Linguistic Diversity and Environmental Justice: Exploring Indigenous Languages as Tools for Sustainability and Environmental Ethics in India

Abstract This paper explores the nexus between linguistic diversity and environmental justice, this time by focusing on the role of indigenous languages in India for fostering sustainability and environmental ethics. Indigenous languages are a depository of cultural identity and ecological knowledge and are thus very crucial for the intricate relationship that communities have with their environment. These languages have certain terminologies and expressions that best capture sustainable practices, biodiversity, and ecological wisdom accumulated over centuries toward environmental stewardship. However, the decline of these languages following the urbanization and modernization processes under the dominance of global languages seems to pose more threats to conserving traditional systems of knowledge, thereby eroding linguistic diversity and obstructing the capacities to effectively take on contemporary environment challenges. The paper reviews the challenges in documenting and integrating Indigenous languages into mainstream education and policymaking, partly citing the marginalization of these languages in formal systems. It elaborates further on opportunities in activating linguistic diversity for the global environmental discourse and asks for the induction of Indigenous knowledge into environmental laws, education and policy making. Recommendations are made to policymakers, educators, and researchers aimed at preserving Indigenous languages, and incorporating these into sustainability initiatives, such as multilingual education or language revitalization programs and interdisciplinary research on the relation between language, culture, and ecological knowledge. In conclusion, it is the paper's final note of the recognition of Indigenous languages in India and other regions as vital for environmental justice and sustainable development.