Ecolinguistics

Ecolinguistics emerged in the 1990s as a new paradigm of linguistic research which took into account not only the social context in which language is embedded, but also the ecological context in which societies are embedded. Michael Halliday's 1990 paper New ways of Meaning: the challenge to applied linguistics is often credited as a seminal 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 the issues and concerns of the 21st century, particularly the widespread destruction of the ecosystems that life depends on. 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 ecologically destructive consequences. Since Halliday's initial comments, the field of ecolinguistics has developed considerably, employing a wide range of linguistic frameworks and tools to investigate the foundations of unequal and unsustainable societies and contribute to social change. The main online research forum for ecolinguistics, the Ecolinguistics Association, characterises ecolinguistics in this way:

"Ecolinguistics examines the influence of language on the life-sustaining relationships of humans with each other, with other organisms and with the natural environment."

In this way, the 'eco' of ecolinguistics refers to the relationship of humans with other humans, other organisms and the physical environment, while 'linguistics' refers to the analysis of language to reveal its impact on how humans treat the ecosystems that life depends on. This can be described as 'The Ecological Analysis of Language'. However, the term 'ecolinguistics' has also been used to refer to other approaches including 'Linguistic Ecology' and the study of the linguistic environment of students learning language.

The 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 how people 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), and judged to be beneficial in encouraging people to protect the ecosystems that life depends on, or destructive in encouraging 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 new stories to live by (Stibbe 2015). Stories which have been exposed and resisted by ecolinguistics include consumerist stories, stories of unlimited economic growth, advertising stories, stories of intensive farming, and stories 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, poetry, environmental writing and traditional and indigenous forms of language around the world.

This form of analysis started with the application of critical discourse analysis to texts about the environment and 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 economic discourse or discursive constructions of consumerism, gender, politics, agriculture and nature (e.g. Goatly 2000, Stibbe 2013). The cognitive approach and the term 'stories we live by' was introduced in Stibbe (2015), which describes eight kinds of story: ideology, framing, metaphor, evaluation, identity, conviction, salience and erasure. Approaches such as ecosemiotics (Selvamony 2007), environmental communication and ecocriticism have broadly similar aims and techniques to this form of ecolinguistics.

Linguistic Ecology

The term 'linguistic ecology' was first used in an article on the "language situation" in Arizona (Voegelin, Voegelin and Schutz, 1967). It was taken up by Einar Haugen, who pioneered a form of linguistics which used the metaphor of an ecosystem to describe the relationships among the diverse forms of language found in the world, and the groups of people who speak them. Linguistic Ecology looks at 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 species. Some claim that this is more properly considered a form of sociolinguistics rather than ecolingusitics since the focus is on humans and language rather than the impact of language on actual biological/physical ecosystems. However, others have argued that separation of the metaphorical 'linguistic ecology' from ecolinguistics would be reductionist (Steffensen 2007), because high linguistic diversity is associated with high biological diversity (see Bastardas-Boada 2002). The relationship between linguistic diversity and biodiversity is claimed to arise since local ecological knowledge is built into local language varieties and threatened if the local language is threatened by a more dominant language (see Mühlhäusler 1995).

Resources

The Ecolinguistics Association (http://www.ecoling.net) contains a wide range of resources including the online journal Language & Ecology, and an international network of ecolinguists

The Ecolinguistics Website (http://www-gewi.kfunigraz.ac.at/ed/project/ecoling)

References

• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (1996) Ecologia de les llengües. Medi, contactes i dinàmica sociolingüística [Ecology of languages. Context, contacts and sociolinguistic dynamics]. Barcelona: Proa.
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2002) "Biological and linguistic diversity: Transdisciplinary explorations for a socioecology of languages" Diverscité langues, vol. VII.
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2002) "The Ecological perspective: Benefits and risks for Sociolinguistics and Language Policy and Planning", in: Fill, Alwin, Hermine Penz, & W. Trampe (eds.), Colourful Green Ideas. Berna: Peter Lang, pp. 77–88.
• Bastardas-Boada, Albert (2007) "Linguistic sustainability for a multilingual humanity" Glossa. An Interdisciplinary Journal vol. 2, num. 2.
• Calvet, Jean-Louis (1999) Pour une écologie des langues du monde. Plon
• Döring, Martin;Nerlich, Brigitte (2005): Assessing the Topology of Semantic Change: From Linguistic Fields to Ecolinguistics, in: Language and Logos 6 (1), 55-68.
• Döring, Martin; Penz, Hermine; Trampe, Wilhelm (eds.) (2008):Language, Signs and Nature: Ecolinguistic Dimensions of Environmental Discourse. Essays in Honour of Alwin Fill (Stauffenburg Festschriften). Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag.
• Döring Martin & Francesca Zunino (2011) NatureCultures in Old and New Worlds. Steps towards an Ecolinguistic Perspective on Framing a 'New' Continent. In S. V. Steffensen & A. Fill (eds) "Ecolinguistics: the Ecology of Language and Science". Language Sciences, Special Issue
• Fill, Alwin (1996): "Ökologie der Linguistik - Linguistik der Ökologie." In: Alwin Fill (ed.): Sprachökologie und Ökolinguistik. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Linguistik. Pp. 3–16.
• Fill, Alwin and Peter Mühlhäusler (2001) The ecolinguistics reader. London: Continuum.
• Goatly, Andrew (2000) Critical reading and writing: an introductory coursebook. London: Routledge
• Halliday, Michael (1990) New ways of meaning: the challenge to applied linguistics. Reprinted in Fill and Mühlhäusler (2001) pp175–202
• Harré, Rom and Jens Brockmeier and Peter Mühlhäusler (1999) Greenspeak: a Study of Environmental Discourse. London: Sage.
• Mühlhäusler, Peter (1995) Linguistic Ecology; Language Change and Linguistic Imperialism in the Pacific Rim. London: Routledge.
• Sánchez Carrión, José María (1985): "La nueva sociolingüistica y la ecología de las lenguas". Donostia-San Sebastián: Eusko Ikaskuntza.
• Selvamony, Nirmal; Alex, Rayson K. (eds.) (2007). Essays in Ecocritics. New Delhi: OSLE.
• Steffensen, Sune Vork (2007): "Language, Ecology and Society: An introduction to Dialectical Linguistics." In: Bang, Jørgen Christian and Jørgen Døør (eds) Language, Ecology and Society. A Dialectical Approach. Edited by Sune Vork Steffensen and Joshua Nash. London: Continuum. Pp. 3–31.
• Stibbe, Arran (2012) Animals Erased: discourse, ecology and reconnection with the natural world. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press
• Stibbe, Arran (2013) An Ecolinguistic Approach to Critical Discourse Studies. Critical Discourse Studies 11:1
• Stibbe, Arran (2015) Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by. London: Routledge
• C.F. Voegelin, F. M. Voegelin and Noel W. Schutz, Jr. The language situation in Arizona as part of the Southwest culture area" in Studies in Southwestern Ethnolinguistics: Meaning and history in the languages of the American Southwest, ed. by Dell Hymes and William E. Bittle, 403–51, 1967. The Hague: Mouton.