Zhuosi Luo

As a theorist working on language, my research interests focus on minimalist syntax paired with distributed morphology and formal semantics, as well as their interfaces with pragmatics, phonology and cognitive science. I believe interface/interdisciplinary research could help deepen our understanding of language, which someday will help theories meet the goal of ‘(beyond) explanatory adequacy’.

I mainly work on verbs and adjectives. The languages I study are mostly Asian ones, including Teochew (an understudied variety of Southern Min; ‘the living fossil of ancient Chinese’), Cantonese, Mandarin and Thai. I also enjoy insights from cross-linguistic comparisons with other language families.

Currently, I am working on my dissertation titled Causality, Modality and Contextual Argument Interpretation. My dissertation committee includes Paul Portner (co-chair), Ruth Kramer (co-chair), Alison Biggs and Bryce Buebner. See more details in Research.