Historical Linguistics and Language Studies
Historical Linguistics and Language Studies is a research topic within Language and Linguistics. Science Explorer counts 25k research works in it since 1950. 13.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the history and development of linguistics, language teaching, and related fields. It covers topics such as the influence of Saussure, missionary linguistics, applied linguistics, grammaticalization, language learning, the work of Humboldt, the role of Jesuits in linguistic studies, and the evolution of structuralism.
- Linguistic Historiography
- Language Teaching
- Saussure
- Missionary Linguistics
- Applied Linguistics
- Grammaticalization
- Language Learning
- Humboldt
- Jesuits
- Structuralism
- Research works
- 25k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 3.4k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 13.6% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +11% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research?
By volume, France and Spain publish the most (854 and 323 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 France 854 works
- 2 Spain 323 works
- 3 United States 300 works
- 4 Germany 186 works
- 5 Brazil 181 works
- 6 Italy 164 works
- 7 United Kingdom 153 works
- 8 Russia 111 works
- 9 Switzerland 106 works
- 10 Poland 87 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Lausanne publishes the most Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research, followed by Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and Université Paris Cité.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of LausanneSwitzerland 50 works
- 2 Université Sorbonne NouvelleFrance 43 works
- 3 Université Paris CitéFrance 40 works
- 4 Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain 38 works
- 5 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 33 works
- 6 Laboratoire de Linguistique et Didactique des Langues Etrangères et MaternellesFrance 27 works
- 7 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 25 works
- 8 Sorbonne UniversitéFrance 24 works
- 9 Université Paul-Valéry MontpellierFrance 22 works
- 10 Université Paris NanterreFrance 20 works
Who are the leading researchers in Historical Linguistics and Language Studies?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Historical Linguistics and Language Studies include C. Schmitt, Noam Chomsky and Teun A. van Dijk.
- 1 C. Schmitt United States 6.8k citations
- 2 Noam Chomsky United States 3.7k citations
- 3 Teun A. van Dijk Spain 2.5k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research done?
The largest centres of Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research in 2022–2025 are Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), Lyon (France) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Cergy-Pontoise, Nanterre and Nancy.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- Cergy-PontoiseFR · 20.1 works58×
- NanterreFR · 25.9 works25×
- NancyFR · 25.4 works19×
- GrenobleFR · 31.1 works18×
- LyonFR · 55.6 works17×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Historical Linguistics and Language Studies than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Historical Linguistics and Language Studies?
Among universities, judged by research, Université Paris Cité, Sorbonne Université and University of Lausanne score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Université Paris CitéFrance | 64.3 | 10.3% | 28.2× | 40 | +13.4% |
| 2 | Sorbonne UniversitéFrance | 62.4 | 8.9% | 14.7× | 24 | +78.9% |
| 3 | University of LausanneSwitzerland | 61.8 | 6.0% | 44.2× | 50 | +6.1% |
| 4 | CY Cergy Paris UniversitéFrance | 61.8 | 13.2% | 68.1× | 20 | +93.2% |
| 5 | Universidad de OviedoSpain | 60.7 | 13.6% | 11.6× | 10 | +260.1% |
| 6 | Université Sorbonne NouvelleFrance | 60.3 | 10.5% | 105.5× | 43 | +27.5% |
| 7 | Université Toulouse - Jean JaurèsFrance | 60.3 | 15.4% | 35.3× | 15 | +109.2% |
| 8 | Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain | 60.1 | 10.4% | 15.1× | 38 | +28.4% |
| 9 | Universidad de Buenos AiresArgentina | 59.9 | 13.3% | 11.0× | 14 | +128.0% |
| 10 | University of LiègeBelgium | 59.8 | 20.1% | 13.0× | 12 | -29.1% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Historical Linguistics and Language Studies research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 11% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2018. The fastest-growing topics are Historical Linguistics and Language Studies.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.