In this book, the author examines the transformation of the Pacific language region under the impact of colonization, westernization and modernization. By focusing on the linguistic and socio-historical changes of the past 200 years, it aims to bring a new dimension to the study of Pacific linguistics, which up until now has been dominated by questions of historical reconstruction and language typology. In contrast to the traditional portrayal of linguistic change as a natural process, the author focuses on the cultural and historical forces which drive language change. Using the metaphor of language ecology to explain and describe the complex interplay between languages, speakers and social practice, the author looks at how language ecologies have functioned in the past to sustain language diversity, and, at what happens when those ecologies are disrupted. Whilst most of the examples used in the book are taken from the Pacific and Australian region, the insights derived from this area are shown to have global applications. The text should be useful for linguists and all those interested in the large scale loss of human language.

In Linguistic Ecology, the author examines the transformation of the Pacific language region under the impact of colonization, westernization and modernization. By focusing on the linguistic and socio-historical changes of the past 200 years, he brings a new dimension to the study of Pacific linguistics, which up until now has been dominated by questions of historical reconstruction and language typology.
In contrast to the traditional portrayal of linguistic change as a natural process, Mühlhäusler focuses on the cultural and historical forces which drive language change. Using the metaphor of language ecology to explain and describe the complex interplay between languages, speakers and social practice, Mühlhäusler looks at how language ecologies have functioned in the past to sustain language diversity, and at what happens when those ecologies are disrupted.
Whilst most of the examples used in the book are taken from the Pacific and Australian region, the insights derived from this area are shown to have global applications. This is an essential read for linguists and all those interested in the large scale loss of human language.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203211286

This book tells the story of the language of the Bounty mutineers and their Polynesian consorts that developed on remote Pitcairn Island in the late 18th century. Most of their descendants subsequently relocated to Norfolk Island. It is an in-depth study of the complex linguistic, ecological and sociohistorical forces that have been involved in the formation and subsequent development of this unique endangered language on both islands.

Contributions from an international team of experts revisit and update the concept of linguistic ecology in order to critically examine current theoretical approaches to language contact. Language is understood as a part of complex socio-historical-cultural systems, and interaction between the different dimensions and levels of these systems is considered to be essential for specific language forms. This book presents a uniform, abstract model of linguistic ecology based on, among other things, two concepts of Edmund Husserl's philosophy (parts and wholes, and foundation). It considers the individual speaker in the specific communication situation to be the essential heuristic basis of linguistic analysis. The chapters present and employ a new, transparent and accessible contact linguistic vocabulary to aid reader comprehension, and explore a wide range of language contact situations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. This book will be fascinating reading for students and researchers across contact linguistics and cultural studies.

Thirty years ago, a new linguistic paradigm was created when Einar Haugen, for the first time, combined language with ecology. For Haugen, 'the ecology of language' meant the study of the interrelations between languages in the human mind and in the multilingual community. Since then a special branch of linguistics, named ecolinguistics, has developed in which the connection between language and ecology has been established in a variety of ways and by using a multitude of methods and approaches. This reader contains important articles from all the different fields of ecolinguistics - a volume long overdue for a discipline now recognized as a significant contribution to variety within the subject. >

In this remarkably interdisciplinary examination of the discourse of environmentalism, the authors explore the linguistic, philosophical, psychological and cultural-historical aspects of environmental discourse; rather than environmental phenomena themselves. This volume is not advocacy on environmentalism, rather, it is an analysis of the means of persuasion and the techniques of advocacy used by both sides of the environmental debate between ôconservationistsö and ôconservatives.ö Based on studies conducted between 1992 and 1996, the book includes an analysis of the concepts of time and space in their linguistic manifestations. Another theme is the interdependencies of the natural world with political and economic institutions. Ultimately, it is a call to action, as the authors see in the increasing ôgreeningö of English and other Western languages, a kind of linguistic way of replacing or postponing action with talk alone. A groundbreaking volume, Greanspeak will promote dialogue among professionals and students in the fields of environmental issues, linguistics, discourse, psychology, and public policy.

Contributions from an international team of experts revisit and update the concept of linguistic ecology in order to critically examine current theoretical approaches to language contact. Language is understood as a part of complex socio-historical-cultural systems, and interaction between the different dimensions and levels of these systems is considered to be essential for specific language forms. This book presents a uniform, abstract model of linguistic ecology based on, among other things, two concepts of Edmund Husserl's philosophy (parts and wholes, and foundation). It considers the individual speaker in the specific communication situation to be the essential heuristic basis of linguistic analysis. The chapters present and employ a new, transparent and accessible contact linguistic vocabulary to aid reader comprehension, and explore a wide range of language contact situations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. This book will be fascinating reading for students and researchers across contact linguistics and cultural studies.