Language: An Ecological View (Contemporary Studies in Descriptive Linguistics)

Ecological thinking has in recent years come a long way from its origins in biology, to become a new paradigm within many disciplines. Its approach is holistic, and focuses on dynamic, interactive systems and the interrelationships between the object of study and its context. The author demonstrates how adopting such an ecological perspective fundamentally changes our understanding of human language, and calls into question a number of assumptions: that language is rule-governed, for example, or that it represents a distinctive form of knowledge. From an ecological point of view, language is inseparable from all expressions of human sociality, such as communication, culture, and community. Arising from this perspective are key concepts, such as patterning, predictability, and creativity, which the author suggests as the basis of a very different approach to linguistics. Linguists, along with everyone interested in the many facets of meaningful human behaviour, will find the ideas presented here both stimulating and challenging. Furthermore, an ecological framework supersedes the distinction between theoretical and applied linguistics, and the book is specifically addressed to language practitioners of all kinds, for whom an ecological view of language is particularly relevant.

The Author: Mark Garner received his M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Essex and his BA and Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne. He has wide interests and practical experience in many aspects of language. He has taught languages, applied linguistics, and education in Britain, Australia, and Indonesia, and has conducted research and development in operational and emergency communication and forensic linguistics. He has also written a number of songs, musicals, and plays, which are being increasingly widely performed. He is currently Programme Director of Applied Linguistics at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.