K.
David Harrison
VinUniversity
ABSTRACT
ENVIRONMENTAL LINGUISTICS
Environmental linguistics explores knowledge of the environment as uniquely encoded in cultures and languages, with a strong emphasis on indigenous world views. Using insights from Anthropology, Cognitive Science, and related fields, we encounter many distinct domains of knowledge (botanical, geographic, meteorological, etc.). This talk explore the socio-cognitive mechanisms for transmitting knowledge (ritual, myth, taboo, song, story). Byaccessing this knowledge, we can appreciate unique—and radically different from our own—understandings of how humans relate to the earth. We will investigate how these adaptive knowledge systems provide resilience in the face of climate change, environmental degradation, and habitat loss. We will develop a hopeful vision for a sustainable future that respects indigenous understandings of nature.
BIOGRAPHY
K. David Harrison is an anthropologist, linguist, and National Geographic Explorer documenting endangered languages and cultures around the world. He has done collaborative fieldwork with indigenous communities in Siberia, Mongolia, India, and Vanuatu. He was featured in the acclaimed documentary film The Linguists, and his work has been covered The New York Times, The Economist, USA Today, and Science. David is Professor and Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at VinUniversity in Hanoi, Vietnam, and is a fellow of the Explorers Club.
Prof. K. David Harrison is a leading specialist in the study of endangered languages and professor VinUniversity since 2021. Harrison has done fieldwork in Siberia, Mongolia, Bolivia, India, Micronesia and Vanuatu. His doctoral dissertation described the language of Tuvan nomads of South Siberia, where he spent a year in the field living with nomads learning the language and absorbing the culture. His 2007 book, When Languages Die: The Extinction of Human Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge, is a deep investigation into the scientific consequences of language loss, including encounters with last speakers in remote corners of the globe. He is a documentary filmmaker, a National Geographic Explorer, and a Fellow of the Explorers’ Club.