Indigenous languages and ecolinguistics in Brazil: intellectual traditions, indigenous knowledge, and future directions

This article offers an overview of the emergence and consolidation of ecolinguistics in Brazil, tracing its institutional origins, key theoretical frameworks, and principal research agendas. Drawing on the European tradition of linguistic ecology and ecocritical discourse analysis, and engaging with distinctively Latin American intellectual currents, including critical pedagogy, eco-education movements, and Indigenous cosmologies, Brazilian ecolinguistics has developed into a rich and heterogeneous field. The article surveys leading scholars, active research groups, and foundational works, and examines how Brazilian researchers have applied ecolinguistic perspectives to media and political discourse, environmental education, Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge, language policy and revitalisation, and social justice movements. Particular attention is given to the role of Indigenous languages and anthropological linguistic research in revealing how ecological knowledge is embedded in linguistic practice. The article also reflects on the emergence of what might be termed naturalised or embodied ecolinguistic practices rooted in the everyday ecological experience of diverse Brazilian communities, highlighting their relevance for broader debates on ecological meaning, linguistic relativity, and the relationships between language, environment, and social life.