From Reception to Localization: Chinese Ecolinguistics and Its Contribution to the Global Discipline

Abstract

Ecolinguistics examines language use from an ecological perspective, exploring interactions with social, cultural, and natural environments. This article reviews the development of Chinese ecolinguistics and situates it in relation to Western scholarship. This article argues that its development is best understood as a process of localization. Chinese ecolinguistics has moved through three broad stages: early reception of Western ecolinguistic models, interdisciplinary adaptation and exploration, and recent localization through professionalization, Sino-Western dialogue, and theoretical extension. The Chinese case demonstrates that localization is not merely the application of an existing theory to a new context, but a methodological and theoretical process through which ecolinguistics is reshaped by local languages, cultural traditions, ecological realities, and social needs. Chinese ecolinguistics contributes to the global discipline to construct ecological stories that promote harmony between humans, society, and nature.