Language Variation and Change

Aims & Scope

Language Variation and Change is the only journal dedicated exclusively to the study of linguistic variation and the capacity to deal with systematic and inherent variation in synchronic and diachronic linguistics.

Sociolinguistics involves analysing the interaction of language, culture and society; the more specific study of variation is concerned with the impact of this interaction on the structures and processes of traditional linguistics.

Language Variation and Change concentrates on the details of linguistic structure in actual speech production and processing (or writing), including contemporary or historical sources.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	1.7

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.798

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	59

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Social Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• The intersection of sex and social class in the course of linguistic change

  Citation: 566

  Authors: William

• Reflexes of grammar in patterns of language change

  Citation: 509

  Authors: Anthony S.

• Models, forests, and trees of York English:<i>Was/were</i>variation as a case study for statistical practice

  Citation: 451

  Authors: Sali A., R. Harald

• The whole woman: Sex and gender differences in variation

  Citation: 344

  Authors: Penelope

• Word frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound change

  Citation: 301

  Authors: Joan

• The apparent time construct

  Citation: 225

  Authors: Guy, Tom, Jan, Lori

• The child as linguistic historian

  Citation: 200

  Authors: William

• Articulation rate across dialect, age, and gender

  Citation: 174

  Authors: Ewa, Robert A., Caitlin, Joseph

• Children, adolescents, and language change

  Citation: 171

  Authors: Paul

• Ethnolects and the city: Ethnic orientation and linguistic variation in Toronto English

  Citation: 148

  Authors: Michol F., James A.

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