Mechanics of Linguistic Mobility in COVID-19 Pandemic: Lexical innovation and richness

Abstract

This small-scale study investigates ‘Mechanics of Linguistic Mobility in COVID-19 Pandemic: Lexical innovation and richness’. Thus, it generally studies the language native speakers of English have innovated and developed during the ongoing global crisis. In particular, it aims to quantify these terms, identify the morphological processes that facilitate the derivation of these phrases, and explain the reasons lying behind their selection and uses. Methodologically, the study fits into the qualitative research. For data collection, the study benefits from corpus linguistics, i.e. studies of large bodies of texts. Therefore, a concordance of key words in context (KWIC) has been carried out on the British National Corpora (BNC) and other lexicographic sites to build a corpus of corona language. Analytically, the study builds on critical discourse analysis (CDA) at the semantic, morphological and schematic, i.e. discourse level of words and phrases used during the crisis. It has been found that the terms and expressions used during the crisis are either coined to convey new senses or altered to satisfy certain meanings related to the pandemic. The morphological processes vary considerably between compounding, clipping, inflection and coining. The social domains in which the invented terms are used include family, education, health, psychology, sociology, business, politics, and religion.