Linguistic ecology

Abstract

In Catalan sociolinguistics, ecolinguistics emerged early on and has recently undergone considerable development. The article briefly reexamines the history of this sphere of linguistics and the main areas of interest stemming from it. These areas are based on the adaptation of the epistemological model of ecology to sociolinguistics, with the adoption of concepts such as ecosystemor emergency and with a criticismof mechanical and analytical conceptions, being replaced by a holistic perspective. They are also based on the acceptance of certain proposals from ecology such as conservation and diversophilia. Finally, other areas are mentioned, such as catastrophe theory or ecological analogy in discourse analysis.

KEY WORDS: ecolinguistics, ecosystem, diversity, holism.