Language Changes in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 Pandemic has caused a great deal of social upheaval, as you, the reader, may have or still are experiencing.  Voluntary and mandated self-isolation, shelter in place, and/or quarantining has initiated a new social landscape that we, as humans, are having to navigate.  While this is a situation met with a great deal of apprehension by some it is seen as a golden opportunity for the study of social change by many social scientists, particularly anthropologists.  In that vein of thought comes this blog post, which focuses on the unusual language changes, specifically among English speakers, that have resulted from this pandemic.  This blog post will address how and why new language comes about (generally), the circumstances that drove these specific language changes, and the newly created vocabulary.

Just as cultures change over time so do languages.  Languages change and evolve as a result of new cultural contacts and the acquisition of new words, the creation of new technology that requires new terms to explain it, and as a result of changing situations and conditions to which humans occupy or exist in.  The process of creating new words is known as productivity.  Newly created words are typically generated from and through the existing words and grammatical structures of the pre-existing language, which allows for an ease of understanding by the speakers and listeners of the language.  This does not mean all newly created words will be immediately understandable to native speakers, but upon explanation of the newly created terms’ meaning(s) the definition is easily understood.

The social upheaval wrought by the Covid-19 Pandemic is a situation that is optimal for the creation of new words and the repurposing of old ones.  All of this is the result of people, particularly those directly affected by the pandemic, attempting to make sense of their new reality.  This is why much of the newly created vocabulary revolves around medical terminology or the disease itself, although a number of the new terms are plays on previously and recently created phrases and account for the social rituals resulting from the pandemic.  Ultimately, it is the changing social conditions that people are living (or surviving) in that initiated the present language changes. 

The following is a list of the Covid-19 Pandemic-specific vocabulary and their corresponding definitions.  You may be familiar with some of these terms or phrases (and may have used them yourself), while others may be brand new to you:

-Zoombombing: the presence of uninvited and disruptive guest(s) to Zoom meetings (an online meeting platform).  The purpose of zoombombing is to disrupt the meeting, typically completed through explicit content or language.

-Zoomers: a term used to label individuals who use Zoom to have virtual meetings.

-Boomer Remover: an alternative term used in place of the Coronavirus or Covid-19.  It mistakenly identifies the virus as being one that exclusively targets elderly populations.  Important note, anyone can contract the virus, and people of all ages, including infants and adolescents, have died as a result of this virus.

-Rona: shortened version of the word Corona, which refers to a family of viruses of which Covid-19 belongs; Rona is used in an ironic or humorous way.

-Coronials/quaranteens/coronababies: the name of the generation conceived and eventually born as a result of the self-isolation, shelter in place, and quarantine orders.

-Quarantini: any alcoholic beverages that individuals drink while at home while under a shelter in order mandate or a quarantine.

-Social Distancing: the act of physically distancing individuals not cohabitating together during any social activity (e.g. at the grocery store while shopping for supplies).

-Self-isolation: an act of staying away from others in order to stop the spread of the virus.

-Flatten the curve: a term derived from medical professional; references the need to stop the spread of the virus by limiting exposure and number of individuals who contract the virus, as well as those who do not survive it.

-Community Spread: the spread of the virus to individuals within a geographical area; spread can occur through contact with infected individuals (be it direct or indirect) or surfaces.  Infection with the virus is not associated with travel to an already infected region.

-Quarantine and chill: a play on Netflix and Chill, but referencing staying inside and streaming content from various streaming networks (not just Netflix but Hulu and Amazon Prime and others).

-Doom-scrolling: the act of scrolling through one’s smart phone to read up on the Coronavirus news, often of which is discouraging and frightening.

-Covidiot or moronavirus: an individual who shows little to no regard for the health and safety requirements and recommendations put forward by medical professionals to deter or stop the spread of the virus.

-Virtual Happy Hour: a gathering of individuals who drink (typically alcoholic beverages) through remote/virtual meetings.

-Covidivorce: a break up or divorce of a relationship as a result of too much time spent together (resulting from forced self-isolation, shelter in place, and/or quarantining).

-Covid-10: derived from the “Freshman 15”, referencing the weight gained from eating too much while under self-isolation, shelter in place, and/or quarantine.

-Quarantine Snacks: junk food and other foods reserved for eating during self-isolation, shelter in place, and/or quarantining.

-Coronacation: a “vacation” resulting from forced self-isolation, shelter in place, and/or quarantining.

Bibliography

Dictionary.com. New Words We Created Because Of Coronavirus . 2020. Electronic. 9 April 2020.

Kottak, Conrad and Lisa Gezon. Culture. McGraw-Hill, 2013. Document.

Merriam-Webster. Dictionary. 2020. Electronic.

Russell, Karen. "How the Coronavirus Has Infected Our Vocabulary." The New Yorker 13 April 2020. Electronic.