His word abidil means “letter” in Scottish Gaelic. Gaelic is one of the oldest languages in Europe today, and each of the 18 letters of its alphabet is represented by a tree.
In the film that accompanies his contribution, McLean shows us the work of Boyd McKenzie, a retired forester, who planted every tree on his small Hebrides farm to create a we can all The living alphabet through.
“Until the 1980s and 1990s, Gaelic was virtually invisible in Scottish public life,” says McLean, an arts and heritage consultant and tireless proponent of the Scottish Gaelic revival, who was a clear sign of the project choose.
As the former Scottish President of UNESCO, he was delighted with the International Decade of Indigenous Languages: “You can imagine how delighted I am that they announced this goal,” he said, “and I hope to be involved in other projects.”
Helina Hookoomsing and Shameem Oozeerally, academics from Mauritius, shared his enthusiasm. “We believe that traditional indigenous languages, knowledge and heritage are one of the most important cultural systems for ecological, social and climate justice,” Hookoomsing said.
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Both she and Oozeerally specialize in ecolinguistics, and they contributed to the Mauritian Creole danbwa, which means “into the woods” or “wilderness.”
Mauritius has no indigenous human population and therefore no indigenous languages. “The indigenous people of the island are the flora and fauna,” Hookoomsing said, adding: “Shameem and I believe there is a deep, almost umbilical connection between language and our environment — not just in the way we talk about them, But how we interact with the planet.”
This notion of interacting with the earth is echoed throughout the project, and Lakota contributor Tiokasin Ghosthorse from the US expresses the idea in a striking way.
The Lakota word wíyukčaŋ means “consciousness” or “knowing,” reflecting the idea of being part of nature, not outside it, and Ghosthorse explains how his language became a verb rather than a noun.
“For us, the sun is a verb,” he said, “because look at what it is doing and what it is, it is always alive. If you are in relationship to the earth, instead of controlling it, then all life will be it’s here.
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“Of course we need Earth, but she needs us too. We’re in a relationship, so our language reflects that relationship.”
In encouraging us to examine the languages we use to think about nature and the environment, Living Language Land provides us with the tools to explore this relationship and interact with nature in positive and reciprocal ways.
Before starting the project, Bailey, who worked in the fields of public engagement and research management, was inspired by ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Weaving Sweet Grass, in which Kimmerer wrote: “To be locals in a place, we Must learn to speak its language.”
Bailey added: “At the time, I was fed up with some of the traditional approaches to the environmental movement. The temptation was to shout out in the face of an increasingly urgent situation.
“But another way to approach it is to explore different languages or modes of communication. This book got me thinking, how can we expand the vocabulary of our relationship with the natural world in a way that is both gentle and powerful?”
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Together with their contributors, Bayley and Gabie welcome the International Decade of Indigenous Languages as an opportunity for change. “We wanted to challenge the lingua franca of environmental crisis,” Bailey added.
“Based on this invitation, we are given a share of seeing and thinking in other ways. Anything that can improve the image of language as a reflection of cultural diversity is very important.”
Perhaps the last word should be said by Marie Lacroix (Missinak Kameltoutasset) from Canada, who contributed the Inu word tshinanu, which means “inclusive “we” – equal for all.
“Our environment is the land, forests, plants, insects, animals, water, air and people who are stewards of the creator’s gift,” she said. “An interdependent circle of life. Generation after generation, our teaching says that the earth does not belong to us, but we belong to her.”
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Stephanie Boxall is a freelance writer based in the South West of England. @BoxallStephanie. More about Living Language Land Project Visit its website.This article was first published in Renaissance and Ecologists Magazine. understand more.
