“Cultural noise”, “language pollution”, “informational garbage” — these concepts have firmly entered the lexicon of ecologists, but not those who save forests, but those who save our heads. Cultural and language ecology is the ability to filter what we absorb. As in nature: if you don’t clean up the garbage, it will suffocate all living things. So in culture: if you don’t clean up the language and preserve traditions, we will turn into a “clip man” devoid of roots.

What is language ecology

Language ecology is caring for the purity of speech. To get rid of parasitic words (“as if”, “kind of”, “in short”), unjustified borrowings (“creepy”, “hater”, “info gypsy”), 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 garbage: what we consume

One-shot series, roasting 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 after. Cultural ecology teaches to choose: read good literature, watch author’s 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.

Everyday rituals as cultural ecology

Singing a lullaby before bedtime, having a tea party without the TV, discussing a book read, retelling a dream at 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 “swiping on a tablet”, then culture will die. 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: subscribe to cultural communities, unsubscribe from arguments, do not like aggression, do not spread memes that degrade people. This is also the ability to turn off notifications, not to sit in 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 are under threat (Udege, Oroch). To preserve them means to speak on this language every morning at home, sing to children, record grandmothers. Cultural ecology is not only about preserving the Kremlin, but also about preserving the dialect of one village. As long as the language lives, the people live.

What each one can do

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

Examples of cultural pollution

When instead of “hello” they say “hello” to a stranger — this is a loss of respect. When a song with swear words is played at a children’s party — this is violence against the psyche. When in a family they don’t say “thank you” — this is the destruction of the ritual of gratitude. When advertising uses images of classical literature to sell snacks — this is desecration of culture. All this requires “cleaning”. Not by bans, but by a conscious choice.

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

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