From Adaptation to Survival: Metaphoric Ecology in Translation and Language Systems

Subject Areas : Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation

Ali Arjmandi ¹ , Mohammad Reza Gaffari ²

1 -
2 -

Received: 2025-03-15 Accepted : 2025-07-28 Published : 2025-08-03

Keywords: Ecolinguistics, ecological metaphor, eco-translation, metaphoric ecology, interdisciplinary, language ecology, translation ecology,

Abstract :

This study investigates how ecological ideas can be translated into language and translation depending on the interrelation between linguistic and cultural systems. The aim is to investigate how metaphoric eco-translation and ecolinguistics help in comprehending the complexity of translation and language sustainability. The study concerns the metaphorical extension of ecological principles such as adaptation, selection, and survival to translation and Haugenian ecolinguistics that theorizes languages as dynamic beings crafted by social, cultural, and political environments. By adopting the narrative review approach, the current research incorporates theory and literature from authors including Michael Cronin, Gengshen Hu, and Einar Haugen to analyze how translation contributes to linguistic diversity, language-environment relations, and parallelism between linguistic and ecological systems. The results indicate that metaphoric ecology provides understanding on minority language maintenance, linguistic diversity, and intercultural communication by means of translation. While metaphorical in essence, these approaches also have implications for ecological challenges. As an initial intersection between natural science and humanities, metaphoric ecology emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary approaches in tackling contemporary issues of language and cultural sustainability.

References:

Alexander, R., & Stibbe, A. (2014). From the analysis of ecological discourse to the ecological analysis of discourse. Language Sciences, 41, 104-110.
Arjmandi, A. (2024). Translation beyond culture and society. In H. Mollanazar (Ed.), Sociocultural issues in translation studies (pp. 133-136). Tarjomeh-pazhouhan.
Arjmandi, A., & Ehteshami, S. (2025). Exploring eco-translation through Bachmann-Medick’s lens. Translation and Interpreting Research, 2(5), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.22054/tir.2025.84521.1035
Arjmandi, A., & Ehteshami, S. (2025). The role of paratexts in raising ecological awareness: A case study of the Persian translation of Animal Farm. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 22(87), 64-84. https://journal.translationstudies.ir/ts/article/view/1234
Beebee, T., Childress, D., & Weidman, S. (2017). Translation ecologies: A beginner's guide. Interdisciplinary Studies of Literature, 1(4), 1-14.
Bennett, J. W. (2017). The ecological transition: Cultural anthropology and human adaptation. Washington University.
Bradley, H. (2021). Rumors of nature: An ecotranslation of Ulrike Almut Sandig’s “So Habe Ich Sagen Gehört”. Humanities, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/h10010014
Ciorogar, A. (2021). The ecology of translation, or, the translator as world author. Transylvanian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in the Humanities, 26(2), 309-318.
Coisson, J., & Badenes, G. (2015). Ecotranslation: A journey into the wild through the road less travelled. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 11(10), 356-368. http://hdl.handle.net/11086/29427
Cronin, M. (2013). Translation and globalization. Routledge.
Cronin, M. (2017). Eco-translation: Translation and ecology in the age of the Anthropocene. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315689357
Cronin, M. (2018). Eco-translation. In K. Washbourne & B. V. Wyke (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of literary translation (pp. 482-494). Routledge.
Cronin, M. (2020). Shady dealings: Translation, climate and knowledge. In F. Italiano (Ed.), The dark side of translation (pp. 95-110). Routledge.
Cronin, M. (2020). Translation and climate change. In E. Bielsa & D. Kapsaskis (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation and globalization (pp. 85-98). Routledge.
Cronin, M. (2020). Translation and posthumanism. In K. Koskinen & N. K. Pokorn (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation and ethics (pp. 279-293). Routledge.
Cronin, M. (2022). From translation zone to sacrifice zone: Minor perspectives on the Tradosphere. Translation in Society, 1(1), 105 - 124.
Denison, N. (1982). A linguistic ecology for Europe? In A. Fill & P. Mühlhäusler (Eds.), The ecolinguistics reader: Language, ecology and environment (pp. 75–83). Continuum.
Farahzad, F., & Ehteshami, S. (2018). Spatial territories in translation studies. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 16(63), 71-87.
Fill, A. (2001). Ecolinguistics: State of the art 1998. AAA: Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik, 23(1), 3-16.
Fill, A., & Penze, H. (Eds.). (2007). Sustaining language: Essays in applied ecolinguistics. LIT Verlag.
Haarmann, H. (1986). Language in ethnicity: A view of basic ecological relations. Mouton de Gruyter.
Halliday, M. A. (2012). New ways of meaning: The challenge to applied linguistics. In M. Pütz (Ed.), Thirty years of linguistic evolution (pp. 59-95). John Benjamins.
Haugen, E. (1971). The ecology of language. In A. S. Dil (Ed.), The ecology of language: Essays by Einar Haugen. (pp. 325–339). Stanford University Press.
Hu, G. (2020). Eco-translatology: Towards an eco-paradigm of translation studies. Springer.
Jiang, X. (2015). 'Eco' and 'adaptation-selection' in eco-translatology explained. In S. Yifeng (Ed.), Translation and academic journals: The evolving landscape of scholarly publishing (pp. 135-148). Palgrave Macmillan.
Kull, K. (2023). Biosemiotic approaches. In R. Meylaerts & K. Marais (Eds.), The routledge handbook of translation theory and concepts (pp. 77-93). Routledge.
Kull, K., & Torop, P. (2011). Biotranslation: Translation between Umwelten. In T. Maran, D. Martinelli, & A. Turovski (Eds.), Readings in zoosemiotics (pp. 411-426). De Gruyter Mouton.
Marais, K. (2018). A (bio)semiotic theory of translation: The emergence of social-cultural reality. Routledge.
Marais, K., & Kull, K. (2016). Biosemiotics and translation studies: Challenging ‘translation’. In Y. Gambier & L. v. Doorslaer (Eds.), Border crossings: Translation studies and other disciplines (pp. 169-188).
Marais, K., Meylaerts, R., & Gonne, M. (Eds.). (2024). The complexity of social-cultural emergence: Biosemiotics, semiotics and translation studies. John Benjamins.
Muhlhausler, P. (2011). Humboldt, Whorf and the roots of ecolinguistics. In M. Pütz & M. Verspoor (Eds.), Explorations in linguistic relativity. (pp. 89–99).
Muhlhausler, P. (2000). Language planning and language ecology. Current Issues in Language Planning, 1(3), 306-367.
Muhlhausler, P. (2003). Language of environment – environment of language: A course in ecolinguistics. Battlebridge.
Mühlhäusler, P. (1997). Linguistic ecology: Language change and linguistic imperialism in the Pacific region. Routledge.
Naderi, S., & Tajvidi, G. (2023). The posthuman condition and a translational agency that leaks. Iranian Journal of Translation Studies, 20(80), 47-59.
Newmark, P. (1988). A textbook of translation. Prentice Hall.
Penz, H., & Fill, A. (2022). Ecolinguistics: History, today, and tomorrow. Journal of World Languages, 8(2), 232-253. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0008
Robbins, P. (2019). Political ecology: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Scott, C. (2015). Translating the nineteenth century: A poetics of eco-translation. Dix-Neuf, 19(3), 285–302.
Shread, C. (2023). Ecological approaches. In R. Meylaerts & K. Marais (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of translation theory and concepts (pp. 113-125). routledge
Steffensen, S. V., & Fill, A. (2014). Ecolinguistics: The state of the art and future horizons. Language Sciences, 41A, 6-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2013.08.003
Stibbe, A. (2014). An ecolinguistic approach to critical discourse studies. Critical Discourse Studies, 11(1), 117-128.
Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. Routledge.
Stibbe, A. (2021). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Tosi, A. (2013). Translation as a test of language vitality. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(1), 1-14.
Wang, N. (2011). Shengtai wenxue yu shengtai fanyixue jiegou yu jiangou. Zhongguo fanyi, 32(2), 10–15.