An Ecolinguisitc Study Of The Development Of Ecological Awareness In The Modern Chinese Dictionary With Reference To Animal-related Entries

The appearance and intensification of the global ecological crisis has made the emergence and development of ecological awareness inevitable.Within the context of China’s ecological civilization development and under the vigorous promotion of our government,the ecological awareness of our nation has significantly improved.Language is the product of the consciousness and the material impacting on each other;and the changes in reality and ideology will inevitably be reflected in language,which in turn influences the way people think.From the perspective of diachronic analysis and within the framework of ecolinguistics,this study collects the definitions of animals and animal-related entries from the first to the seventh edition of The Modern Chinese Dictionary(1978-2016)to find evidence of the development of ecological awareness through the changes of Chinese language.Domestic research on The Modern Chinese Dictionary(MCD)and foreign research on dictionaries are more from the perspective of dictionaries,rather than as the object of discourse analysis.Although there are also studies on the language in definition in MCD,they are still limited within the framework of traditional linguistics and have not extended to the ideology embodied by the language.Likewise,previous studies on ecological consciousness paid more attention to its formation,cultivation,development and its impact on people’s behavior,and most of the researchers had no linguistic background.Therefore,this study provides a new perspective of ecolinguistics for the study of MCD,and combines ecological awareness with dictionary discourse,expanding the possibility of dictionary research and enriching the text sources of discourse analysis.Through an ecolinguistic analysis of MCD,the author has made the discovery that the dictionary’s entries on animals have experienced considerable changes since the late 1970 s.Those changes are as follows.(1)MCD has alleviated the focus on the function,value and use of animals,among which the expression changes on edible value,medical value and fur use are the most obvious.(2)MCD has reduced the anthropocentric and subjective evaluation of the temperament and traits of animals,and weakened the distinction between beneficial and harmful animals.These changes concentrate in the third and fifth editions,reflecting the staged and gradual development of ecological civilization consciousness.Ecolinguistics investigates the relationship between language and the environment based on the following assumptions: language constructs consciousness,and changes in language will transform or even reshape our cognition of the world;at the same time,language guides and affects our behavior,and language has the power to transform the natural environment.Therefore,as a dictionary with both authority and popularity,MCD greatly reduces the anthropocentric linguistic expressions in animal interpretation,which can affect the way we view the relationship between humans and animals,making it move towards a more ecological direction;and our perception of animals determines our attitudes and behaviors towards them.Human survival always has to come at the expense of some animals’ lives,and ecological animalism advocates the respectful use of animals instead of taking their sacrifice for granted.The substantial reduction of anthropocentric linguistic expressions in MCD reflects efforts in this direction;hence to a certain extent,the survival of animals is guaranteed and the balance of the ecosystem is promoted.Therefore,the critical perspective of this study is of great significance for promoting the improvement of ecological consciousness and the development of ecological civilization.