LingLit Journal Scientific Journal for Linguistics and Literature

Language Shift as Cultural Memory Loss: Quantifying the Erosion of Ethnobiological Knowledge across Three Generations in an Endangered Language Community

2026-06-08T05:09:10+00:00

Approximately 40% of the world’s 7,000 languages are endangered, with many located in biodiversity hotspots. Language shift may accelerate the loss of traditional ecological knowledge, but quantitative, three‑generation studies are lacking. To quantify the relationship between heritage language shift and ethnobiological knowledge erosion across three generations in an endangered language community. Ninety participants (30 grandparents, G1; 30 parents, G2; 30 children, G3) from 30 families completed standardized language proficiency measures (adapted PPVT, oral fluency) and ethnobiological knowledge tasks (free‑listing, species identification and use). Covariates included age, education, and nature contact. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical regression. Language proficiency declined significantly across generations (G1: M=42.1/50; G2: 28.4; G3: 12.7; η²=0.67). Ethnobiological knowledge showed a parallel decline (G1: M=38.6/80; G2: 24.3; G3: 9.8; η²=0.68). The bivariate correlation between language proficiency and knowledge was strong (r=0.72, 95% CI [0.61, 0.80], p<0.001). Regression confirmed language proficiency as a unique predictor (β=0.61, p<0.001) after controlling for covariates, explaining 45% of variance in knowledge. Language shift and ethnobiological knowledge erosion are tightly coupled processes, supporting the view that heritage languages serve as critical scaffolds for cultural memory. Rapid intergenerational loss (70% vocabulary, 88% knowledge) within two generations indicates a biocultural emergency. Integrated interventions—community‑based language revitalization, heritage‑language environmental education, and biocultural conservation policies are urgently needed to preserve both linguistic and ecological diversity.

Thermodynamic Literacy for Sustainable Development: A Review of Integrating Physics Education on Resource Utilization and Environmental Awareness Cultivation

2026-06-09T03:46:41+00:00

The escalating global environmental crisis demands an urgent reorientation of educational paradigms, particularly within physics instruction. Thermodynamics the fundamental science of energy, work, and entropy offers a natural and powerful bridge between abstract physical principles and concrete sustainability challenges. This review synthesizes the scholarly literature on integrating sustainable development education into physics instruction, with a specific focus on resource utilization and environmental awareness cultivation. Through a systematic analysis of 45 peer-reviewed studies spanning 2015–2025, we examine how thermodynamic literacy can transform sustainability education from aspirational discourse into quantitatively grounded decision-making. The review identifies three core contributions of thermodynamic literacy: (1) providing first-principles explanations for resource limits and efficiency boundaries via the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics; (2) enabling rigorous assessment of resource utilization through concepts such as Energy Return on Investment (EROI), exergy analysis, and entropy accounting; and (3) cultivating environmental awareness by making invisible energy flows and waste streams visible and quantifiable. We find that effective pedagogical approaches include project-based resource audits, exergy literacy integration, socio-scientific inquiry frameworks, and active learning strategies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite growing recognition of the physics–sustainability nexus, significant gaps remain: validated assessment instruments for thermodynamic literacy are underdeveloped, teacher professional development lags behind curricular ambitions, and systematic integration across educational levels is fragmented. The review concludes with a proposed framework for thermodynamic literacy development spanning cognitive, analytical, and practical competencies and offers recommendations for curriculum design, pedagogical innovation, and future research.

Celestial Diglossia and the Moral Clock: Ethno Linguistic Encoding of Cosmology and Social Hierarchy in Ethiopian Life Cycle Ritual Discourse

2026-06-09T08:23:11+00:00

Ethiopian life‑cycle rituals have been extensively documented, yet the specific linguistic mechanisms that encode cosmology and social hierarchy remain undertheorised. Existing studies treat language as a transparent medium rather than a constitutive force. This article introduces two novel concepts, celestial diglossia (stratified access to astronomical registers) and the moral clock (celestial events that license ritual speech)—to explain how Oromo, Amhara, and Gedeo ritual discourse re‑classifies initiates across birth, initiation, marriage, and death. Twelve months of participant observation, 85 interviews with ritual specialists (Hayyu, Qallu, priests, Zār leaders), and audio‑recorded speech events (marriage negotiations, Dhibaayyuu vows, Zār healing sessions) were analysed using discourse analysis and ethnographic semantics. Celestial diglossia parallels the Ge‛ez‑Amharic split, creating an epistemic hierarchy where priests control constellation names (e.g., Bakkalcha/Pleiades) and heliacal calculations. The moral clock exemplified by Bakkalcha’s rising—periodically licenses Mekdes (loyal reproach), transforming taboo direct criticism into a “face gift.” This temporary inversion reinforces rather than subverts hierarchy. In Gadaa transitions, the new Abbaa Gadaa cannot pronounce judgement formulas until Bakkalcha’s first sighting. Eclipses suspend all ritual speech, proving the clock’s regulatory coherence. Ethiopian ritual discourse accomplishes a triple transformation (biological→social→cosmic) through linguistic encoding, not mere symbolism. Age‑grade progression is mapped directly onto observable celestial events. Linguistic anthropology must integrate astronomical time as a performative dimension. Future research should examine southern Ethiopian groups (Sidama, Konso) and the impact of Orthodox Christianity on contemporary ritual registers.