WHY WE CREATED NEW LANGUAGE FOR CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus led to an explosion of new words and phrases, both in English and in other languages. This new vocabulary helped us make sense of the changes that have suddenly became part of our everyday lives.

Established terms such as “self-isolating”, “pandemic”, “quarantine”, “lockdown” and “key workers” have increased in use, while coronavirus/COVID- 19 neologisms were coined quicker than ever.

These include “covidiot” (someone ignoring public health advice), “covideo party”(online parties via Zoom or Skype), and “covexit” (the strategy for exiting lockdown), while coronavirus acquired new descriptors – including “the ‘rona” and “Miley Cyrus” (Cockney rhyming slang).

Other terms dealt with the material changes in our everyday lives, from “Blursday” (an unspecified day because of lockdown’s disorientating effect on time), to “zoombombing” (hijacking a Zoom videocall). “WFH” (working from home) and “quaranteams” (online teams created during lockdown) helped people dealt with changing work circumstances.

This new vocabulary also helped people articulate their worries about the biggest health crisis we had seen in generations. In the absence of the regular social contact, shared talk was an important part of helping people feel connected to one another.