Ecolinguistics, or ecological linguistics, emerged in the 1990s as a new

paradigm In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. Etymology ''Paradigm'' comes f ...

of linguistic research, widening

sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural Norm (sociology), norms, expectations, and context (language use), context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on languag ...

to take into account not only the social context in which language is embedded, but also the wider ecological context, including other species and the physical environment.

Michael Halliday Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday (often M. A. K. Halliday; 13 April 1925 – 15 April 2018) was a British linguist who developed the internationally influential systemic functional linguistics (SFL) model of language. His grammatical descrip ...

's 1990 speech ''New ways of Meaning: the challenge to

applied linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...

'' is often credited as a work which provided the stimulus for linguists to consider the ecological context and consequences of language. Among other things, the challenge that Halliday put forward was to make linguistics relevant to overarching contemporary issues, particularly the widespread destruction of

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s. The main example Halliday gave was that of "economic growth", describing how "countless texts repeated daily all around the world contain a simple message: growth is good. Many is better than few, more is better than less, big is better than small, grow is better than shrink", which leads to environmentally destructive consequences.

Overview

Since Halliday's initial comments, ecolinguistics has developed in several directions, employing a range of linguistic tools to investigate language in an ecological context. The International Ecolinguistics Association characterizes ecolinguistics in these terms:

"Ecolinguistics explores the role of language in the life-sustaining interactions of humans, other species and the physical environment. The first aim is to develop linguistic theories which see humans not only as part of society, but also as part of the larger ecosystems that life depends on. The second aim is to show how linguistics can be used to address key ecological issues, from climate change and
biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
to environmental justice."

In this way, the 'eco' of ecolinguistics corresponds to

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

in its literal sense of the relationship of organisms (including humans) with other organisms and the physical environment. This is a sense shared with other environmental humanities disciplines such as ecocriticism and ecopsychology. The term 'ecolinguistics' has also been used with a metaphorical sense of 'ecology', for example in '

linguistic ecology Linguistic ecology or language ecology is the study of how languages interact with each other and the places they are spoken in, and frequently argues for the preservation of endangered languages as an analogy of the preservation of biological spec ...

', 'communication ecology' or 'learning ecology' in ways which do not include consideration of other species or the physical environment. This is currently less prevalent. Another aspect of ecolinguistics is linguistic diversity and the embedding of traditional environmental knowledge in local languages. In 1996,

David Abram David Abram (born June 24, 1957) is an American ecologist and philosopher best known for his work bridging the philosophical tradition of phenomenology with environmental and ecological issues. He is the author of ''Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cos ...

's book, ''The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World,'' described how the wider environment (or 'the more than human world') shapes language in oral cultures, helping people attune to their environment and live sustainably within it. According to Abram, writing has gradually alienated people in literate cultures from the natural world, to the extent that "our organic attunement to the local earth is thwarted by our ever-increasing intercourse with our own signs". As dominant languages such as English spread across the world, environmental knowledge embedded in local cultures is lost. There are two main areas of interest for ecolinguistics. The first can be described as 'The ecological analysis of language' and the second as 'Linguistic and biological diversity'.

Ecological analysis of language

The ecological analysis of language draws on a wide range of linguistic tools including critical discourse analysis, framing theory, cognitive linguistics, identity theory, rhetoric and systemic functional grammar to reveal underlying worldviews or the 'stories we live by'. The stories we live by are cognitive structures in the minds of individuals or across a society (social cognition), which influence people's ecocultural identities and how humans treat each other, other animals, plants, forests, rivers and the physical environment. The stories are questioned from an ecological perspective with reference to an ecological framework (or

ecosophy Ecosophy or ecophilosophy (a portmanteau of ecological philosophy) is a philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium. The term was coined by the French post-structuralist philosopher and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari and the Norwegian father o ...

), and judged to encourage people to protect the ecosystems that life depends on, or encourage behavior which damages those ecosystems. Ecolinguistics attempts to make a practical difference in the world through resisting destructive stories and contributing to the search for beneficial new stories to live by.Stibbe, Arran (2021) ''Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by (second edition)''. London: Routledge Stories which ecolinguists claim are destructive relate to consumerism, unlimited economic growth, advertising,

intensive farming Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

, and those which represent nature as a machine or a resource. Using "positive discourse analysis", ecolinguistics has also searched for new stories to live by through exploring

nature writing Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in w ...

, poetry, environmental writing and traditional forms of language around the world. Stibbe, Arran (2018) ''Positive discourse analysis: re-thinking human ecological relationships''. In: A. Fill and H. Penz, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics. London: Routledge. This form of analysis started with the application of critical discourse analysis to texts about environmentalism, in order to reveal hidden assumptions and messages and comment on the effectiveness of these in achieving environmental aims (e.g. Harré ''et al''. 1999). It then developed to include analysis of any discourse which has potential consequences for the future of ecosystems, such as

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

economics, consumerism, lifestyle magazines, politics, or agribusiness. Alexander, Richard and Arran Stibbe (2013) From the analysis of ecological discourse to the ecological analysis of discourse. ''Language Sciences'' 41:A: 104–110 The cognitive approach and the term 'stories we live by' were introduced by Arran Stibbe in 2015, with eight kinds of story: ideology, framing, metaphor, evaluation, identity, conviction, salience and erasure.Stibbe, Arran (2015) ''Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by (first edition)''. London: Routledge The approach was updated in the second edition of ''Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by'' in 2021 Stibbe, Arran (2021) ''Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by (second edition)''. London: Routledge

Linguistic and biological diversity

Language diversity is part of ecolinguistics because of the relationship between diversity of local languages and biodiversity. This relationship arises because of the cultural adaptation to the environment that is encoded in local languages. The forces of globalisation are allowing dominant languages (such as English) to spread, and replace these local languages (Nettle and Romaine 2000). This leads to a loss of both sustainable local cultures and the important

traditional ecological knowledge Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous and other traditional knowledge of local resources. As a field of study in Northern American anthropology, TEK refers to "a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by ...

contained within their languages. Ecolinguistic research aims to protect both cultural diversity and the linguistic diversity that supports it. The United Nations Environment Program describes how: Nettle and Romaine (2000:166) write that "delicate tropical environments in particular must be managed with care and skill. It is indigenous peoples who have the relevant practical knowledge, since they have been successfully making a living in them for hundreds of generations. Much of this detailed knowledge about local ecosystems is encoded in indigenous language and rapidly being lost". Mühlhaüsler states "the rapid decline in the world's linguistic diversity thus must be regarded with apprehension by those who perceive the interconnection between linguistic and biological diversity". Overall, language diversity is part of ecolinguistics because of the correlation between the diversity of language and biological diversity, with the knowledge of nature embedded in local cultures being the link between the two.

Websites

Th
International Ecolinguistics Association
is an international network of ecolinguists. The website includes a bibliography, online journal (Language & Ecology) and other resources.
The Stories We Live By
' is a free online course in ecolinguistics created by the University of Gloucestershire and the International Ecolinguistics Association.

References

{{environmental humanities Communication theory Branches of linguistics Human communication Environmental humanities Environmental communication

Overview

Ecological analysis of language

Linguistic and biological diversity

Websites

See also

References