Professor Janet Watson, Professor Dawn Chatty and Dr Jack Wilson will speak on their contributions to the recently published book Language and Ecology in Southern and Eastern Arabia (edited by Janet Watson, Jon Lovett and Roberta Morano) which explores the way in which indigenous languages reflect the close relationship between people and their environment. It presents case studies dealing with language, gesture and ecology, the significance of naming, the role of narratives in the language-ecology relationship, and the conservation and revitalisation of bio-diversity in Arabia. They will look at the central role that language plays in facing the challenges and threats to bio-cultural diversity.
Janet Watson is well known to IASA and BYS members for her expertise and knowledge of Modern South Arabian Languages. She holds the Leadership Chair for Language at Leeds, University of Leeds, where she is also Co-Director of the Centre for Endangered Languages, Cultures and Ecosystems. She is Fellow of the British Academy.
Dawn Chatty is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration and former Director of the Refugee Studies Centre at Oxford University. She is also a fellow of the British Academy.
Jack Wilson is a lecturer in English Language at Salford University with a special focus on linguistic, pragmatics and gesture studies.
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