An Ecolinguistic Approach to Anthropocentrism in Defining Animals in Moin Persian Dictionary

The power of ecolinguistic approaches, a burgeoning approach in critical studies, lies in their ability to transcend the readers beyond the determinisms of language and encourage friendly and humane relationships with nature and all species of life. This paper appraises how language contributes to the oppression and exploitation of animals by scrutinizing the definition of animals given in Moin Persian to Persian Dictionary. The results show how Moin Dictionary, by concentrating mainly on environmental problems, fails to criticize the environmentally destructive cultural values institutionalized unconsciously by Iranians, and directs attention away from alternatives. This dictionary portrays animals as objects, resources or token species. According to the results, intensive confinement, oppression and slaughter of animals depend on the implicit consent of the population. By applying a critical approach, this paper attempts to expose ideologies embedded in the discourse of this dictionary.