Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
Languages
ISSN 2226-471X · Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) · Switzerland
Languages: CAS Zone 2 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.3 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 11 weeks (community reports); 316 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Languages is published by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) and is in Zone 2 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Linguistic Variation and Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation and Phonetics and Phonology Research, together about 32.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Language and Linguistics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
We welcome manuscripts in a wide range of areas, including general, historical, theoretical, and applied linguistics. Additionally, the journal covers the subfields of linguistics listed below (proposals for topics not listed here can be discussed with the Editor-in-Chief (languages@mdpi.com)): Descriptive and theoretical linguistics Grammar Cognitive linguistics, construction grammar Generative linguistics Usage-based approaches to language learning/acquisition Stochastic grammar Innovative methods in descriptive linguistics Relations to psychology, anthropology and other social sciences Applied linguistics Academic achievement, language assessment, language testing, second and third language learning, forensic linguistics, vocabulary studies, computer-assisted language learning Language technology using linguistics (but no “black box” applications) Bi/multilingualism Code-switching and code-mixing, crosslinguistic influence, language contact, language processing in bi/multilinguals, transfer, translanguaging Clinical linguistics Aphasia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), cognitive communication disorders, stuttering, Parkinson’s disease Communication sciences and disorders Pediatric speech–language–hearing pathology, acquired speech–language–hearing pathology, diagnosis and evaluation of communication disorders, intervention for communication disorders Endangered languages Language documentation and revitalization, language policy, language death First, second and third language acquisition Morphological, syntactic, phonological and vocabulary development in monolinguals and multilinguals, sign languages, typical and atypical language development Computational models of language learning Language attrition Heritage languages Development of morphology, phonetics, phonology, syntax and vocabulary in heritage speakers Historical Linguistics (aka Diachronic Linguistics) Historical reconstruction, phylogenetic inference of genealogical relations, language contact and areal linguistics Language typology Crosslinguistic variation, quantitative analyses of typology Psycholinguistics Cognition (and relation to general cognition), cognitive decline, language in the elderly, language processing, computational modeling, language and thought, linguistic relativity, neurolinguistics, linguistic artificial intelligence (AI) Reading and writing Assessing reading and writing, dyslexia
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Language and Linguistics
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 7, United Kingdom 3, Germany 3, Italy 3, Japan 2 (30 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Linguistic Variation and MorphologySocial Sciences12.4%
- Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationArts and Humanities10.8%
- Phonetics and Phonology ResearchPsychology9.4%
- Multilingual Education and PolicySocial Sciences8.9%
- Language, Discourse, Communication StrategiesArts and Humanities6.2%
- Language Development and DisordersPsychology6%
- EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningArts and Humanities5.3%
- Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismNeuroscience5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Language & Linguistics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Linguistics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Language & Linguistics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · Linguistics
- CiteScore Q1 · Language and Linguistics
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceERIH PLUSPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.51LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 309OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.42OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 291LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,977 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 191 | 191 | 23 |
| 2025 | 316 | 316 | 362 |
| 2024 | 369 | 369 | 857 |
| 2023 | 293 | 293 | 1,993 |
| 2022 | 324 | 324 | 2,462 |
| 2021 | 210 | 210 | 1,986 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 11 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 56.7 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 10.6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 6 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 1,400 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,400 | — | — | |
| LetPub | CHF 1,400 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
- Graphical abstract
- Required
Article types accepted19, with length limits
- articleArticle: These are original research manuscripts. The work should report scientifically sound experiments and provide a substantial amount of new information.Length not stated
- book reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- brief communicationAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- brief reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- case reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- commentaryAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- conference reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- editorialAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- hypothesisAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- letterAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- opinionAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…main text ≤ 2,000 words
- perspectiveAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- protocolAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- registered reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- systematic reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- technical noteAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- tutorialAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- viewpointAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
MDPI follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines which state that, in order to qualify for authorship of a manuscript, the following criteria should be observed: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; Draft the work or review it critically for important intel…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest
According to The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, “Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all of the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.” All authors mus…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Research data sharing Model summary
Data availability statements are required for all articles published with MDPI. During the peer review and editorial decision process, authors can be asked to share existing datasets or raw data that have been analyzed in the manuscript, and whether they will be made available to other researchers following publication. Authors will also be asked for the details of any existing datasets that have …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics Statement
Originality requirement Model summary
Languages is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines. The editors of this journal enforce a rigorous peer review process together with strict ethical policies and standards to ensure to add high quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publication. Unfortunately, cases of plagiarism, data falsifica…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright / Open Access
Articles published in Languages will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The copyright is retained by the author(s). MDPI will insert the following note at the end of the published text: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publication fees
Open access licensing Model summary
If you transfer your manuscript to another open access (OA) journal, you will be charged an Article Processing Charge (APC) if your article is accepted for publication. The APC for each journal can be found on the individual journal’s website. For more information about APCs, please see here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Editorial Process and Peer Review
All submissions are thoroughly peer-reviewed by experts within the field and undergo a structured editorial workflow designed to ensure quality, transparency, and scientific integrity. The full editorial procedure is available on the Editorial Process page and is also provided below. Pre-check Pre-check consists of a technical pre-check performed by the Editorial Office and an editorial pre-check …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints and Conference Papers
Languages accepts submissions that have previously been made available as preprints provided that they have not undergone peer review. A preprint is a draft version of a paper made available online before submission to a journal. MDPI operates Preprints, a preprint server to which submitted papers can be uploaded directly after completing journal submission. Note that Preprints operates independen…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2226-471X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 11 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Languages
What CAS zone is Languages in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Languages is in Zone 2 of Literature, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Language & Linguistics / Linguistics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Languages?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.3 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.3, h-index 39.
How long does peer review take at Languages?
Authors report an average review time of about 11 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Languages in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2; by category, Linguistics Q2. JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Literature.
What are the manuscript requirements of Languages?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3; Graphical abstract: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Languages based?
Of the 30 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (7), United Kingdom (3) and Germany (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Languages?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Languages is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and ERIH PLUS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Languages open access, and what is the APC?
Languages is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .