36.3662, Books: How We Talk About Animals, and Why it Matters: Sealey (2025)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-36-3662. Wed Nov 26 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.3662, Books: How We Talk About Animals, and Why it Matters: Sealey (2025)

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Date: 25-Nov-2025
From: Lucy Trotter [lucy.trotter at bloomsbury.com]
Subject: How We Talk About Animals, and Why it Matters: Sealey (2025)


Title: How We Talk About Animals, and Why it Matters
Subtitle: The Power of Discourse
Series Title: Bloomsbury Advances in Ecolinguistics
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
           http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/
Book URL:
https://www.bloomsbury.com/how-we-talk-about-animals-and-why-it-matters-9781350519619/

Author(s): Alison Sealey

Hardback, ISBN: 9781350519619, Price: £95.00

Abstract:

What kind of language do we use to name and describe the animals that
feature in our lives? What names do we give to animals as individuals
and groups, and how do these influence our perceptions of them? How do
our descriptions of different species overlap with the words we use
about categories of people?
Answering these questions and more, this book presents evidence from
an extensive research project into how animals are represented in
contemporary English. It draws on a multi-million word corpus of texts
from a wide range of sources, as well as interviews with professional
communicators about animals and focus groups involving people with
different experiences of, and attitudes towards, animals in various
contexts. Language about animals is explored thematically, focusing on
topics such as names, descriptions, places, communication and ethics.
The book highlights both what we know from scientific research about
the huge diversity of animals' capacities and lifestyles, and how the
language we use to communicate about them affects how we understand
them and how we treat them. The methods used to investigate these
topics include corpus linguistic analysis, using specialised software,
as well as close reading of specific examples.
Providing a fascinating insight into the way we talk about animals,
this book brings together new material from scientific studies and
popular culture to explore the relationships between humans and other
animals. It will appeal to a wide readership in light of the climate
crisis and awareness of the loss of biodiversity both globally and
locally.

Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis
                     General Linguistics
                     Translation




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