My name is Nianpo Su. I am a Lecturer in Chinese at Columbia University, where I teach in the Chinese Language Program in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. I received my Ph.D. in Linguistics from Cornell University in 2026, with a minor in Cognitive Science, and my B.A. in Japanese Language and Literature from Tsinghua University.

My research focuses on theoretical syntax and experimental semantics, with particular interests in definiteness, classifiers, and DP structure. I work on Mandarin Chinese as well as understudied languages of Southwest China, particularly Nuosu Yi and Northern Qiang. 

My dissertation, Classifiers and DP Structure: Marking Definiteness and Beyond, investigates how classifier languages encode definiteness.