Bibliometric Analysis of Studies in Kurdish Linguistics

Abstract

This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of Kurdish linguistics research indexed in the Web of Science database from a sociolingustic perspective. Using the criteria of “topic” and “linguistics,” in the field of Linguistics the study identified 147 publications published between 1997 and 2025. The analysis applies Performance Analysis and Science Mapping techniques to explore publication timeline, country contributions, leading authors, most cited works, keyword co-occurrence, and co-citation networks. The findings reveal a steady increase in publications, with Iran, the USA, and Türkiye emerging as the most active contributors. Key authors such as Amir Karimipour, Geoffrey Haig, Yadgar Karimi, and Vali Rezai are among the most productive, while Nihat Polat, Geoffrey Haig, and Jaffer Sheyholislami rank among the most cited. Keyword analysis highlights both sociolinguistic themes such as bilingualism and language policy, and linguistic topics such as Kurdish, Iranian languages, and ezafe. The results also show that research numbers reached its highest levels in 2021 and 2024. From a sociolinguistic perspective, the findings indicate that political conditions and institutional support play an important role in shaping research productivity and collaboration in Kurdish linguistics, both of which remain limited despite the field’s steady growth.