Studies in Language

General Editors
Associate Editors
ORCiD logo with linkI Wayan Arka | The Australian National University
Laura Becker | Ludwig Maximilian University Munich
ORCiD logo with linkDenis Creissels | Lumière University Lyon 2
Jeff Good | University of Buffalo
Tom Güldemann | Humboldt University Berlin
Daniel Hole | University of Stuttgart
ORCiD logo with linkShoichi Iwasaki | University of California, Los Angeles
ORCiD logo with linkMarianne Mithun | University of California, Santa Barbara
ORCiD logo with linkDoris L. Payne | University of Oregon
Alejandra Regúnaga | National University La Pampa
ORCiD logo with linkFoong Ha Yap | Chinese University of Hong Kong
Editorial Assistant
Viveka Velupillai | Justus Liebig University Giessen

Journal metrics

Impact Factor: 0.4 (5-year: 0.6)
Journal Citation Indicator: 0.36
CiteScore: 1.5
SNIP: 0.776 SJR: 0.378

This journal is peer reviewed and indexed in: ANVUR Riviste scientifiche (ANVUR ) ; Abstracts in English Studies  ; CNKI Scholar ; Cultures, Langues, Textes (CLT ) ; Dimensions ; ERIH PLUS ; Germanistik ; Glottolog ; Humanities Index  ; IBR/IBZ ; Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences ; Linguistic Bibliography/Bibliographie Linguistique ; Linguistics Abstracts Online ; Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA ) ; MLA International Bibliography ; Scopus ; Social Scisearch ; WoS Arts & Humanities Citation Index ; WoS Social Sciences Citation Index

Studies in Language (SL) provides a forum for the discussion of issues in contemporary linguistics, with a particular focus on empirically well-grounded research in the functional-typological tradition that recognizes the diversity, variability, and historical dynamics of human languages.

Studies in Language provides for three sections and types of contributions:

  • Regular articles in Studies in Language are expected to adopt a cross-linguistic or typological perspective on morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, or discourse, that help to advance our understanding of human language. Regular articles on one individual language are published only to the extent that they make a contribution of general interest.
  • News from the Field articles should be short contributions that report on new discoveries in little-known or endangered languages, emphasizing description over theory. These contributions present previously unpublished data from original fieldwork and are expected to provide concise and well-substantiated analyses of linguistic phenomena that have not been noticed so far and for which the wider theoretical implications have yet to be established.
  • Proposals for Review articles are only considered if they discuss recent book publications relevant to the journal’s profile as described above. If the proposal is accepted, the Review Article author will receive a physical or digital copy of the book. Review articles should provide a balanced and critical assessment of the publication.

SL publishes an annual Special Issue on a topic that falls within the focus of the journal. Proposals should be submitted to the Editors.

Contributions should be in English. Articles previously published or under consideration by another journal cannot be accepted.

SL publishes its articles Online First.

Studies in Language now offers online submission.

ISSN: 0378-4177 | E-ISSN: 1569‑9978
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl
Latest articles

9 March 2026

  • Differential argument marking and discourse prominence
    Paul Compensis, Marco García García, Birgit Hellwig, Sonja RiesbergGertrud Schneider-Blum
  • 22 January 2026

  • The ‘say’ strategy for ordinal numerals in East Caucasian: Conflicting evidence on the evolution of a rare morphosyntactic pattern
    Polina NasledskovaIvan Netkachev
  • 11 December 2025

  • The passive construction and participant identification in Cuntou Tuhua
    Xiyue Huang | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 233–257
  • The expression of knowing and ignorance in the Indigenous languages of Australia
    William B. McGregor | SL 50:2 (2026) pp. 396–470
  • 10 December 2025

  • Grammaticalization vs. Diachronic Construction Grammar: A reappraisal
    Bernd Heine, Debra Ziegeler, Carmelo Alessandro BasileEric Mélac | SL 50:2 (2026) pp. 471–508
  • 1 December 2025

  • Distance-based approach reveals convergence effects in word order among the languages of the Circum-Baltic linguistic area
    Ilja A. Seržant, Berfin Aktaṣ, Maria OvsjannikovaManfred Stede | SL 50:2 (2026) pp. 259–293
  • 25 November 2025

  • The size of clitics and affixes: A phonological approach to the grammaticalization cline
    Tim ZinglerPhillip Rogers | SL 50:2 (2026) pp. 352–395
  • 11 November 2025

  • A for antipassive, I for inverse: Rethinking transitivity and voice in Chiquitano
    Andrey Nikulin | SL 50:2 (2026) pp. 294–351
  • 9 October 2025

  • BE-perfects and grammaticalization in Bulgarian and Lithuanian: A study based on data from Facebook comments
    Danguolė Kotryna Kapkan | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 160–205
  • 6 October 2025

  • Areal effects on argument-coding patterns: Problems, progress, and prospects
    Daria Alfimova, Kirill KozhanovSergey Say | SL 49:4 (2025) pp. 757–777
  • 29 September 2025

  • Verbal number in Muyu
    Alexander Zahrer | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 1–32
  • 19 September 2025

  • Exceptive constructions in Huasteca Nahuatl: On the interaction of syntax and discourse in language use
    Jesús Olguín Martínez | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 206–232
  • 26 August 2025

  • Evolutionary pathways between applicative, causative, and middle
    David A. PetersonMuhammad Zakaria | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 109–159
  • 18 August 2025

  • Circassian relatives: A contribution to the synchronic and diachronic typology of the externally/internally-headed relative clause distinction
    Yury Lander | SL 50:1 (2026) pp. 33–67
  • 5 August 2025

  • A typological study of rainfall expressions in Sino-Tibetan languages
    Sicong DongHongdi Ding | SL 50:1 (2026) p. 68
  • 1 August 2025

  • Two opposite implicatures of a focus particle: Korean stance markers with focus ya
    Minju Kim | SL 49:3 (2025) pp. 645–681
  • 31 July 2025

  • Discourse ergativity and human reference in Basque
    Aitor Egurtzegi, Damián E. Blasi, Sebastian Sauppe, Balthasar BickelStefan Schnell | SL 49:3 (2025) pp. 682–711
  • 29 July 2025

  • Contact effects in nominal number systems: A worldwide survey
    Francesca Di GarboPanagiotis Kapellis | SL 49:3 (2025) pp. 712–756
  • 2 June 2025

  • When (not) to establish a new category: The case of perfect, ‘already’ and iamitives
    Ana Krajinović, Jozina Vander KlokKilu von Prince | SL 49:3 (2025) pp. 546–586
  • Why is middle voice the way it is? Revisiting its lexical-grammatical duality based on Sinitic linguistic evidence
    Yang Xiao | SL 49:3 (2025) pp. 587–644
  • 19 May 2025

  • Central Pame verbal inflection: Morphological classification across layers
    Borja Herce | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 412–455
  • 22 April 2025

  • Variation in valency patterns across Romani dialects is primarily shaped by contact languages
    Kirill KozhanovSergey Say | SL 49:4 (2025) pp. 858–893
  • 13 February 2025

  • Toba Batak manang : Notes on its uses and form
    Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 478–500
  • 21 January 2025

  • Placeholders and interjective hesitators: A crosslinguistic and functional approach
    Tohru Seraku | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 376–411
  • 17 January 2025

  • Between VO and OV in Arabic and Aramaic: A corpus-based typology with implications for word-order shifts
    Paul M. Noorlander, Dorota MolinGeoffrey Haig | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 289–336
  • 14 January 2025

  • Spreading of valency patterns across dialects: The case of Evenki
    Natalia Stoynova | SL 49:4 (2025) pp. 922–957
  • 19 December 2024

  • Lability in Balkan Slavic
    Maxim Makartsev, Max WahlströmAnastasia Escher | SL 49:4 (2025) pp. 894–921
  • Demonstrative pronouns in Kina Rutul
    Timofey MukhinPolina Nasledskova | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 456–477
  • 19 November 2024

  • The historical development of asymmetries: The case of directional demonstratives in Germanic
    Ekkehard Koenig | SL 49:2 (2025) pp. 337–375
  • IssuesOnline-first articles

    Volume 50 (2026)

    Volume 49 (2025)

    Volume 48 (2024)

    Volume 47 (2023)

    Volume 46 (2022)

    Volume 45 (2021)

    Volume 44 (2020)

    Volume 43 (2019)

    Volume 42 (2018)

    Volume 41 (2017)

    Volume 40 (2016)

    Volume 39 (2015)

    Volume 38 (2014)

    Volume 37 (2013)

    Volume 36 (2012)

    Volume 35 (2011)

    Volume 34 (2010)

    Volume 33 (2009)

    Volume 32 (2008)

    Volume 31 (2007)

    Volume 30 (2006)

    Volume 29 (2005)

    Volume 28 (2004)

    Volume 27 (2003)

    Volume 26 (2002)

    Volume 25 (2001)

    Volume 24 (2000)

    Volume 23 (1999)

    Volume 22 (1998)

    Volume 21 (1997)

    Volume 20 (1996)

    Volume 19 (1995)

    Volume 18 (1994)

    Volume 17 (1993)

    Volume 16 (1992)

    Volume 15 (1991)

    Volume 14 (1990)

    Volume 13 (1989)

    Volume 12 (1988)

    Volume 11 (1987)

    Volume 10 (1986)

    Volume 9 (1985)

    Volume 8 (1984)

    Volume 7 (1983)

    Volume 6 (1982)

    Volume 5 (1981)

    Volume 4 (1980)

    Volume 3 (1979)

    Volume 2 (1978)

    Volume 1 (1977)

    Editorial info
    General Editors
    Associate Editors
    ORCiD logo with linkI Wayan Arka | The Australian National University
    Laura Becker | Ludwig Maximilian University Munich
    ORCiD logo with linkDenis Creissels | Lumière University Lyon 2
    Jeff Good | University of Buffalo
    Tom Güldemann | Humboldt University Berlin
    Daniel Hole | University of Stuttgart
    ORCiD logo with linkShoichi Iwasaki | University of California, Los Angeles
    ORCiD logo with linkMarianne Mithun | University of California, Santa Barbara
    ORCiD logo with linkDoris L. Payne | University of Oregon
    Alejandra Regúnaga | National University La Pampa
    ORCiD logo with linkFoong Ha Yap | Chinese University of Hong Kong
    Consulting Editorial Board
    ORCiD logo with linkHilary Chappell | Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales
    ORCiD logo with linkNicholas Evans | The Australian National University
    ORCiD logo with linkMartin Haspelmath | Max Planck Institute Leipzig
    ORCiD logo with linkBernd Heine | University of Cologne
    Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm | Stockholm University
    ORCiD logo with linkEkkehard König | Free University Berlin & Albert Ludwigs University, Freiburg
    ORCiD logo with linkEdith A. Moravcsik | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    ORCiD logo with linkJohanna Nichols | University of California, Berkeley
    Editorial Assistant
    Viveka Velupillai | Justus Liebig University Giessen
    Subscription Info
    Current issue: 50:1, available as of January 2026
    Next issue: 50:2, expected March 2026, published online on 26 March 2026

    General information about our electronic journals.

    Subscription rates

    All prices for print + online include postage/handling.

    Online-onlyPrint + online
    Volume 50 (2026): 4 issues; ca. 1000 pp.EUR 705.00EUR 978.00

    Individuals may apply for a special online-only subscription rate of EUR 90.00 per volume.
    Private subscriptions are for personal use only, and must be pre-paid and ordered directly from the publisher.

    Available back-volumes

    Online-onlyPrint + online
    Complete backset
    (Vols. 1‒49; 1977‒2025)
    157 issues;
    36,200 pp.
    EUR 22,178.00EUR 23,956.00
    Volume 49 (2025) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 684.00EUR 923.00
    Volume 48 (2024) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 664.00EUR 839.00
    Volume 47 (2023) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 645.00EUR 763.00
    Volumes 44‒46 (2020‒2022) 4 issues; avg. 1000 pp.EUR 645.00 per volumeEUR 748.00 per volume
    Volume 43 (2019) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 632.00EUR 733.00
    Volume 42 (2018) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 614.00EUR 712.00
    Volume 41 (2017) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 596.00EUR 691.00
    Volume 40 (2016) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 596.00EUR 671.00
    Volume 39 (2015) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 596.00EUR 651.00
    Volume 38 (2014) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 596.00EUR 632.00
    Volume 37 (2013) 4 issues; 1000 pp.EUR 596.00EUR 614.00
    Volumes 32‒36 (2008‒2012) 4 issues; avg. 1000 pp.EUR 579.00 per volumeEUR 596.00 per volume
    Volume 31 (2007) 4 issues; 900 pp.EUR 562.00EUR 579.00
    Volume 30 (2006) 4 issues; 800 pp.EUR 529.00EUR 546.00
    Volume 29 (2005) 3 issues; 725 pp.EUR 452.00EUR 513.00
    Volumes 20‒28 (1996‒2004) 3 issues; avg. 725 pp.EUR 439.00 per volumeEUR 452.00 per volume
    Volumes 10‒19 (1986‒1995) 2 issues; avg. 520 pp.EUR 316.00 per volumeEUR 325.00 per volume
    Volumes 1‒9 (1977‒1985) 3 issues; avg. 450 pp.EUR 275.00 per volumeEUR 283.00 per volume
    Author info

    Studies in Language offers online submission .

    General

    Studies in Language invites contributions in all areas of linguistics, with special reference for morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, historical linguistics, and discourse. For all contributions, the priority of a typological and cross-linguistic perspective is high: articles on one language only are welcome if of interest to the generalist/universalist. Likewise, interdisciplinary studies are welcome to the extent that they have the same perspective.

    Contributions should be in the English language only. Articles previously published or under consideration by another journal cannot be accepted.

    Submission

    All manuscripts must be submitted in an editable format and adhere to the SL style sheet.

    For online submission, please consult the Short Guide to EM for Authors.

    If you are not able to submit online, or for any other editorial correspondence, please contact (one of) the editors:

    Katharina Haude  
    Nicole Kruspe
    CNRS  
    Lund University
    SeDyl / CELIA  
    Centre for Languages and Literature
    F-94801 VILLEJUIF CEDEX  
    P.O. Box 201
    France  
    SE-221 00 LUND

     
    Sweden
    katharina.haude at cnrs.fr  
    nicole.kruspe at ling.lu.se

    Ethics

    John Benjamins journals are committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to supporting ethical research practices.

    Authors and reviewers are kindly requested to read this Ethics Statement.

    Please also note the guidance on (the declaration of) the use of Artificial Intelligence.

    Rights and Permissions

    Authors must ensure that they have permission to use any third-party material in their contribution; the permission should include perpetual (not time-limited) world-wide distribution in print and electronic format.

    For information on authors' rights, please consult the rights information page.

    Open Access

    Articles accepted for this journal can be made Open Access through payment of an Article Publication Charge (APC) of EUR 1800 (excl. tax). To arrange this, please contact openaccess at benjamins.nl as soon as your paper has been accepted for publication. More information can be found on the publisher's Open Access Policy page.

    Corresponding authors from institutions with which John Benjamins has a Read & Publish arrangement can publish Open Access without paying a fee. Please consult this list of institutions for up-to-date information on which articles qualify.

    For information about permission to post a version of your article online or in an institutional repository ('green' open access or self-archiving), please consult the rights information page.

    If the article is not (to be made) Open Access, there is no fee for the author to publish in this journal.

    Archiving

    John Benjamins Publishing Company has an agreement in place with Portico for the archiving of all its online journals and e-books.

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