“Cultural noise,” “language pollution,” “informational trash” — these concepts have firmly entered the vocabulary of ecologists, but not those who save forests, but those who save our minds. Cultural and language ecology is the ability to filter what we absorb. Just as in nature: if you don’t clean up the trash, it will smother all living things. And so in culture: if you don’t clean the language and cherish traditions, we will turn into a “clip man,” devoid of roots.

What is language ecology

Language ecology is the care for the purity of speech. To get rid of filler words (“sort of,” “kinda,” “basically”), of unjustified borrowings (“crappy,” “hater,” “infocigan”), of slang replacing normal Russian. When a person says “low bow” instead of “respect,” he is not a conservative, he is healing his language. Pollution of the language leads to pollution of thought. A person who cannot express a complex emotion in his native language becomes spiritually poor.

Cultural trash: what we consume

One-day TV series, trivia shows, endless life hacks, news where facts are mixed with opinions, toxic communities. This is cultural fast food. It gives quick satiety (laughter, anger, schadenfreude) and emptiness afterward. Cultural ecology teaches to choose: to read good literature, watch authorial cinema, listen to meaningful music, visit museums. Not because “it should be,” but because this is vitamins for the mind. Without them, the sense of beauty will atrophy.

Daily rituals as cultural ecology

Singing a lullaby before bedtime, having a tea party together without the TV, discussing a book read, retelling a dream over breakfast — all this is ecological practice. They create that very “cultural environment” in which a child learns to feel, think, empathize. If we replace them with “swipe on the tablet,” then culture will die too. Not at the level of high art, but at the level of simple human communication.

The internet as a dump or a garden

Social networks can be a territory of hatred, fake news, spam. But they can also be a space for creativity and knowledge exchange. Internet ecology is a conscious choice: to subscribe to cultural communities, unsubscribe from arguing, not to like aggression, not to spread memes that humiliate people. This also means being able to turn off notifications, not to sit on the phone during dinner, not to scroll through the feed before bedtime. Digital hygiene is part of cultural ecology.

How languages and traditions disappear

Every two weeks, one language dies on Earth. With it, songs, fairy tales, methods of agriculture, recipes disappear. In Russia, small languages of the peoples of the North (Udege, Oroch) are under threat. To save them means to speak on this language every morning at home, to sing to children, to record grandmothers. Cultural ecology is not only about saving the Kremlin, but also about saving the speech of one village. As long as the language is alive, the people are alive.

What everyone can do

Clean your own speech: don’t curse unnecessarily, don’t use filler words, learn poems. Clean the information space: unsubscribe from aggressive bloggers, watch less news, read more. Communicate with elderly relatives: record their memories, teach them songs. Study your native region: local crafts, legends. Go to the library, not just the internet. Teach children proper language by example.

Examples of cultural pollution

When instead of “hello” they say “hi” to a stranger — it’s a loss of respect. When a song with profanity is played at a children’s party — it’s violence against the psyche. When a family doesn’t say “thank you” — it’s the destruction of the ritual of gratitude. When advertising uses images of classical literature to sell snacks — it’s desecrating culture. All this requires “cleaning.” Not by prohibitions, but by an informed choice.

Cultural and language ecology is not about “sovok” and not about banning English words. It’s about living in mindfulness. About making tomorrow’s day not a desert where instead of memory there are fake news, and instead of songs there is the clatter of metal. We are what we eat (informationally). Be ecological.

Permanent link to this publication: