Current Trends in Ecolinguistics

Dear Colleagues,

Ecolinguistic research provides the scientific foundation for understanding the complex web of interactions among language, the non-human world, and the environment. As human activities continue to shape the world, ecolinguistics remains a cornerstone for the promotion of sustainability (Stibbe 2019), conservation of habitats (Blackmore and Holmes 2013), and the well-being of ecosystems and human societies. Ecolinguistics sheds light on how language can facilitate or hinder sustainable environmental practices and broaden our understanding of the ecological interconnectedness of our world (Goatly 2001; Stibbe 2015). A strong understanding of these issues has never been more necessary, and it is our hope that ecolinguistics will continue to evolve and increase its influence on current and future generations’ attitudes towards nature and the non-human world (Zhou 2022).

In this Special Issue, we focus on research that highlights current trends in ecolinguistics (Finke 2018; Lechevrel 2009; Huang 2016). We welcome contributions from a broad range of ecolinguistic topics, that focus, for example, on the following topics:

• Language and the non-human world;
• Language and natural connections (Alexander 2008);
• Language and environmental sustainability (Alexander 2002; Caimotto 2020);
• Environmental discourse in Media (Döring, Penz, and Trampe 2008; Xue and Xu 2021; Goatly 2002);
• Eco-criticism;
• Eco-politics;
• Eco-literature;
• (Eco)- linguistic anthropology;
• Ecological education (Cachelin; Norvell; and Darling 2010);
• The ecology of language (Finke 2014);
• The need for new (eco-)terms/terminology;
• Deep ecology (Naess 1975);
• Positive (Eco)- discourse analysis (Stibbe 2017).

For a list of possible topics, see also those in Fill and Mühlhäusler (2001).

The purposes of this Special Issue are to contribute to the ongoing elaboration of ecolinguistic research in these areas, to outline methodological approaches for ecolinguistic research, to carry forward the themes of past Ecolinguistic research and develop new and inspiring perspectives for future projects.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected] and [email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative Completion Schedule

Abstract Submission Deadline 1 November 2023
Notification of Abstract Acceptance 1 December 2023
Full Manuscript Deadline 1 April 2024

References

Alexander, Richard. 2008. “How the Anti-Green Movement and Its ‘Friends’ Use Language to Construct the World.” In Language, Signs, and Nature: Ecolinguistic Dimensions of Environmental Discourse ; Essays in Honour of Alwin Fill, edited by Martin Döring, Hermine Penz, and Wilhelm Trampe, 127–142. Stauffenburg Festschriften. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.

Alexander, Richard. 2002. “Everyone Is Talking about ‘Sustainable Development’. Can They All Mean the Same Thing? Computer Discourse Analysis of Ecological Texts.” In Colourful Green Ideas: Papers from the Conference “30 Years of Language and Ecology,” edited by A Fill, H Penz, and W Trampe, 239–254. Peter Lang.

———. 2013. Common Cause for Nature: Values and Frames in Conservation, edited by Blackmore, Elena, and Tim Holmes Machynlleth. Wales: Public Interest Research Centre.

Cachelin, Adrienne, Russell Norvell, and Ann Darling. 2010. “Language Fouls in Teaching Ecology: Why Traditional Metaphors Undermine Conservation Literacy.” Conservation Biology 24 (3): 669–674. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01481.x.

Caimotto, M. Cristina. 2020. Discourses of Cycling, Road Users and Sustainability: An Ecolinguistic Investigation (Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse). 1st ed. 2020. Palgrave Macmillan.

Döring, Martin, Hermine. Penz, and Wilhelm. Trampe. 2008. Language, Signs and Nature: Ecolinguistic Dimensions of Environmental Discourse : Essays in Honour of Alwin Fill. Tübingen: Stauffenburg Verlag.

Fill, Alwin, and Peter Mühlhäusler. 2001. The Ecolinguistics Reader: Language, Ecology, and Environment. London: Continuum.

Finke, Peter. 2014. “The Ecology of Science and Its Consequences for the Ecology of Language.” Language Sciences 41 (January): 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2013.08.008.

———. 2018. “Transdisciplinary Ecolinguistics.” In The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics, edited by Alwin Fill and Hermine Penz, 1 edition, 406–419. London: Routledge.

Goatly, Andrew. 2001. “Green Grammar and Grammatical Metaphor, or Language and Myth of Power, or Metaphors We Die By.” In The Ecolinguistics Reader: Language, Ecology, and Environment, edited by Alwin Fill and Peter Mühlhäusler, 203–225. London: Continuum.

Goatly, ANDREW. 2002. “The Representation of Nature on the BBC World Service.” Text - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Discourse 22 (1): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2002.003.

Huang, G. 2016. “Ecolinguistics in an International Context: An Interview with Arran Stibbe.” Language & Ecology, 1–10.

Lechevrel, Nadège. 2009. “The Intertwined Histories of Ecolinguistics and Ecological Approaches of Language(s) : Historical and Theoretical Aspects of a Research Paradigm.” In Symposium on Ecolinguistics: The Ecology of Science. University of Southern Denmark.

Naess, A. 1975. “The Shallow and the Long Range, Deep Ecology Movement.” In The Deep Ecology Movement: An Introductory Anthology, edited by A Drengson and Y Inoue, 3–10. North Atlantic Books.

Stibbe, Arran. 2015. Ecolinguistics: Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live By. 1st ed. London: Routledge.

———. 2017. “Positive Discourse Analysis: Re-Thinking Human Ecological Relationships.” In The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics, edited by Alwin Fill and Hermine Penz, 165–78. London: Routledge.

———. 2019. “Education for Sustainability and the Search for New Stories to Live By.” In Prioritizing Sustainability Education: A Comprehensive Approach, edited by Joan Armon, Stephen Scoffham, and Chara Armon, 1 edition, 233–243. London ; New York: Routledge.

Xue, Yahong, and Qianqiu Xu. 2021. “An Ecological Discourse Analysis of News Coverage of COVID-19 in China in The Times and The New York Times.” Journal of World Languages 7 (1): 80–103. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2021-0005.

Zhou, Wenjuan. 2022. “Ecolinguistics: A Half-Century Overview.” Journal of World Languages 7 (3): 461–486. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2021-0022.

Dr. Douglas Mark Ponton
Guest Editor

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• ecolinguistics
• the environment
• sustainability
• green visions
• positive discourse analysis
• ecocriticism