Language As an Ecological Phenomenon: Languaging and Bioecologies in Human-environment Relationships

Moving beyond a more traditional view of language as a discrete sociocultural and cognitive entity that distorts our understanding of surrounding ecologies, this book argues that the starting point for ecolinguistics is an appreciation of language as not just about nature, but of nature. Exploring this conceptual change in the field, the book presents a process view in which language is substituted by languaging, emphasising the bioecologies that we cohabit with numerous other species. It puts forward this perspective by looking at the theoretical considerations behind the understanding of languaging as bioecological, and through examining languaging in various contexts and places. Drawing on examples from across the world, it addresses topics such as climate catastrophes, corporate narratives, questions of ecological leadership, the bioecological implications of the COVID pandemic, and relational landscapes. It also makes use of data from across multiple bioecological settings, including the dairy and agricultural industries.

Sune Vork Steffensen is at the Institute of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.

Arran Stibbe is a Professor of Ecological Linguistics at the University of Gloucestershire. Arran has an academic background in both humanities and human ecology, and combines the two in his teaching and research into Education for Sustainability. He has published widely in the area of ecolinguistics and is currently a senior lecturer and University Teaching Fellow. He is also convenor of the Sustainability in Higher Education Developers group, a network of around 200 sustainability educators across the UK.

Stephen Cowley is Professor of Organisational Cognition at the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.

Mariana Roccia is the Founder of M.R Language Services and an Independent Scholar.

Martin Döring is a Senior Scientist at the Institute of Geography at Hamburg University, Germany, and at the Institute for Coastal Research at the Hereon Centre Geesthacht, Germany.