Mapping the knowledge structure of pragmatics (1977–2022): A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a bibliometric and diachronic review of pragmatics research from 1977 to 2022. It examines the evolution of pragmatics by identifying landmark documents, networks of cited references and salient research topics. Full bibliographic records of 5 264 research articles in six SSCI-indexed pragmatics journals and their 121 558 unique references were retrieved from the Web of Science database. To reveal the landscape of pragmatics, CiteSpace was employed to investigate the most frequently co-cited documents, major clusters of co-citation and patterns of co-occurring keywords. The study identified 59 landmark documents, 11 major clusters of co-cited references divided into three historical stages and 6 major keyword clusters, representing the field’s main research areas. Keyword citation burst revealed that recent popular topics were highly influenced by the digital era, involving ‘online’ and ‘social media’, reflecting the application of pragmatics in a broader globalised context and computer-mediated communication. This review has significance for understanding core documents and topics in pragmatics. It also has methodological implications and can be extended to systematic and objective bibliometric evaluation of important issues in pragmatics.