Analysis of Linguistic Research Hotspots and Trends Based on Citespace: Taking WOS Data as an Example (2016-2025)

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-988-9_26How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Linguistics; Cite Space; WOS (Web of Science)

Abstract

Linguistics, as a foundational discipline in international communication, currently faces theoretical, technological, and application challenges in its development. Current technologies, such as AI, are significantly impacting linguistics, and societal demands are placing new demands on the boundaries and priorities of linguistic research. Therefore, there is an urgent need to review relevant linguistic research, propose recommendations for future linguistic development, enrich and leverage existing theories, and expand the application of technology in linguistics. This study, drawing on core data from the Web of Science (WOS) and core linguistic literature from 2016 to 2025, employed the visualization tools of Cite Space 6.3R1 to construct keyword co-occurrence and temporal trend analyses, effectively tracking the evolution of hot topics and exploring future research directions. This research can effectively facilitate the coordinated development of linguistic research with theoretical, technological, and societal needs, realizing the multidimensional realization of research value. The study, using visualization analysis in Cite Space 6.3R1, found that current linguistics research can be broadly divided into 10 core clusters, and that linguistics research from 2016 to 2025 can be divided into three phases: an initial phase from 2016 to 2018 (focusing on traditional areas such as applied linguistics and second language acquisition); a period of rapid growth from 2019 to 2021 (with increased research on new methods such as big data and cognitive linguistics); and a period of divergence and convergence from 2022 to 2025 (with research expanding into sub-areas such as Old English adjective postposition, finality, and staticity). Based on this analysis, the study proposes that the future development of linguistics should leverage technology and foster interdisciplinary integration. For example, the government could provide supportive policies, establish special funds, and help build data platforms. Furthermore, companies could develop AI corpus processing and provide practical scenarios. Finally, researchers should clarify data rules when conducting in-depth AI-related analyses to avoid unfairness.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Xinyu Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/15
TI  - Analysis of Linguistic Research Hotspots and Trends Based on Citespace: Taking WOS Data as an Example (2016-2025)
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 5th International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 217
EP  - 225
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-988-9_26
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-988-9_26
ID  - Zhang2026
ER  -