This paper will analyze the concept of environment from an ecophilosophical and cognitive-linguistic perspective. Starting from the basic ideas of Arne Næss’ ecophilosophy and the basic assumptions of cognitive linguistics, the paper asks three main questions: (I) What does the word environment mean?; (II) How do people perceive the environment?; and (III) What does the environment represent in the modern human life? The answers to the latter questions will be sought with the help of language resources (Croatian Language Corpus – Book Subcorpus, Croatian Web Corpus and Daily Press Corpus) and tools (Sketch Engine and MAXQDA Analytics Pro), that is with ecophilosophical and cognitive-linguistic analysis of different meanings and contexts of the lexeme environment, while the results of the analysis will be presented in the form of a preliminary conceptual framework and general conclusions, which could serve for further researches. In doing so, Næss’ early phase, his dealing with empirical semantics, is linked to his late phase of thought, i.e. his ecophilosophical reflections, with the aim of drawing attention to their connection, as well as to Næss’ ideal of empirical-semantic research, to which, among other things, this analysis aspires. By considering the differences between deep and shallow ecology, emphasis is placed on the “deep” and “shallow” understanding of environment – the dichotomy against which other results are determined. Also, the paper proposes a conceptual preparation for the lesson “Arne Næss and deep ecology”, which aims to encourage the development of environmental awareness. At the very end, the question arises of a need for a new, more comprehensive approach to the study of the concept of environment. That approach would consist of a synthesis of earlier approaches, and its name could be “the deep ecolinguistic approach”.