Visualizing the Knowledge Domain of Research on Cognates: A Bibliometric Analysis

Cognates constitute an essential aspect of lexical processing, and numerous scholars have made significant contributions to studying their processing patterns, influential variables, and theoretical models. However, there has been a lack of systematic reviews that comprehensively examine the body of research on cognates, including their primary research topics, theories, findings, and future directions. The present study conducted a bibliometric analysis of the 726 recordings from 2001 to 2021 retrieved from the Web of Science database. The results revealed that: (1) studies on cognates were mainly conducted in countries using alphabetic languages; (2) cognate processing remains as the focus in the research domain; (3) cognate effect are modulated by factors at word, task, and participant level; (4) BIA+ model is widely used to account for cognate processing. The limitations and potential implications for future cognate research are discussed.