Sustainability and Semantic Diversity: A View from the Malayan Rainforest

Area of Science:

• Linguistic Anthropology
• Environmental Science
• Sustainability Studies

Background:

• Sustainable development goals (SDGs) often assume universal understanding of core concepts like health and water.
• Growing evidence shows significant semantic diversity in how different cultures represent the world.
• This diversity poses challenges for global initiatives like SDGs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate semantic diversity in sustainability-related terms.
• To compare the Western concept of 'forest' with indigenous representations.
• To explore the implications of linguistic diversity for implementing sustainability goals.

Main Methods:

• Focus on the environmental term 'forest' as a case study.
• Analysis of representations of treed environments in the Jahai language.
• Comparison with assumed equivalents in a non-Western, lesser-known speech community.

Main Results:

• The Jahai language, spoken by rainforest foragers, exhibits distinct representations of treed environments.
• These indigenous systems of representation differ from the generalized Western concept of 'forest'.
• Direct translation or assumption of equivalence can lead to misunderstandings.

Conclusions:

• Understanding local, indigenous systems of representation is crucial for effective communication of sustainability goals.
• Incorporating diverse linguistic perspectives enhances the implementation of global environmental initiatives.
• Bridging semantic gaps is essential for achieving true sustainability worldwide.