Ecolinguistics, Ecosystemic Linguistics, and Ecological Discourse Analysis

Abstract

The ecological paradigm has been followed by representatives of practically all social sciences. Because of this, the main objective of this essay is to show how it has been applied to the study of language phenomena as well, under the name of Ecolinguistics. We begin by giving an overview of what has been done up to now. We also present the version of this young discipline called Ecosystemic Linguistics, whose name is due to the fact that it departs from the  ecological  view  of  the  world,  seen  not  only  in  Biological  Ecology  but also in Social and Philosophical Ecology, as is the case with Deep Ecology. Then, the text presents the still younger Ecological Discourse Analysis (EDA). Differently  from  traditional  discourse  analysis,  EDA  follows  ecoideology, not traditional political ideologies, nor the power relations they imply. It does not ignore them. On the contrary, it includes them in the wider framework of ecoideology, which defends the life of all living beings and struggles against everything that may cause suffering to them. By doing this, EDA emphasizes harmony, not conflict as it is traditionally done.