Language, Ecology and Society: A Dialectical Approach

by Jørgen Christian Bang, Jørgen Døør, Joshua Nash (Editor), Sune Vork Steffensen (Editor)

Overview

'The long-awaited compendium of Bang and Døør's writings on dialectical ecolinguistics is enhanced by a helpful introduction and intelligent editing. An important milestone in the history of ecolinguistics.' Professor Peter Mühlhäusler, University of Adelaide, Australia 'Linguistics is on the threshold of a scientific revolution. This book uses a radically new approach in that it describes a dialectical relation between three poles: our use of language, global capitalist society and the current ecological crisis. The volume, which asks questions such as how to solve conflicts peacefully and how to avoid exploitation of the earth's resources, is to be welcomed as a new departure in the study of language, ecology and society.' Alwin Fill, Professor of English Linguistics, University of Graz, Austria Language, Ecology and Society presents a view of language and ecology from a dialectical perspective. In this analysis, language is seen as a multidimensional phenomenon, which both shapes and is shaped by mind, nature and society. Contributing to the field of ecolinguistics, this volume proposes a new paradigm termed Dialectical Linguistics, pioneered by Jørgen Christian Bang and Jørgen Døør and based on research spanning three decades. The book argues for a politically and morally responsible approach to language and linguistics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826446428
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/09/2008
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Jorgen Christian Bang is at the Institute of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. Jorgen Door is Associated Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. Joshua Nash is at the University of Adelaide, Australia Sune Vork Steffensen is at the Institute of Language and Communication at the University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.

Table of Contents

Table of Models vi

Editors' Foreword viii

Authors' Foreword xii

Section I Introducing Dialectical Linguistics 1

1 Language, ecology and society: An introduction to Dialectical Linguistics Sune Vork Steffensen 3

2 Language, linguistics and social praxis 32

3 The logos of language: Logics and dialogue 49

4 The topos of language: Core contradictions 66

Section II Deixis and Dialectical Text Analysis|87

5 Deixis, text and context: Why analyse deixis? 89

6 Deixis, lexis and anaphora 106

7 Life form, text and dialogue 121

8 Text analysis and core contradictions: Fay Weldon's Puffball 135

9 The dialectics of deixis: Ludwig Wittgenstein's Preface 148

Section III Dialectics, Ecology and Ecolinguistics 169

10 Dialectical ecology 171

11 The ecology of communication 193

12 Differences and similarities in ecolinguistics 203

References 219

Index 225

Editorial Reviews

."..the book covers a wide scope of issues from economics to politics, from sociology to linguistics, from environmentalism to biology and so forth... It also goes without saying that nature and culture and, generally speaking, all forms of life are inseparably interwoven and that language, on the one hand, also manipulates and even controls it to a certain extent. It is a merit of the book that it makes the readership aware not only of that interdependence but also of the global threat, of the most urgent tasks resulting from it as well as of the role of language therein... This book is a valuable contribution to the discussion of ecology." Paul Danler, Moderne Sprachen, 53/1 2009

Review in The Kelvingrove Review, February 2008, Mark Godin, University of Glasgow

From the Publisher