Journal rankings · indicator year 2025
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2025
Linguistics and Language journal rankings 2025
50 ranked journals · Subfield in Social Sciences
Linguistics and Language has 50 ranked journals in 2025. The median OJR rose 0.28 on 2024 to 2.14, above the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 3.70. No journal’s likely rank range stays within the top 3, so the intro names none.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2025. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2022–2024, the window the 2025 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Social Sciences (22)
50 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. The small range under it is the likely rank range: in 95% of 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers, it ranked inside that range. Journals whose ranges overlap are not clearly different. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2024. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2022–2024, the window the 2025 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2022–2024 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2016 to 2025. A label compares the 2022→2025 change with the median change of the journal’s field or domain. Rising needs a relative change of +10% or more that is at least 2 standard errors above zero; Falling needs -9.1% or less (rounded), at least 2 standard errors below zero. Sorting uses that relative change. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank 1; likely between #1 and #10 of 50Annual Review of Applied LinguisticsCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 7.67Q1 | 9.19 3.83 up from 2024 | 48 | 72% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 2; likely between #1 and #12 of 50Critical Inquiry in Language StudiesTaylor & Francis · United States | 6.24Q1 | 2.91 0.46 down from 2024 | 72 | 35% | — | ||
Rank 3; likely between #1 and #8 of 50TESOL QuarterlyWiley · United States | 6.05Q1 | 5.49 1.16 up from 2024 | 244 | 62% | $2,850 | ||
Rank 4; likely between #1 and #13 of 50Educational LinguisticsDe Gruyter · Germany | 5.66Q1 | 2.48 0.21 down from 2024 | 40 | 88% | $2,712 | ||
Rank 5; likely between #1 and #16 of 50Asian EnglishesTaylor & Francis | 5.35Q1 | 1.68 0.86 down from 2024 | 93 | 23% | — | ||
Rank 6; likely between #3 and #12 of 50Applied LinguisticsOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 5.07Q1 | 3.77 0.48 down from 2024 | 229 | 49% | $5,481 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 7; likely between #3 and #11 of 50Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural DevelopmentTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 5.03Q1 | 3.85 0.92 down from 2024 | 636 | 34% | — | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 8; likely between #2 and #13 of 50International Multilingual Research JournalTaylor & Francis · United States | 5.02Q1 | 3.55 0.77 up from 2024 | 73 | 21% | — | ||
Rank 9; likely between #3 and #14 of 50Applied Linguistics ReviewDe Gruyter · Germany | 4.82Q1 | 5.68 0.91 up from 2024 | 207 | 36% | $2,712 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 10; likely between #1 and #27 of 50Journal of Multicultural DiscoursesTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 4.59Q1 | 2.41 0.49 up from 2024 | 61 | 29% | — | ||
Rank 11; likely between #3 and #16 of 50World EnglishesWiley · United Kingdom | 4.50Q1 | 2.44 0.31 up from 2024 | 130 | 68% | $3,570 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 12; likely between #6 and #15 of 50Linguistics and EducationElsevier BV · United States | 4.28Q1 | 3.24 0.28 up from 2024 | 221 | 49% | $2,620 | Rising vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 13; likely between #9 and #18 of 50Current Issues in Language PlanningTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 3.70Q1 | 2.75 0.29 up from 2024 | 98 | 25% | — | ||
Rank 14; likely between #10 and #20 of 50Journal of Language Identity & EducationTaylor & Francis · United States | 3.40Q2 | 2.22 0.35 down from 2024 | 191 | 24% | — | ||
Rank 15; likely between #8 and #28 of 50MultilinguaDe Gruyter Mouton · Germany | 3.12Q2 | 1.33 1.98 down from 2024 | 84 | 38% | $2,712 | ||
Rank 16; likely between #13 and #22 of 50International Journal of MultilingualismRoutledge · United Kingdom | 2.99Q2 | 2.72 0.25 up from 2024 | 238 | 30% | — | ||
Rank 17; likely between #6 and #36 of 50Journal of English LinguisticsSAGE Publishing · United States | 2.90Q2 | 2.12 0.84 up from 2024 | 37 | 40% | $3,650 | ||
Rank 18; likely between #13 and #25 of 50Language PolicySpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 2.78Q2 | 2.57 0.16 up from 2024 | 101 | 31% | $3,090 | ||
Rank 19; likely between #13 and #26 of 50Language and Intercultural CommunicationRoutledge · United Kingdom | 2.76Q2 | 1.90 0.77 down from 2024 | 138 | 44% | — | ||
Rank 20; likely between #16 and #25 of 50International Journal of Bilingual Education and BilingualismRoutledge · United Kingdom | 2.58Q2 | 2.30 0.39 down from 2024 | 201 | 43% | — | Falling vs field, 2022–25 | |
Rank 21; likely between #14 and #31 of 50Journal of Linguistic AnthropologyWiley · United States | 2.32Q2 | 2.00 0.90 up from 2024 | 64 | 66% | $3,400 | ||
Rank 22; likely between #16 and #30 of 50Bilingual Research JournalTaylor & Francis · United States | 2.25Q2 | 1.73 0.55 up from 2024 | 81 | 18% | — | ||
Rank 23; likely between #16 and #32 of 50Journal of SociolinguisticsWiley · United Kingdom | 2.23Q2 | 2.76 1.01 up from 2024 | 115 | 67% | $3,730 | ||
Rank 24; likely between #15 and #33 of 50Language in SocietyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 2.22Q2 | 1.45 0.68 down from 2024 | 183 | 45% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 25; likely between #15 and #33 of 50International Journal of the Sociology of LanguageDe Gruyter · Germany | 2.19Q2 | 0.83 0.57 down from 2024 | 168 | 40% | $2,712 | ||
Rank 26; likely between #16 and #34 of 50Language Culture and SocietyJohn Benjamins Publishing Company · Netherlands | 2.10Q3 | 1.50 0.41 up from 2024 | 33 | 11% | — | ||
Rank 27; likely between #16 and #39 of 50Journal of Multilingual Theories and PracticesOAEquinox Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.81Q3 | 1.24 0.24 up from 2024 | 43 | 100% | — | ||
Rank 28; likely between #24 and #37 of 50Linguistic Landscape An international journalJohn Benjamins Publishing Company · Netherlands | 1.56Q3 | 1.33 0.31 up from 2024 | 71 | 13% | — | ||
Rank 29; likely between #12 and #48 of 50Journal of Historical SociolinguisticsDe Gruyter · Germany | 1.51Q3 | 1.39 1.06 up from 2024 | 57 | 61% | $2,712 | ||
Rank 30; likely between #14 and #45 of 50Journal of Language ContactOABrill · France | 1.46Q3 | 1.25 1.04 down from 2024 | 72 | 100% | — | ||
Rank 31; likely between #25 and #40 of 50Linguistic Approaches to BilingualismJohn Benjamins Publishing Company · Netherlands | 1.36Q3 | 2.44 0.57 up from 2024 | 99 | 50% | — | ||
Rank 32; likely between #23 and #43 of 50English World-Wide A Journal of Varieties of EnglishJohn Benjamins Publishing Company · Germany | 1.35Q3 | 1.00 0.58 down from 2024 | 51 | 44% | — | ||
Rank 33; likely between #20 and #45 of 50Heritage Language JournalUnited States | 1.33Q3 | 1.05 0.14 up from 2024 | 35 | 21% | — | ||
Rank 34; likely between #27 and #41 of 50Canadian Modern Language Review/ La Revue canadienne des langues vivantesUniversity of Toronto Press · Canada | 1.24Q3 | 0.89 0.34 down from 2024 | 54 | 6% | — | ||
Rank 35; likely between #24 and #43 of 50Canadian Journal of Applied LinguisticsOAUniversity of New Brunswick · Canada | 1.21Q3 | 0.82 0.65 down from 2024 | 44 | 100% | — | ||
Rank 36; likely between #30 and #40 of 50International Journal of BilingualismSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.19Q3 | 1.88 0.03 up from 2024 | 240 | 54% | $3,650 | ||
Rank 37; likely between #26 and #43 of 50English TodayCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.18Q3 | 1.24 0.52 up from 2024 | 94 | 47% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 38; likely between #27 and #44 of 50Journal of Linguistic GeographyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.13Q3 | 0.94 0.09 up from 2024 | 30 | 100% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 39; likely between #25 and #44 of 50European Journal of Applied LinguisticsDe Gruyter · Germany | 1.13Q4 | 1.37 0.14 up from 2024 | 53 | 93% | $0 listed | ||
Rank 40; likely between #25 and #44 of 50English Language and LinguisticsCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 1.12Q4 | 0.96 0.26 up from 2024 | 89 | 56% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 41; likely between #27 and #47 of 50OLBI JournalOACanada | 0.86Q4 | 0.40 0.03 down from 2024 | 43 | 100% | — | ||
Rank 42; likely between #26 and #50 of 50American SpeechDuke University Press · United States | 0.79Q4 | 0.26 0.31 down from 2024 | 70 | 14% | — | ||
Rank 43; likely between #32 and #46 of 50Language Variation and ChangeCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 0.79Q4 | 1.47 0.04 up from 2024 | 63 | 100% | $3,550 | ||
Rank 44; likely between #36 and #46 of 50Language Problems & Language PlanningJohn Benjamins Publishing Company · Netherlands | 0.71Q4 | 0.66 0.18 down from 2024 | 58 | 37% | — | ||
Rank 45; likely between #37 and #47 of 50Sociolinguistica - International Yearbook of European Sociolinguistics / Internationales Jahrbuch für europäische SoziolinguistikDe Gruyter · Germany | 0.61Q4 | 0.59 0.39 down from 2024 | 65 | 52% | $2,712 | ||
Rank 46; likely between #42 and #48 of 50Sociolinguistic StudiesEquinox Publishing · United Kingdom | 0.50Q4 | 0.47 0.19 up from 2024 | 115 | 3% | — | ||
Rank 47; likely between #44 and #50 of 50Publication of the American Dialect SocietyDuke University Press · United States | 0.33Q4 | 0.27 0.14 up from 2024 | 37 | 0% | — | ||
Rank 48; likely between #44 and #50 of 50Multilingual Margins A journal of multilingualism from the peripheryOASouth Africa | 0.30Q4 | 0.18 0.11 down from 2024 | 33 | — | — | ||
Rank 49; likely between #45 and #50 of 50Oceanic LinguisticsUniversity of Hawaii Press · United States | 0.25Q4 | 0.23 1.09 down from 2024 | 71 | 21% | — | ||
Rank 50; likely between #47 and #50 of 50AlsicOAMarc Bloch University · France | 0.18Q4 | 0.29 0.03 down from 2024 | 71 | 100% | — |
5 Linguistics and Language journals are labelled rising: their OJR moved up between 2022 and 2025 clearly faster than the median journal of their field or domain.
A journal is rising when its OJR grew from 2022 to 2025 faster than the median journal of its field (or domain, when the field is small), by two tests: the relative change is +10% or more, and it is at least 2 standard errors above zero. So the range of the change at 2 standard errors stays above zero, though not necessarily above +10%.
The bar is that range on a ratio scale; the shaded band, -9.1% to +10%, holds changes too small for a label. The list is ordered by the low end of the range, so the surest rises come first.
- 1Applied LinguisticsOxford University Press · United Kingdom+73% vs groupOJR 3.09 → 5.07range +16% to +159%
- 2Applied Linguistics ReviewDe Gruyter · Germany+84% vs groupOJR 2.77 → 4.82range +16% to +193%
- 3World EnglishesWiley · United Kingdom+79% vs groupOJR 2.66 → 4.50range +8.7% to +195%
- 4Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural DevelopmentTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom+36% vs groupOJR 3.93 → 5.03range +7.5% to +71%
- 5Linguistics and EducationElsevier BV · United States+43% vs groupOJR 3.17 → 4.28range +6.0% to +93%
No-label zone, -9.1% to +10%Group median changeBar scale -68% to +212% (ratio scale)
1 Linguistics and Language journals are labelled falling: their OJR moved between 2022 and 2025 clearly behind the median journal of their field or domain.
A journal is falling when its OJR changed from 2022 to 2025 by less than the median journal of its field (or domain, when the field is small), by two tests: the relative change is -9.1% or less (rounded), and it is at least 2 standard errors below zero. So the range of the change at 2 standard errors stays below zero, though not necessarily below -9.1%.
The bar is that range on a ratio scale; the shaded band, -9.1% to +10%, holds changes too small for a label. The list is ordered by the high end of the range, so the surest falls come first.
- 1International Journal of Bilingual Education and BilingualismRoutledge · United Kingdom-41% vs groupOJR 4.60 → 2.58range -57% to -18%
No-label zone, -9.1% to +10%Group median changeBar scale -58% to +141% (ratio scale)
Subfields of Social Sciences, with Linguistics and Language highlighted.
- Sociology and Political Science1,388
- Education693
- Political Science and International Relations322
- Communication71
- Gender Studies65
- Safety Research61
- Urban Studies54
- Health53
- Transportation51
- Linguistics and Language50
- Public Administration49
- Law46
- Demography38
- Library and Information Sciences38
- Anthropology37
- Geography, Planning and Development34
- Cultural Studies8
- Development4
- General Social Sciences2
- Human Factors and Ergonomics1
- Life-span and Life-course Studies1
- Archeology0
Journals
The endpoints below each rank show its likely range. How rank ranges are calculated
Citations made in 2025. Corpus-wide, 84.3% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
11 additional Linguistics and Language journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2022–2024, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2025. Publication window: 2022–2024. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 50
- Window papers (baseline)
- 19,862 -2.3% from indicator year 2022
- Median OJR
- 2.14 +33.4% from indicator year 2022
- Rising journals (2025)
- 5
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2022–2024 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 32 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 35 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 41 | 43 | 45 | 47 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 48 | 51 | 49 | 48 | 50 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 5,844 | 6,337 | 6,715 | 7,184 | 7,595 | 7,933 | 8,416 | 9,108 | 10,166 | 11,212 | 12,402 | 13,244 | 14,103 | 14,696 | 15,201 | 15,641 | 16,486 | 17,042 | 17,820 | 18,058 | 19,095 | 19,911 | 20,332 | 19,938 | 19,424 | 19,862 | |
| Median OJR | 0.97 | 1.10 | 0.99 | 2.75 | 1.518 | 1.24 | 1.515 | 1.63 | 1.74 | 1.73 | 2.09 | 2.27 | 2.30 | 2.16 | 2.37 | 2.45 | 2.90 | 2.62 | 2.59 | 2.84 | 2.53 | 2.02 | 1.61 | 1.87 | 1.86 | 2.14 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.