Language of Change: Literature & Linguistics in a World in Crisis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how language, both in literary works and in linguistic systems, operates as a change agent in the midst of global crises, such as climate change, war, pandemics, and sociopolitical upheaval. The function of literature and linguistics as both reflectors and moulders of collective consciousness is gaining increased relevance in a society that is becoming more moulded by uncertainty and fast upheaval. This study investigates how texts not only reflect crises but also actively engage in the construction of alternatives, the formation of identities, and the mobilisation of resistance. It does so by drawing on eco-linguistics, discourse theory, and critical literary studies. A comparative analysis of modern fiction and critical discourse is included in the research. The purpose of this analysis is to investigate how narrative structures and language choices react to, support, or reject prevailing ideologies during times of crisis. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how writers and speakers negotiate power, solidarity, and hope via the use of a combined methodological framework that incorporates critical discourse analysis (CDA), narrative theory, and literary close reading. An emerging multidisciplinary area that tries to reinvent the humanities as instruments for survival and social change in crisis circumstances is the subject of this enquiry, which adds to the field. In the end, it makes the case that literature and linguistics are not only passive mirrors of reality but rather active forces that shape the language of change.