From Linguistic Ecology to Natural Ecology: the linguistic landscape of climate change in Indonesia

This paper examines the linguistic landscape (LL) of climate change in Indonesia and the lack thereof. Based on an analysis of three Indonesian cityscapes (2023–2024), i.e. Semarang, Yogyakarta and Jakarta, the physical cityscapes were overwhelmingly saturated with political campaign posters and billboards, with virtually no signage indexing climate change or ecological urgency. To move beyond this impasse, our study expands the methodological boundaries of LL studies by exploring alternative spaces where climate discourse emerges. The Digital Ethnographic Linguistic Landscape Analysis (ELLA 2.0) framework is useful to analyse the interactional co-construction between the online and offline structures of climate actions as mediated through language. We identify and analyse three alternative constructions: mobile protest signs, digital climate strikes on social media, and environmental graffiti. These forms constitute vital LL resources that actively contest the anthropocentric and politically saturated mainstream cityscape. By centreing these marginalised semiotic resources, this study advances LL theory, arguing that the field must evolve to account for the contestation of public space and address the representational politics of ecological crises.