In a mere few months, coronavirus has profoundly changed our ways of living.
In terms of communications it has led to an outburst of new words and phrases that help us make sense of the world around us. It is more common than ever to use words such as “lockdown”, “quarantine”, “covidiot”, “covexit” or “covideoparty”. And other words describing the means to get in touch during lockdown such as zoombombing (hijacking a video call) or quaranteams (the groups created online ). But what’s behind the explosion of so many new phrases, metaphors and lexical innovations?
• As in all similar crises such as big wars or other pandemics verbal play unites people and helps them express their worries and fears related to the crisis. There is a new shared code of practice that brings people together. The use of common lexical references is the medium for shared and targeted communication which is so much needed in order to survive. By using new terms or phrases people feel that they understand the problem more deeply and in the same way they try to interpret it practically. Being a part of social groups that share similar understanding of coined words reinforces the discussion and the sense that we are all in this together. Likewise existing metaphors can be shaped accordingly to fit the current situation and get adapted to the new parameters indicated by the implications of the virus.
• Verbal play and metaphors often entail a sense of humor i.e. covidiot or covexit so one of the primary purposes is to develop a mechanism for coping with the insecurity and the anxiety that comes with the pandemic. Some of these phrases may seem flippant but they manage to give a more positive side to the darkness. Such process doesn’t impoverish the gravity of the pandemic and its tremendous impact but it surely makes the situation more manageable.
Probably one of the most significant factors leading to the massive spread of coronavirus terminology is the extensive use of technology. Never before has humanity been more digitally connected, not to speak about other pandemics such as SARS or the Swine Flu. The rapid diffusion of ideas through social media means that new words are created, are instantly disseminated within small digital communities and are further expanded. It’s a kind of continuous digital brainstorming or “covidstorming” in which one idea brings the other and then the other and then oups here is a new phrase. Ex. “I’ve missed going to a party and have a drink”. “Oh yes me too. Why don’t we have a quarantini in Zoom tonight?”
We are all pretty much familiar with new covid-19 phrases. But what about metaphors being used in this time to convey specific meaning and reflect our way of thinking. Here are some of the most, to my humble opinion, interesting and practical ones to use and understand taken from various fields.
The invisible enemy: used to describe covid-19 as an enemy which cannot be seen directly but yet is very aggressive and must be defeated.
The domino effect: describes the spread of the virus as a mathematical equation and in high velocity. Massive gatherings led to the rapid contagion of the disease.
Asymptomatic spread as a fire cracker: used to emphasize the fact that an infected person with no symptoms can actually infect another person within a few hours.
Flattening the curve: How many times have we heard this metaphor??? Meaning to break the chain and slow down its surge.
Social distancing: it’s a projection of the physical distancing indicating the imperative to become antisocial so as to protect our cycle of people.
The evil trickster: a metaphor initially used by scientists to describe the virus as notorious and deceitful.
Covid-19 as one more wall: referring to how the virus is the disease of stoppage.
Covid-19 is a stress test for the species: It is actually a test to measure endurance and our ability to cope with big threats.
All fields of modern society have started to adjust and progress during this crisis: New strategies, new approaches, and new means of communication and of course new lexical ways to utter and express verbally such immense transformation in everyday life. To me it is a sign of evolution and continuous effort to conceptualize the big changes and actively respond most probably towards something better. In the meantime, let me make a nice quarantini for my private lockdown covideoparty so I can wake up tomorrow and cope with the invisible enemy.
Inspired by:
www.theconversation.com
https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/makingsciencepublic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcJDpV-igjs
https://www.theguardian.com