Defining the Blue Economy – in a language functional approach

While topics like pollution, climate change, sustainability, equality, human rights, and financial crises are widely discussed, the Blue Economy, comes up more and more frequently as a concept that sounds familiar but, to some extent, still new to many people. Having similar goals as the Green Economy, the Blue Economy also aims to develop the world into a more sustainable place for human beings, living creatures and the environment; however, the Blue Economy focuses more on attention to the ocean and its habitants, from where, the topics expand to the marine environment and its sustainable development. Building upon different definitions of the Blue economy, this study aims to help the readership and general public understand the concept of the Blue Economy by addressing the differences in Blue Economy policies among countries, exploring the different Blue Economy definitions from a linguistic perspective, specifically in the frame of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG). SFG is a theory of language that is centred around the notion of language functions in a particular set of situations which helps to understand the concept by analysing its language choice and functions and further discusses the interpretation of the Blue Economy Concept and how to best make use of the language to implement the Blue Economy concept to the general public. To achieve this aim, this paper will (1) demonstrate the importance of the SFG and how it helps to understand the discourse of the Blue Economy, (2) critically clarify different definitions of the Blue Economy and how language works in explaining the Blue Economy – the language choice and how it works to draw the concept, and (3) address the importance of understanding the essence of the Blue Economy. From a research perspective, this paper provides a linguistic analysis of the Blue Economy which contributes to the synthesis of a comprehensive and cohesive understanding of the concept. This paper brings the frame of SFG to the discourse analysis of the Blue Economy. It highlights the importance of language in implementing the concept, which offers a research perspective that goes beyond the surface definitions of the Blue Economy. The Blue Economy, as many UN or International terms, is often a relatively vague metalanguage which creates a blurry and intangible reference in people’s mind and lives. What can the “Blue Economy” actually mean, what is the political agenda, and why? Has it changed over the days, and how?