In this article we do two things: in the first half, we trace the emergence and development of ecological linguistics, or ecolinguistics, from the early 1970s. Having contrasted the ecological ...endeavour with the form-based traditions of 20th century linguistics, we discern four particular ways in which the ecology of language has been conceptualised: as a symbolic ecology (Section 2), a natural ecology (Section 3), a sociocultural ecology (Section 4), and a cognitive ecology (Section 5). These four approaches are described and discussed in detail. In the second half of the state of the art, we outline future horizons for the discipline. The foundation for this outline is our plea for a unified ecological language science (Section 6). This unified program pursues a naturalised agenda in the language sciences by exploring the ecological embeddedness of language and linguistic interaction (Section 7). In particular, this section presents the extended ecology hypothesis as one possible way of understanding ecolinguistics as a naturalised science of language. Having presented this view, we argue that it can place the four different traditions mentioned within a unified ecolinguistic framework (Section 8). This framework includes a naturalised foundation for those concerns that characterise the ecolinguistic enterprise, e.g. the exploitation of natural resources, empowerment of marginalized social groups, and the peaceful coexistence of languages and cultures in multicultural communities. In the conclusion (Section 9), we call for further interaction between ecological schools and traditions.
Speaking about knowledge Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y.
Studies in language,
05/2024, Volume:
48, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract We focus on the grammatical expression of four major groups of meanings related to knowledge: I. Evidentiality: grammatical expression of information source; II. Egophoricity: grammatical ...expression of access to knowledge; III. Mirativity: grammatical expression of expectation of knowledge; and IV. Epistemic modality: grammatical expression of attitude to knowledge. The four groups of categories interact. Some develop overtones of the others. Epistemic-directed evidentials have additional meanings typical of epistemic modalities, while egophoricity-directed evidentials combine some reference to access to knowledge by speaker and addressee. Over the past thirty years, new evidential choices have evolved among the Tariana – whose language has five evidential terms in an egophoricity-directed system – to reflect new ways of acquiring information, including radio, television, phone, and internet. Evidentials stand apart from other means of knowledge-related categories as tokens of language ecology corroborated by their sensitivity to the changing social environment.
Tajikistan, at the heart of Central Eurasia, had a population of 7,563,687 in 2010, estimated recently to be almost 10,084,935. Named for its majority nationality, Tajikistan has many other ...nationalities, most with their own language. This article explores what is known about the historical, development and current status of multiple languages in Tajikistan’s linguistic tapestry. We provide a tentative overview of Tajikistan’s evolving language ecology from earliest times when a range of Eastern Iranian languages were dominant, to the reduced use of Eastern Iranian languages following the entry of Arabic and New Persian (a western Iranian language) into the ecology with the Arab conquest, and the subsequent entry of Turkic languages, and more recently the entry of Russian under the late Russian empire and its spread under the Soviet Union. Following independence in 1991, a shift in balance among domains of use of Tajik and Russian has been ongoing at the same time as international languages, especially English, have entered Tajikistan’s language ecology. We review the current state of knowledge about contemporary sociolinguistic dynamics, monolingualism and plurilingualism in society, where the titular language, Tajik/Persian, is in interaction with local, regional and global languages. Against the background of changing post-independence language and language-in-education policies, we discuss the prospects for monolingual, multilingual and plurilingual education in Tajikistan among efforts to promote the official language, Tajik, and to provide minority language education, while also developing proficiency in foreign languages in Tajikistan, through initiatives such as English-medium instruction.
This article consists of a theoretical consideration of ecolinguistics, starting off with a working definition and then using this to look at two principal trends within the emerging discipline. The ...two trends considered are ‘the analysis of ecological discourse’ and the metaphorical ‘language ecology’. The conclusion is that ecolinguistics is more than just the analysis of texts which happen to be explicitly about the environment, and is more than just a metaphorical way of thinking about language contact. Instead, ecolinguistics is, primarily, the ‘ecological analysis of discourse’.
Singapore hawker centres Lee, Cher Leng
Journal of Asian Pacific communication,
02/2024, Volume:
34, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Abstract This paper is a sociolinguistic study of the linguistic landscape of signboards in Singapore hawker centres. It examines the language(s) displayed on the signboards of 2,145 stalls in the 20 ...largest hawker centres in Singapore. Hawker centres in Singapore are open-air eating places patronised by thousands of people each day. With less government intervention in the languages that can be displayed on hawker centre signboards, the signs reflect the languages used and identities adopted by the masses in a multilingual setting. This language ecology enables us to observe how languages interact at individual and societal levels in hawker centres and how linguistic diversity is maintained despite the apparent widespread use of English in Singapore. We examine how besides the monolingual, bilingual and multilingual and hybrid signboards, hawker centres are unique habitats in this language ecology where non-Mandarin dialects are preserved, and traditional Chinese characters are commonly seen, in a globalised Singapore. The hawker centres showcase a linguistic landscape of identity, diversity, and continuity.
Language practices in Namibian primary schools Norro, Soili
Journal of multilingual and multicultural development,
09/2022, Volume:
ahead-of-print, Issue:
ahead-of-print
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The main focus of the article is on teachers' classroom language practices in eight primary schools in Oshana and Khomas school regions. Language ideologies and translanguaging practices were used as ...a theoretical framework to evaluate the language ecologies that were created by the language practices in the schools included in the research study.
The data consist of 140 responded questionnaires, 19 individual interviews and eight focus group discussions with teachers, and 47 observed lessons. Mixed methods were used to analyse the data. Questionnaire responses were analysed quantitatively except for open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews and focus group discussions as well as the observed lessons.
The results show that despite teachers' efforts to gear the classroom language practices towards a more multilingual language ecology by using different multilingual strategies, the prevailing hierarchical language ideologies, reinforced by the assessment that is done in English only, contribute to maintaining the dominant position of English compared to the local languages.
The ongoing post-normal times face two intertwining imperatives: sustainability and digital technology. Interestingly, the languages that address these imperatives are increasingly making use of ...concepts historically associated to or confined to the biological sciences, in particular botany and plant physiology. We address this phenomenon by applying two distinct but interacting conceptual frameworks. First, that of language ecology, i.e., the study of interactions between any given language and its environment. Language has an anticipatory nature, since it is an essential part of how we organise memory and past experience, therefore helping us to understand the present and to project the future. This paper surveys five biological concepts: autopoiesis, ecosystem, exaptation, regeneration, seed. By using an academic search engine, we assessed how often they have been used in academic publications related to biology/botany as compared to other fields. We found that their meanings are being expanded by their use in the sustainability and/or digital technology realms. Motivations for these uses include biomimetics, biophilia and/or, more simply, manipulation of words with the intention to create specific public or private rhetoric. Second, we examined this linguistic pattern as a symptom of ontological expansion, i.e., the integration and dialogue between technical innovation, philosophy and biology creating space for the emergence of new domains of experience and meanings that did not exist before. This research indicates that botany—and plant physiology in particular—can be an important source of inspiration for futures studies.
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