Exploring the role of first language in ecological awareness and communication across Pakistan: A mixed method study

The present study proposes a linguistic habitat that may evoke people's first language (L1) to support a better understanding of current environmental catastrophes and address one pathway to support solution finding. A purposive participant sample consisted of 25 un-dergraduate students majoring in linguistics was selected to provide input regarding how their first language (Balochi, Balti, Pashto, Punjabi, and Sindhi) might approach ecological problems and consider its role in promoting ecosolidarity. While considering the episte-mological perspectives offered by ecolinguistics, the qualitative data were analyzed to determine linguistic resources (words and structures) employed by the participants to describe aspects of the environmental crisis. As an element of the analysis, findings were also explored through quantitative percentages of representation. Findings revealed that while describing the natural environment in Urdu and English, the two official, and dominant languages of Pakistan, the participants often borrowed words and used struc-tures that did not connect directly to first language terminology. This situation not only may result in misunderstandings and misinterpretation of subsequent actions for change, but it also suggests that multiple world voices as native speaker tongues may not have played an integral role in messaging to a broad population of speakers across Pakistan. The study suggests that purposeful, ecological language planning and the application of ecological content to local languages should be part of the ecological dialogue because they have the potential to promote deeper understanding at individual and collective societal levels. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study explores the importance of a linguistic habitat based on the first language (L1) for understanding environmental catastrophes and finding solutions. The findings show that participants often borrow words and structures that are not directly connected to their first language when describing the natural environment. The study suggests that purposeful ecological language planning and the application of ecological content to local languages can promote deeper understanding at both individual and societal levels.