Two decades of research on language governance, policy, and management (2005–2025)

A bibliometric mapping of global scholarship

Bibliographic Data

ID19224558
AuthorsRong Zou (0000-0003-1959-9300, Hong Kong Metropolitan University), Yixiao Cao (0009-0003-1499-6291, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, corresponding author), Leilei Jiang (0009-0005-4074-2062, INTI International University), Hao Wu (0000-0001-5323-516X, INTI International University), Walton Wider (0000-0002-0369-4082, INTI International University)
Year2026
Pages1-28
Publication date2026-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Issues in Language Planning (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1466-4208 • E-ISSN: 1747-7506
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14664208.2026.2675099
OpenAlexW7161628707
LanguageEN
References cited60

This study provides the first comprehensive bibliometric mapping of global research on language governance, policy, and management (LGPM). Using 552 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection between 2005 and 2025, the study employs citation, co-citation, and co-word analyses to examine the intellectual structure, knowledge base, and thematic evolution of the field. The findings show that LGPM has developed into a consolidated yet interdisciplinary research domain shaped by influential journals such as Current Issues in Language Planning and Language Policy. Anglophone countries and China emerged as the leading contributors to global research productivity and scholarly influence. Co-citation analysis identified three major intellectual clusters: critical and ecological approaches to language policy, family language policy and multilingualism, and organizational language management theory. Co-word analysis further revealed five interconnected thematic areas, including multilingual education, heritage language politics, corporate language management, English-medium instruction, and China-related policy innovation associated with translanguaging and language rights. Overall, the findings suggest that LGPM research increasingly connects macro-level governance, meso-level institutional policy, and micro-level language practices while highlighting the growing need for more inclusive, comparative, and context-sensitive multilingual policy research

Bibliometrics · Discourse analysis · Higher education · Language planning · Scholarship · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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