전쟁 은유, 오명(stigma), 언어의 유아화 : 중국 코로나19 관련 담론 속의 언어적 문제

Abstract

This paper discusses the language problems of the discourses related to COVID-19 in China, focusing on the WAR metaphor, Stigma, and Infantilization of language from the perspectives of their use, adverse effects, and solutions. Official reports have used a lot of war-related words like '降伏', '阻击战', '歼灭战', '决战', '酣战', making the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 like a war. The abuse of WAR metaphors violated individual privacy, caused social panic, and made us lack reflection on COVID-19. To address this, we can follow the #ReframeCovid initiative by using other metaphors to replace the WAR metaphors in COVID-related discourses. Stigmatization has become more severe. People use '鄂人', '湖北人', '武汉人' and '羊', '小阳人', '🐑', '投毒', '毒王', '跑毒' to stigmatize Wuhan, Hubei and patients of COVID-19. Stigma intensified regional conflicts, encouraged cyberbullying, and made confirmed patients reluctant to receive medical treatment, increasing the risk of spreading infection. In terms of solutions, it is necessary to calm the social panic through scientific dissemination of COVID-19, reporting the disease in neutral language, and creating a more friendly social atmosphere. Furthermore, the infantilization of language is shown most obviously on the internet. During the pandemic, netizens use various childlike expressions like '大白', '毕业', '中队长'. As a result, people were de-personified and did not receive sufficient attention and consideration. Moreover, by using these childish expressions, people will forget that they are the first responsible person for their health, making the whole society a big baby. In light of these, mainstream media should not cater to this trend, education institutions should strengthen Chinese language education, and we should chase intelligence and maturity, fighting against Anti-intellectualism.