This article deals with the development of ecological linguistics as a new object of study in modern linguistics. It examines the peculiarities of language research approaches as an instrument of harmonious lifestyle of the people as well as an important means of social contact in the international research. The anthropocentric and eco-centric lines may be distinguished as competitive modes in the development of modern humanitarian sciences for the reason that they introduce different approaches to investigating processes and results of human activity. The subject of ecolinguistics is the interaction between language, man as a linguistic person and his environment. Language is considered as an integral component of the chain of relationships between man, society and nature. Special attention is paid to the notion “meaning” from the point of view of ecological linguistics. It is stressed that meaning is the link connecting the representations of interaction with the verbal and non-verbal objects in the mind of the person.