Hi! My name is Yuanyuan Zhang. I was born in Lianyungang, a coastal city in Jiangsu Province, China. I grew up speaking Central Plains Mandarin (中原官话) and Standard Mandarin (普通话), and I also picked up some Cantonese (粤语) along the way. Besides English, I later studied Japanese, Spanish, and even some Japanese Sign Language.
My academic journey also brought me to explore less commonly studied languages. For instance, I conducted research on Mongolian and learned about its fascinating grammatical structures. My passion for linguistics extends to understanding the intricate relationship between language structure and human thought.
Outside of academia, I find joy in connecting with nature and cultural traditions. From cooking hearty soups to collecting autumn leaves, these small activities inspire creativity and balance in my life.