The Normative and Ethical Role of Languages in Sustainability Awareness Building, Dr Tomasz Braun

Dr Tomasz Braun

Associate Professor and Deputy Rector for International Relations
Lazarski University Warsaw 
Poland
ORCID: 0000-0003-0141-4929

Purpose: This chapter explores how languages operate as normative and ethical infrastructures of sustainability awareness. It aims to demonstrate how linguistic diversity and multilingual practices underpin justice, inclusion, and resilience in sustainable development.
Design and methodological approach: The study adopts an interdisciplinary synthesis bridging environmental law and political theory of sustainability research. It relies on comparative legal analysis and policies’ reviews of multilingual education, biocultural approaches, diaspora engagement, and digital revitalisation.
Findings: Languages encode values, duties, and ecological knowledge, shaping sustainability behaviours. Mother tongue–based education enhances equity and intergenerational learning; diasporas mobilise linguistic capital for climate adaptation; and legal frameworks recognising linguistic rights strengthen governance.
Originality and value: The chapter reframes language as a site of justice, not only a communication tool, offering a normative-ethical framework for integrating linguistic diversity into sustainability policy.
Research limitations/implications: Regional variation and causal attribution remain challenges. Future research should develop indicators for linguistic inclusion, with direct implications for advancing SDGs 4, 10, 11, and 16.