Ecolinguistic Discourse and Language Ecology
Summary
Ecolinguistic discourse and language ecology examine the complex interplay between language use and the ecosystems—both natural and social—in which it is situated. Emerging in the early 1970s with the application of ecological metaphors to multilingual contexts, the field has since expanded to address how discourse contributes to environmental awareness, policy and action. Central to this endeavour is the notion that language both reflects and shapes attitudes towards non-human life, biodiversity and sustainability. Researchers draw on critical discourse analysis, systemic functional linguistics and ecocritical theory to trace how texts, talk and multimodal communication may either reinforce anthropocentric worldviews or promote harmonious coexistence. The ecological lens extends beyond textual analysis to encompass language planning, revitalisation of endangered tongues and the study of environmental rhetoric in educational materials, commercial advertising and community narratives. By foregrounding the ideological work of language, the field aims to support linguistic diversity, inform environmental campaigns and catalyse practical interventions that align communicative practices with ecological wellbeing.
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Ecolinguistic Discourse and Language Ecology publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in ecolinguistic discourse and language ecology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Ecolinguistics: Interdisciplinary study of how language and discourse influence human relationships with the natural environment and among speech communities.
Ecosophy: An ecological philosophy guiding analysis of discourse according to principles of diversity, harmony, interaction and co-existence.
Ecological Discourse Analysis: A specialised approach that applies systemic functional linguistics to evaluate the ecological implications of texts through categories such as transitivity, mood, appraisal and cohesion.
Eco-lexicon: A set of vocabulary items within a discourse that encode ecological concepts, values and practices, reflecting speakers’ orientation towards the environment.
Transitivity: A grammatical resource in systemic functional linguistics that describes how processes, participants and circumstances are represented in clauses, revealing ideological stances towards action and agency.
References
- Ecolinguistics: History, today, and tomorrow. Journal of World Languages (2022).
- Ecolinguistics: A half-century overview. Journal of World Languages (2021).
- Theoretical framework for ecological discourse analysis: A summary of New Developments of Ecological Discourse Analysis. Journal of World Languages (2022).
- An ecolinguistic study: The representation of forest conservation practices in the discourse of Anak Dalam Jambi tribe, Indonesia. Cogent Arts and Humanities (2023).
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