Research Trends and Developments in Chinese Linguistics over the Past Decade (2016–2025): A Codex-Based Bibliometric Analysis of Peking University Core Journals in Linguistics

Abstract

This study analyzes 8,181 papers on Chinese linguistics published in Peking University Core Linguistics Journals between 2016 and 2025 through a Codex-based bibliometric approach, examining the research productivity, scholarly community, knowledge structure, and research frontiers of Chinese linguistics over the past decade. The results show that Chinese linguistics maintained a stable level of research output with little annual fluctuation, while research achievements were concentrated in a small number of core journals and among leading research groups. In terms of knowledge structure, studies on Modern Chinese, historical linguistics, and Chinese philology constituted the core research domains, with grammaticalization, semantic change, and constructional studies identified as the major research themes. In addition, artificial intelligence, large language models, International Chinese Language Education, international communication, and translation strategies emerged as recent major research topics and burst keywords. By providing a comprehensive overview of the knowledge structure and research frontiers of Chinese linguistics over the past decade, this study offers a useful reference for understanding recent research trends and identifying future research directions.