Overview
My research primarily focuses on syntax and the syntax-morphology interface, aiming to account for surface structural variation and underlying parallels in typologically different languages. More specifically, I have investigated phenomena such as scrambling, raising, case, binding, nominalization, among others.
Publications & Ongoing Manuscripts
To appear. Gong, Z. M. & Ótott-Kovács, E. Variation in the subject position requires both relative clause-external and internal analyses. In Proceedings of the 43rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. [pdf]
To appear. Gong, Z. M. Wh-island Sensitivity Reveals Two Scrambling Mechanisms in Khalkha Mongolian. In Proceedings of the 43rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. [pdf]
2024. Gong, Z. M. Two Types of Long Distance Scrambling in Mongolian. ms [pdf].
2024. Gong, Z. M. & Despić, M. On the Nature of Reflexive Possessive Agreement In Mongolian: From Nominals to Clauses. in Proceedings of WAFL17. [pdf]. https://mitwpl.mit.edu/catalog/mwpl94/
2023. Gong, Z. M. A/A’-operations at the Mongolian clausal periphery. Journal of East Asian Linguistics. Open Access. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-023-09268-4
2022. Gong, Z. M. Case in wholesale late merger: evidence from Mongolian scrambling. Linguistic Inquiry. 1–66. [pdf]. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/ling_a_00494
2022. Gong, Z. M. Scrambling and reconstruction asymmetries. in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 28.1. [pdf]. https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/45359
2021. Gong, Z. M. Postsyntactic Lowering and linear relations in Dagur noun phrases. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics. 6(1), 42. Open Access. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.1397
2020. Gong, Z. M. The POSS-final suffix order in Dagur. in The Proceedings of 50th Annual Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society. [pdf]
Selected Presentations
2025 Two Types of Long-Distance Scrambling Across Weak Islands. The 43rd West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, UW Seattle. [handout ver]
2025 Specification of D Derives Variation in Relative Clauses. The 10th iteration of the Workshop on Turkic and Languages in Contact with Turkic (Tu+10), USC. [pdf]
2024 Dissecting Relative Clauses with Genitive Subjects – A Methodology (with Eszter Ótott-Kovács). USC Seminar in Syntax: Topics in Turkic.
2024 Reflexive Binding in Mongolian (with Miloje Despić). GLOW in Asia XIV, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, CUHK.
2023 On the Nature of Reflexive Binding in Mongolian: from Nominals to Clauses (w/ Miloje Despić). WAFL17, Institute of Mongolian Studies, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
2022 A/A’-operations at the clausal periphery: Agree, movement, and the interpretation of chains. Berkeley Syntax & Semantics Circle.
2021 Condition C reconstruction revisited: scrambling, late merger, and the A/A’-distinction in Mongolian. Syracuse-Cornell Word Order/Scrambling Workshop.
2021 Late Merger in scrambling — A Mongolian case study. PLC45, University of Pennsylvania (online).
2019 The POSS -final suffix order in Dagur. NELS 50, MIT.
2019 A lowering analysis of the Dagur CASE-POSS order. WAFL15, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Dissertation
Issues in the Syntax of Movement: Cross-Clausal Dependencies, Reconstruction, and Movement Typology. Cornell University. [pdf]. DOI: http://doi.org/10.7298/fjnb-7193