Ecolinguistics: A Study in the Concept, Approach and Applications

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to examine the concept of ecolinguistics, its theoretical foundations, and methodological approaches to environmental discourse analysis, with particular emphasis on identifying environmental ideologies embedded in official Iraqi environmental discourse.

Methods: The study applies an ecolinguistic analysis to selected texts from the Iraqi National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2015–2020). The analysis is based on Stibbe’s ecolinguistic framework, focusing on linguistic features including framing, metaphors, identities, evaluations, salience, and erasure to examine how environmental issues and human–nature relationships are represented in institutional discourse.

Results: The findings indicate that the strategy predominantly promotes sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and long-term environmental planning, while emphasizing the contribution of biodiversity to human well-being. The analysis also identifies instances in which the discourse minimizes or obscures the structural causes of environmental degradation, particularly those associated with political and economic factors.

Conclusions: The study demonstrates that language plays a significant role in constructing environmental narratives and influencing the framing of environmental policies. Ecolinguistic analysis provides a valuable methodological approach for critically examining institutional environmental discourse and identifying the ideologies underlying environmental representations. The findings further highlight the importance of critically informed environmental communication in strengthening environmental awareness and supporting more comprehensive approaches to sustainability.