Coronalogisms and the way Covid-19 changes English

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Municipal еstablishment Kharkiv

Humanitarian Pedagogical Academy of the Kharkiv Regional Council

Coronalogisms and the way Covid-19 changes English

Bakhmat L.V., с.of P.S., As. Professor

Panchenko V.V., с.of P.S., Lecturer

Annotation

In modern linguistics the issue of creating new words and phrases is highly relevant. The development of vocabulary and its update primarily reflects the current state of the environment where a language evolves. The analysis of the new vocabulary of the English language makes it possible to identify the main areas where neologisms are coined. In 2019-2020, a great number of neologisms appeared which are closely related to the outbreak of COVID-19. The coronavirus stimulated the emergence and widespread use of neologisms in English as well as in other languages. They mirror the changes and new realia that have unexpectedly become part of everyday life globally. The authors claim that coronologisms (neologisms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) undergo the general stages of emerging in the vocabulary, namely: coining, spreading, fixation (most commonly in mass-media), socialization, and lexicalization. They also emphasize that in the time of digitalization, coronalogisms have rapidly spread, mainly thanks to social networking, hashtag use, etc.

Key words: neologisms, coronalogisms, coronavirus, English vocabulary, pandemic.

Анотація

Короналогізми та як пандемія Covid-19 змінює англійську мову

Бахмат Л.В., к.п.н., доцент; Панченко В.В., к.п.н., викладач; кафедра іноземної філології, КЗ «Харківська гуманітарно-педагогічна академія» Харківської обласної ради

У сучасній лінгвістиці актуальним є питання створення нових слів та фраз. Розвиток словникового складу, його збагачення відбиває насамперед розвиток того середовища, у якому знаходиться мова. Аналіз нової лексики англійської мови дає можливість визначити основні сфери становлення неологізмів. Протягом 2019-2020 рр. поява значної частини нових слів в англійській мові була пов'язана з пандемією коронавірусу COVID-19. Зазначимо, що коронавірус призвів до появи та широкого вжитку неологізмів як в англійській, так і в інших мовах. Ці неологізми відображають зміни та нові реалії, які несподівано стали частиною повсякденного життя всієї світової спільноти. У статті доведено, що короналогізми (неологізми, спричинені пандемією коронавірусу COVID-19) проходять загальні етапи уведення в лексику, а саме: появу, поширення, фіксацію, соціалізацію, лексикалізацію. Автори наголошують, що в умовах діджиталізації короналогізми набули стрімкого поширення, чому значною мірою сприяють соціальні мережі, використання хештегів тощо. У статті представлено основні класифікації неологізмів. Описано словотворчі процеси, що сприяють збільшенню кількості неологізмів в англійській мові. Проаналізовано словотворчі корені, серед яких переважають coron (coronavims), covid та quaran (quarantine). Серед англійськомовних неологізмів виокремлено групу акронімів та скорочень. Визначено, що неологізми, пов'язані з пандемією коронавірусу, мають широку палітру синонімів у розмовному та сленговому варіантах англійської мови, американській та австралійській англійській. Встановлено, що основними джерелами словотвору є діджиталізація, інформаційні технології, медицина, засоби масової інформації, новий спосіб життя. Доведено, що лексикографи англійськомовних країн швидко реагують на зміни у словниковому складі мови, постійно оновлюючи словники неологізмами, що з'явилися внаслідок COVID-19. Більшість цих неологізмів - іменники. Перспективою подальших наукових розвідок є аналіз стилістичної конотації, фонемної будови, синтаксичних функцій неологізмів, що виникли під впливом пандемії.

Ключові слова: неологізми, короналогізми, коронавірус, англійськомовна лексика, пандемія.

Problem statement

The main classifications applied to neologisms have been presented in the article. Word formation processes that contribute to enhancing the number of English neologisms has been described. The word-forming stems, among which coron (coronavirus), covid and quaran (quarantine) predominate, have been analyzed. A separate group of acronyms and abbreviations among English neologisms has been identified. The authors pay attention to synonymous variety of coronavirus neologisms in colloquial and slang English, American and Australian variants of the English language. It is stated that the sources for coining new words include digitalization, information technologies, medicine, mass-media, new lifestyle habits. It is worth mentioning that English lexicographers promptly react to lexical changes adding COVID-related neologisms to the dictionaries. The vast majority of them are nouns. Further researches in the area can be conducted to analyze stylistic connotations, phonemic structure, syntactic functions of neologisms related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Language is an open dynamic system that is constantly striving for perfection. Lexical structure in any language is regularly updating. Ever-changing nature of language is manifested in the formation of new lexical units - neologisms. Changes in the vocabulary indisputably prove the evolution of society as a whole, since the number of lexical items increases in the result of changes in people's lives, the development of science, culture, the emergence of new concepts and realia. The language is continually renewed and modernized in accordance with the requirements of society.

On the one hand, neologisms reflect the arrival of new material things or spiritual conceptions. On the other hand, they can express available knowledge about reality, emotions, physical condition, etc. through innovative linguistic means. However, native speakers most often perceive neologisms as a signal of the emergence of something new in the world. The urgent need to describe and systematize a huge flow of new words and meanings contributed to the creation of an independent branch of lexicology - neology. Many linguists, including I. Hrytsai, Yu. Zatsnyi, І. Murko, A. Ufimtseva, L. Khaham, E. Rosen, etc., have studied and classified neologisms, analyzed their structure. Yet, new lexical items denoting the realities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and their morphological composition have not been the subject of a separate scientific research.

Purpose of the article. Consequently, the purpose of the article is to analyze newly appeared neologisms related to the Covid-19 outbreak and their influence on the English language.

stylistic neologism pandemic covid english

Presentation of the main material

Any social changes are reflected in the language composition. Continuous evolution and progress in all spheres of human life cause the need for new terms and nominations. In turn, language does not stay aside, but responds to social requirements by activating word-formation processes.

The main types of word formation in English includes morphological (or phonetic-morphological), morphosyntactic and lexico-semantic. Morphological, or phonetic-morphological, word formation means coining new words through changing phonetic and / or morphemic composition, root stressing. Here we find affixation, compounding, shortenings, back formation, phoneme alteration and stress transfer in a word. Morphosyntactic word formation is forming a derivative word changing the paradigm and syntactic functions of the parent word.

A new lexical unit usually undergoes several stages of socialization (social acceptance) and lexicalization (fixing its position in a language). After a neologism appeared, the next stage begins when a word is being spread, for instance in mass-media, the Internet. Then we witness printed fixation followed by a socialization stage when a word is accepted by the majority of native speakers. After that, the process of lexicalization begins: the acquisition of skills to use neologisms in society, the identification of conditions and contradictions for their use in different contexts. As a result, a lexical unit of a separate structural type (simple, derivative, complex, compound word or phrase) is formed, which is included in various dictionaries of neologisms.

In general, the emergence of a new word is a rather complex process not only in terms of time, but also in the context of opposition to new linguistic trends and striving to preserve a language as it is.

It is worth mentioning that once neologisms were considered pathological deviations from the norm. For example, in 1966, the third edition of Webster's New International Dictionary defined neologism as a meaningless word coined by psychotic [9]. Nowadays the term “neologism” is applied to innovations, i.e. to words or phrases recently formed on the material of language in accordance with existing word-formation models in the language, which denote a new, previously unknown concept, subject, profession, branch of science, etc.

There are several classifications of neologisms.

I. Hrytsai notes that normally they are divided into four groups [2]:

- types of linguistic units (neolexems, neophrases, neosememes);

- degree of novelty of linguistic units (absolute and relative neologisms);

- type of defined reality (new, old, actualized, deceasing, hypothetic);

- type of formation (borrowings, word formation, semantic).

Modern English has many ways of forming new words, including word formation, conversion, reduction, adjectivization, substantivization, lexico-semantic means, phoneme alternation and stress shifting in the word (phonological way), etc. However, not all of these methods are used equally, and the proportion of each is different.

88% of new words are formed with the help of word formation and word compounding. Others, such as conversion, lexico-semantic way are less productive. Finally, phoneme alternation and stress shifting are unproductive and are currently almost never used. Accordingly, we identify the following affixes:

- unproductive;

- productive;

- highly productive, when an affix is minimally restricted in its use as a word-forming element.

There is currently no doubt about the significant impact on the English vocabulary that the Covid-19 pandemic causes. Coronavirus has resulted in neologisms in both English and other languages.

They reflect changes that have suddenly become part of everyday life. The executive editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Paton noted that it was “a rare experience for lexicographers to observe an exponential rise in usage of a single word in a very short period, and for that word to come overwhelmingly to dominate the global discourse, even to the exclusion of most other topics” [8].

Neologisms coined during the outbreak of COVID-19 are born and get actively used faster than ever. Most of them have the stems coron or covid, e.g. covidivorce - divorce caused by a need to constantly stay indoors; coronial - 1) a person conceived during self-isolation due to the pandemic (noun), 2) associated with the coronavirus (adj., e.g. coronial mug); coronawork - work during the outbreak of COVID-19; coronaparadox - a phenomenon, paradox associated with the coronavirus pandemic; covidiot - a person who ignores health recommendations; covidient - a person who strictly follows government recommendations during the coronavirus outbreak, a combination of “coronavirus” and “obedient”; covideo party - online party via Zoom or Skype; covexit - the strategy used by governments to ease restrictions brought about by COVID-19; covember - a project when people stop shaving during the outbreak in order to donate saved money; corona trolls - people who create low-quality and untrue content to attract web traffic; corona bae - someone you only find attractive because you've been self-quarantined so long; coronaroamer - a person who ignores quarantine rules to satisfy their own need to hook up; coronallusional - when someone gets delusional because of COVID-19; coronaspeak - the language of COVID-19, “c” language.

Notably, there are also coronacronyms which are regularly used in mass-media and generally understood. They include WFH (working from home), PPE (personal protective equipment), ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), PUI (Patient under Investigation), PCR (Polymerase chain reaction), CFR (case fatality rate), WHO (World Health Organization), etc. Most of them are related to medicine.

Some abbreviations and acronyms have become a part of the vocabulary much earlier than the COVID-19 outbreak. To be exact, WFH emerged in 1995, PPE - in 1934, but since 1977 term has been restricted to emergency and health care professionals.

Another widespread stem for neologisms is quaran - (quarantine). Have a look at the following: quaranteens - a combination of “quarantine” and “teen” meaning kids born between 2001 and 2007, who were technically teenagers during the COVID-19 period in 2020 [7]; quarantech - apps and gadgets which help to while away time indoors, quarantips - quarantine tips and life hacks for those straying at home; quarantrends - fashion, food and lifestyle quarantips for those at home; quarantees - promises of governments to cope with quarantine difficulties; quarantroll - someone who makes lots of posts about hardships of COVID-19 incarceration) [6]; quarantini - an alcoholic beverage you sit at home; quaranteam - groups of employers who work together during the quarantine.

Besides much common stems such as “covid”, “coron”, 'quaran”, there are others which mirror modern reality. To be exact, the neologism “blursday” had never been used before the pandemic. Its meaning is actually easy to guess when you combine to blur and a day, which actually stands for a day when somebody is uncertain what day of week it is because too many days have been spent indoors.

In addition, there are neologisms created from the previously used words such as lockdown. For example, a “locktail” - a lockdown + a cocktail, meaning a cocktail drunk during a pandemic, often made with Warner's Gin, such as Limoncello locktails [7]. The word “moron” has been reinnovated and “morona” (moron + corona) has appeared meaning somebody who behaves stupidly about COVID-19.

Certain apps have influenced quarantine lifestyles a lot. One of them is Zoom. As a result, the following words were coined: zoombing - when uninvited participants try to connect to a call because of security issues; zumping - dumping somebody via Zoom or other video conference apps as it's actually a combination of Zoom and dumping; zumped - dumped via Zoom, etc. “To scroll” is not a new word, though it has been updated to doomscrolling which means to obsessively consume depressing pandemic news [7].

Interestingly, the very COVID-19 is given new names. It's now called rona (Ms Rona) or Miley Cyrus. The former was coined by Cardi B, an American rapper, and used in a video that quickly went viral online. Ronavation was created with the stems rona and renovation meaning refurbishment during lockdown. It's an Instragram hashtag. Miley Cyrus is a rhymed Cockney slang. In fact, Miley Cyrus is a name of a celebrity but rhymes too well with corona virus to be missed. Howard Manns, a linguistics lecturer at Monash University, notes that “whenever we humans come across difficult times, we find languages a useful way of coping” [4].

It should be noted that such lexical units as self-isolation, pandemic, quarantine, lockdown, flattening the curve, a super spreader, social distance, a face mask and others had been coined before the quarantine. However, they are currently widely used. “A super spreader” was first used during the epidemic of SARS which means an infected person who is more likely to infect others. Before the quarantine, face masks were mostly used in a beauty context, a spa procedure, while now it is necessary to don them on in public places. The verbs self-quarantine and self-isolate are often used in publications, comments, news and posts in social networks. Despite the fact that social distance is a relatively new academic concept, now it is one of the most often used (although the WHO considers physical distancing more appropriate).

Along with international English, there are some noteworthy regional neologisms listed by Tony Thorne, a language consultant at King's College, London. He believes ISO is a slang acronym of Australian English meaning self-isolation. As a result, now there are a number of neologisms with the stem iso : isobar - a bar at home; isodating - dating someone during self-isolation and social distancing. It goes along with “vate” meaning a virtual date on a video conferencing platform like Zoom or FaceTime, etc. Canadian English has drivecation (drive+vacation) to describe a holiday in your motorhome, in your own driveway. Americans are said to have coined Covid- nineteen which stands for extra 19 kg gained during the pandemic. Tony Thorne estimated that over 1000 neologisms had been caused by COVID-19 [5].

Conclusions

Thus, the vocabulary of the English language constantly changes and gets updated with new words and collocations, mainly in innovative spheres. Neologisms enrich the vocabulary and confirm the dynamic nature of language. Rapid social and economic changes lead to the emergence of new words and broadening meanings of already existing lexemes. In general, neologisms will successively follow socialization and lexicalization. It is important to stress that another factor in the rapid spread of coronalogisms is high digitalisation, which is more acute than ever, i.e. during the outbreak of SARS in 2002 (SARS-CoV (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1) or swine flu (H1N1) in 2009. This factor does not geographically limit the use of neologisms, including the use of hashtags in social networks. As the coronavirus rages, understanding coronalogisms will become essential. So, further researches in the area are required aimed at analyzing stylistic connotations, phonemic structure, syntactic functions of neologisms related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bibliography

1. Burridge K., Manns H. “Iso”, “boomer remover” and “quarantine”: how coronavirus is changing our language. The Conversation. 2020.

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References

1. Burridge, K., Manns, H. (2020). “Iso”, “boomer remover” and “quarantine”: how coronavirus is changing our language. The Conversation.

2. Hrytsai, I.S. (2014) Suchasni pidkhody do vyvchennia neolohizmiv [New approaches to learning neologisms]. Filolohichni nauky [Philological Sciences].

3. Lawson, R. (2020). Coronavirus has led to an explosion of new words and phrases - and that helps us cope. The Conversation.

4. Moldovan, A. (2020). Decoding coronavirus slang, from quarantinis to magpies, covidiots and Miley. ABC Radio National.

5. Moran, P. (2020). Covidiots? Quarantinis? Linguist explains how COVID-19 has infected our language. The Current.

6. Panache. (2020). Covidivorces, quaranteens and coronials: Why coronavirus puns and neologisms are going viral. The Economic Times.

7. Urban dictionary.

8. Usman, Asif. (2020). Linguistic Analysis of Neologism Related to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

9. Webster's New International Dictionary Unabridged (1966). 3rd revised ed. Edition, Kindle Edition.

10. Zatsnyi, Yu.A. (2002). 11 veresnia 2001 roku i popovnennia slovnykovoho skladu anhliiskoi movy [September, 11 2001 and updating English vocabulary]. Visnyk Sumsjkogho derzhavnogho universytetu [Bulletin of Sumy State University], No. 4. Pp. 75-79.

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