Australasian Association for Logic Annual Conference (AAL2022). Online, Jun. 22–24. [slides]
- 2022. Sentence-final particle vs. sentence-final emoji: The syntax-pragmatics interface in the era of CMC. Talk at Grapholinguistics in the 21st Century (grafematik2022). Online, Jun. 8–10. [video, slides, paper, extended version]
- 2021. On the semantics of root syntax: Challenges and directions. Talk at the 18th Logic and Engineering of Natural Language Semantics workshop (LENLS18). Online, Nov. 13–15. [video, slides, paper]
- 2021. A typology of semilexicality and the locus of grammatical variation. Talk at the 9th International Conference on Formal Linguistics (ICFL9). Online, Nov. 5–7. [video, slides]
- 2021 (with Ke Javena Wu). Ways of telicization in resultative compounds. Talk at the 23rd Seoul International Conference on Generative Grammar (SICOGG23). Online, Aug. 13–15. [video, paper, extended paper]
- 2021 (with Li Nguyen). Noncanonical pronominal items in Vietnamese and Chinese: Imposters or true pronouns? Talk at the 30th Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (SEALS30) Conference. Online, Jun. 1. [video, paper]
- 2020. Grammatical types that cannot be: A category-theoretic theorem for Chomsky-school generative syntax. Poster at the Applied Category Theory (ACT) conference. Online, Jul. 6–10. [e-poster, extended abstract]
- 2017. Revisiting non-inverting particle verbs in Hungarian. Talk at International Conference on the Structure of Hungarian (ICSH) 13. Budapest, Jun. 29–30. [slides]
- 2017. There is no root-root merger: Revisiting Chinese non-endocentric compounds. Talk at Roots V Workshop. London, Jun. 17–18. [slides, manuscript]
- 2017. Revisiting Chinese P: Is it a necessary category? Speed talk at Morphosyntactic Variation in Adpositions Workshop. Cambridge, May 8–9. [slides]
- 2017. Emergent [V] flavors and minimized flexibility of lexical categories. Talk at Cambridge Comparative Syntax (CamCoS) 6. Cambridge, May 4–6. [slides]
- 2016. Blocked particle verb movement in German and Hungarian: A unified analysis. Talk at Linguistics Association of Great Britain (LAGB) Annual Meeting. York, Sep. 6–9. [slides]
- 2016. Revisiting Chinese potential constructions: Cross-dialectal variation. Talk at 11th Newcastle Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics. Newcastle, Mar. 18. [slides]
Departmental
- 2022. Sentence-final particle vs. sentence-final emoji: The syntax-pragmatics interface in the era of CMC (extended version of the grafematik talk). Cambridge SyntaxLab, Jun. 28. [slides]
- 2021. On Hilbert’s epsilon operator, pair merge, and the source of asymmetry in adjunction. Zhejiang University, Jun. 11. [slides, paper]
- 2020. Complex verb mobility in Germanic languages: Variation and parameterization. Zhejiang University, Jun. 19. [slides]
- 2019. Adjunction in minimalism: Ideas and ideals. Zhejiang University, Nov. 11. [slides]
- 2019. Towards a nontrivial notion of granularity in generative syntax. Zhejiang University, Nov. 11. [slides]
- 2019. Granularity in generative syntax and why it matters. Cambridge SyntaxLab, Oct. 15. [slides]
- 2019. More than abstract nonsense: A Category-theoretic sketch of the syntactic category system. Cambridge SyntaxLab, Jan. 29. [slides]
- 2018. Root-supported categories and their morphosyntactic characteristics. Cambridge SyntaxLab, May 1. [handout for Part I][slides for Part II]
- 2017. The flexibility of categorial features: Types and consequences. Cambridge SyntaxLab, Feb. 7. [slides]
General audience
- 2023. Response to Notes and queries “What languages do native speakers of Mandarin and Arabic find the hardest to learn?” The Guardian. Jul. 9.
- 2017. From bedtime to spacetime : The hidden language behind compound words. Talk at the Gonville & Caius Graduate Research Symposium. Oct. 22.
- 2017. Universal Grammar and where to find it. Gonville & Caius MCR/SCR talk. May 30.
- 2016. Event and its aspects: How do different languages talk about events with their verbs? Talk at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas (Linguistics Day). Oct. 22.
Miscellany
blog | multimedia | hobbies
Blog
I run my own blog named I-Yuwen and like posting articles about language and linguistics (especially in relation to Chinese) on it when I have time. I sometimes post stuff about mathematics too, mainly about category theory. Below is a selection of my posts:
- Sep. 2021. Classical Chinese and programming
- Jan. 2021. Some 1000-year-old doodles... and some thoughts on Classical Chinese teaching in the 21st century
- Dec. 2020. What did Chinese textbooks look like in the 19th century?
- Nov. 2020. Carving civilization into stone…and the “Chinese Rosetta Stone”
- Sep 2020. Dobby’s pronominal system
- Apr. 2020. Generative grammar for I Ching divination
- Apr 2020. Where is language from?
- Feb. 2020. Bilingualism helps prevent dementia? And a remark on “scholarly longevity”
- Oct. 2019. Why are apples so beloved (linguistically)?
- Aug.–Sep. 2019. Category theory notes series
- Sep. 2019. Language in a Qing-Dynasty polyglot’s eyes
- Aug. 2019. Fictional languages and the linguistic view in Three-Body
Multimedia
I have a YouTube channel and occasionally upload original videos to it about my professional or personal studies.
- Most watched:
- Active series:
In the past, I have contributed to the creation of a short film on the multimodal nature of human language:
- 2016 (with Craig Pearson and Toby Smith). Talk with Your Hands: Communicating across the Sensory Spectrum. Short film made for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.
Hobbies
When I’m not doing linguistics, I like watching movies or TV series, listening to podcasts, drinking tea or coffee, and occasionally traveling away (which has been very occasional in the last three years due to COVID-19). Sometimes I also like taking random photos of interesting things I see. In the future, I would like to try some new pastimes like iPad painting.
What job would I be doing if I were not a linguistician? :-)
