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Nonprofit · Dallas · United States

SIL International

In research, SIL International stands highest in Social Sciences (#7,708 of 10,521 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Arts and Humanities — Arts and Humanities is 7.6× its share of world research.

sil.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#21,135
of 28,054 · #20,162 all time
Rank in United States
#3,117
of 4,192
Research works
1.2k
▼ 46% vs 2013–17
Citations
12k
9.5 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
11.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
40%
world 28%

What is SIL International known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #7,708 of 10,521 13.4%75 #4795

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where SIL International sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

What does SIL International specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Arts and Humanities takes 7.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Arts and HumanitiesField · 27.5 works7.6×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.46× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.48× its world share, 3 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Neuroscience: 0.71× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.40× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemistry: 0.63× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.61× its world share, 16 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.39× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.58× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.29× its world share, 5 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.46× its world share, 3 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.50× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.70× its world share, 2 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.33× its world share, 1 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.41× its world share, 10 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 7.64× its world share, 28 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.34× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.71× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.83× its world share, 7 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.38× its world share, 37 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 7.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at SIL International?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert E. Longacre, Barbara A Lafford and Thomas N. Headland lead among researchers whose main affiliation is SIL International.

  1. 1 Robert E. Longacre United States · #133,958 worldwide 71 citations · 29 works
  2. 2 Barbara A Lafford United States · #259,608 worldwide 77 citations · 32 works
  3. 3 Thomas N. Headland United States · #273,993 worldwide 136 citations · 17 works
  4. 4 Andrew Pilsch United States · #340,578 worldwide 13 citations · 25 works
  5. 5 William L. Wonderly United States · #365,896 worldwide 14 citations · 22 works
  6. 6 Gary Simons United States · #469,064 worldwide 57 citations · 23 works
  7. 7 Janet W. Dyk United States · #609,365 worldwide 3 citations · 26 works
  8. 8 Carlos Javier García United States · #725,807 worldwide 0 citations · 16 works
  9. 9 Stephen H. Levinsohn United States · #824,970 worldwide 2 citations · 16 works
  10. 10 L.J. de Regt United States · #858,879 worldwide 1 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at SIL International

Which keywords describe research at SIL International?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Pragmatics, Language Teaching, Speech Perception, Language Contact, Language Evolution, Sociolinguistics, Morphology and Syntax.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Pragmatics9▲ 46×6 topics
  2. Language Teaching7▲ 21×5 topics
  3. Globalization6▲ 2.5×18 topics
  4. Speech Perception6▲ 59×2 topics
  5. Language Contact6▲ 46×6 topics
  6. Language Evolution6▲ 110×2 topics
  7. Sociolinguistics5▲ 23×7 topics
  8. Education5▲ 2.4×11 topics
  9. Morphology5▲ 23×3 topics
  10. Syntax5▲ 54×2 topics
  11. Perception5▲ 57×2 topics
  12. Ethnicity4▲ 9.2×5 topics
  13. Grammar4▲ 146×1 topic
  14. Linguistic Diversity4▲ 153×2 topics
  15. Semantics4▲ 129×1 topic
  16. Semitic Languages4▲ 74×1 topic
  17. Verb Morphology4▲ 240×1 topic
  18. Religion4▲ 6.6×9 topics
  19. Language Policy4▲ 21×4 topics
  20. Multilingualism4▲ 18×4 topics
  21. Prosody4▲ 80×2 topics
  22. Bilingual Education3▲ 23×3 topics
  23. Language Change3▲ 126×1 topic
  24. Local Wisdom3▲ 5.6×4 topics
  25. Sociolinguistic Variation3▲ 126×1 topic
  26. Christian-Muslim Relations3▲ 96×1 topic
  27. Corpus Linguistics3▲ 12×5 topics
  28. Gospel Translation3▲ 115×1 topic
  29. Language3▲ 11×6 topics
  30. Media Literacy3▲ 4.7×4 topics
  31. Social Interaction3▲ 6.3×4 topics
  32. Second Language Learning3▲ 27×2 topics
  33. Language Acquisition3▲ 21×2 topics
  34. Cultural History3▲ 19×4 topics
  35. Perceptual Learning3▲ 45×1 topic
  36. Phonetics3▲ 88×1 topic
  37. Cognition2▲ 14×2 topics
  38. Conversation Analysis2▲ 64×1 topic
  39. Interactional Linguistics2▲ 64×1 topic
  40. Civil Society2▲ 17×2 topics

Which research topics does SIL International publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation, Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis, Linguistic Variation and Morphology and Historical and Linguistic Studies.

Syntax, Semantics, Lingu…4Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation: 4 fractional worksLanguage, Linguistics, C…4Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis: 4 fractional worksLinguistic Variation and…3Linguistic Variation and Morphology: 3 fractional worksHistorical and Linguisti…3Historical and Linguistic Studies: 3 fractional worksPhonetics and Phonology Research: 3 fractional worksLanguage, Discourse, Communication Strategies: 2 fractional worksMultilingual Education a…2Multilingual Education and Policy: 2 fractional worksEducational Methods and Media Use: 2 fractional worksNatural Language Processing Techniques: 2 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 2 fractional works
Language and LinguisticsLinguistics and LanguageSociology and Political ScienceExperimental and Cognitive Psychology3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation Language and Linguistics 4 works
  2. 2 Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis Language and Linguistics 4 works
  3. 3 Linguistic Variation and Morphology Linguistics and Language 3 works
  4. 4 Historical and Linguistic Studies Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  5. 5 Phonetics and Phonology Research Experimental and Cognitive Psychology 3 works
  6. 6 Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies Language and Linguistics 2 works
  7. 7 Multilingual Education and Policy Linguistics and Language 2 works
  8. 8 Educational Methods and Media Use Information Systems 2 works
  9. 9 Natural Language Processing Techniques Artificial Intelligence 2 works
  10. 10 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 2 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available39.6%not open60.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.6%domestic only87.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has SIL International's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 46% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Dallas

All research institutions in Dallas

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.