My research [see papers and talks] centers on exploring what natural language utterances mean and how their meanings are derived from the structural representations. Within this research program, I am particularly interested in pursuing the question of how empirical description and theoretical analysis of language data inform each other. My current research projects include studying modal expressions and degree constructions in Mandarin Chinese. I also have a secondary research interest in the sociolinguistic study of bilingualism and how certain bilingual phenomena may inform formal linguistic theory.