{"id":4215,"date":"2026-09-03T12:18:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/lgsa\/?p=4215"},"modified":"2026-09-03T12:18:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:18:27","slug":"welcome-to-the-2026-cohort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/lgsa\/welcome-to-the-2026-cohort\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the 2026 Cohort!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2026\u20132027 academic year, and a warm welcome to our new cohort of graduate students! We’re excited to introduce the four first-years joining our Rutgers Linguistics community. Each of them has shared a short introduction so we can all get to know them a little better. Read on to meet the newest members of our department!<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to Rutgers Linguistics!<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
Junwoo Lee<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Hello. My name is Junwoo Lee, and I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I majored in psychology as an undergraduate. I chose to do so because as a high school <\/span>student, I thought that psychology was the only field through which I could investigate how <\/span>thoughts are turned into sentences. However, after taking a syntax class, I realized that <\/span>syntax offered another way of studying how sentences are formed. I was also fascinated by <\/span>how a syntactic approach analyzes sentences, which led me to pursue a master\u2019s degree in <\/span>syntax. (But I still have fond memories of studying psychology too, especially cognitive <\/span>psychology.)<\/span><\/p>\n

My master\u2019s thesis focused on Korean fragment answers. I believe that syntactic theory <\/span>should be as \u201csimple\u201d as possible, although what \u201csimple\u201d means itself is a matter of ongoing <\/span>debate. For me, it means minimizing theoretical concepts that are motivated solely by <\/span>theoretical reasons. Based on this perspective, my thesis argues against movement-based <\/span>approaches to fragment answers, which leads to discarding many syntactic mechanisms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this, I still consider myself a syntactician, as I remain interested in the process of <\/span>sentence formulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am primarily interested in syntax, with particular interests in ellipsis, coordination, relative <\/span>clause, and, of course, Korean. I am also interested in semantics, as many of these topics <\/span>are closely connected to semantics as well. I am not yet sure what specific topic I will pursue <\/span>in the future, and my research interests may be totally different from those mentioned above, <\/span>but I hope to discover and develop new questions during my time at Rutgers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside of academics, I enjoy reading novels and listening to music. As for novels, I like <\/span>novels in which an asocial or antisocial main character observes and describes the world. As <\/span>for music, I mostly listen to rock and classical music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
Sukchan Lee<\/b><\/h5>\n

Hi everyone! My name is Sukchan Lee, and I\u2019m from Seoul, South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Before coming to Rutgers, I was at the College of Liberal Studies at Seoul National University, where I double-majored in linguistics and computer science. I quickly became interested in syntax, which led me to pursue a master\u2019s degree in linguistics. Then I went to CreteLing 2024, met a ton of amazing students and professors, and ended up getting really into semantics! I describe myself as a person who is \u201ctrying to do both syntax and semantics,\u201d because I don\u2019t want to say I\u2019m doing interface when I don\u2019t have a clear understanding of what that actually means. I have worked on topics such as (negative) imperatives, honorification, polarity-sensitive items and conditional dis\/conjunction. I\u2019d love to take these projects further, but I’m also really open to exploring whatever else catches my interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside of linguistics, I am a huge fan of music, f<\/span>ilms, swimming, and board games. (Yes, that is me in the photo holding Azul at a board game sh<\/span>op!) If anyone is looking for company to go to the movies, head over to Werblin, or catch a music festival or gig, please reach out. I\u2019ve heard several of you enjoy board games too, so I\u2019m really looking forward to playing with you all!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
Ka Hin Ng <\/b><\/h5>\n

\"\"Hi all! You can call me Sashimi or Ka Hin, whichever you prefer. He\/him. I work on semantics, and did my BA and MPhil at CUHK (both supervised by the incredible<\/span>Yenan Sun<\/span><\/a> – check her work out!!). I spend most of my spare time watching AI-animated brainrot videos, though I also swim and gym occasionally. Feel free to be direct with me – I actually like straightforward people. Nice to meet you all!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
Zijing Xu<\/b><\/h5>\n

Hi everyone! I\u2019m Zijing (pronounced roughly like “Tsi-Jing”).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"My journey into linguistics started somewhat serendipitously during a summer school in Xi\u2019an, China, where I first encountered linguistic theory. I completed my B.A. in English and M.A. in Linguistics, which naturally sparked my passion for laboratory phonology. Later, while working as a Research Assistant at CUHK, I began diving into language acquisition (including running 300+ infant behavioral experiments) and computational phonology. Broadly speaking, I\u2019m deeply curious about the nature of phonological generalizations and the cognitive mechanisms underlying human language learning, and I\u2019m thrilled to continue exploring these questions here at Rutgers!<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside of academia, you can usually find me sticking to my daily fitness routine, whether that\u2019s working out or going for outdoor runs (always down for a gym buddy!). I also love cooking and trying out new recipes. Musically, I\u2019m a big fan of Taylor Swift and I often use music and journaling to clear my head whenever life gets chaotic. I also take film photos and make vlogs to document life\u2014though I mostly keep them private. Lately, I\u2019ve been trying to pick up Spanish on Duolingo.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m excited to start the new chapter and can\u2019t wait to meet everyone ~<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2026\u20132027 academic year, and a warm welcome to our new cohort of graduate students! We’re excited to introduce the four first-years joining our Rutgers Linguistics community. 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