Computational Sociolinguistics: An Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Area

This article explores the multidisciplinary field of computational sociolinguistics (CSLX). A social network analysis through a bibliometric approach is employed to investigate the landscape of scholarly publications through a series of keyword queries related to ‘Computational Sociolinguistics’. The study analyses publications contributing to this research area, focusing on semantic content analysis. The methodology involves the extraction and processing of data from the database Web of Science followed by semantic similarity assessments and classifications of abstracts using advanced natural language processing techniques to map the thematic clusters within the field as well as co-authorship analysis. Key findings reveal significant multidisciplinarity in CSLX characterised by the integration of computational methods into sociolinguistic inquiries. The study identifies central topics and collaborative patterns, highlighting the influence of the computational profile over the sociolinguistic one. Conclusively, CSLX is positioned as an emerging field, with its development influenced by technological advancements and the increasing complexity of social interactions in computer-mediated communication.