Research trends in corpus linguistics

Abstract

This paper uses a bibliometric analysis to map the field of Corpus Linguistics (CL) research in arts and humanities over the last 20 years, tracking changes in popular CL research topics, outlets, highly cited authors, and geographical origins based on the metadata of 5,829 CL-related articles from 429 Scopus-indexed journals. Results reveal an increase in corpus-assisted discourse studies, lexical bundles and academic writing, alongside newer topics including multilingualism and social media. CL studies span 193 languages/dialects with a significant rise in Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Italian CL research over the past decade. Clusters of highly cited CL researchers are identified spanning (inter)disciplinary research areas. An increase of CL researchers in China, Poland, South Korea, Japan, and more is evidence of the now global reach of CL research. These findings mirror diachronic socio-cultural developments in applied linguistics and society more generally and provide insights into what CL research might come next.