The new pandemictionary

In a recent column, writer Rega Jha admitted to ‘doomscrolling’ – something we all are doing but didn’t have a term for so far: our habit of being unable to stop consuming bad news at an obsessive pace. Along with it, we are living through a time when a new vocabulary is being formed as we go through ‘coronageddon’ (yes, another buzzword for the new normal).
Brand expert Harish Bijoor says most of the new vocabulary is courtesy social media, which has the ability to grab the tail of a trendy word and make it go viral. He notes: “Social media — particularly Twitter — is about crisp language. Out there, there is a neologism every minute. Earlier, pop culture used to evolve in and through the lyrics of musicians. Today, it evolves in the hashtags of tweets.” From #covidiot and #quarantini to #coronadosing – the lockdown lexicon is just getting started. As Financial Times writer and columnist Edward Luce puts it, this is just the start of lockdown living.
WHAT’S THE GOOD WORD?
Luce mentions how he is now using words daily that did not even exist a month ago. Some have found entry into the March editions of online dictionaries, and some are on their way to become bonafide lifestyle trends. From the more medical terms like ‘super-spreader’, ‘contact tracing’, ‘community spread’, ‘flatten the curve’, ‘young vector’ to lifestyle choices like ‘social distancing’, ‘social isolation’, ‘micro-socialising’, ‘cocooning’, ‘self-quarantine’, ‘caremongering’ to changes in work, like ‘WFH’ (working from home), ‘contactless delivery’, ‘distance learning’, and hashtags like ‘quarantini’ and ‘virtual happy hour’ – new terms and phrases are flying in fast.
Fashion commentator Sujata Assomull says, the fact that some phrases are in the dictionaries proves that scholars believe this pandemic has caused a major shift in our approach to life. “Some of these words will be our lingo for time to come. For instance, I can imagine a Quarantini used as normally as we use Cosmopolitans, and WFH as regularly used as OOO (out of office).”
DEFINING LIFESTYLE
Dramatic shifts in culture and technology often catalyse the formation of new vocabulary. This period of lockdown has also led to a lot of introspection. “Over the years, social media has made our use of the language quite flippant. But now, we seem to be thinking about the true meaning of words. We will now use words like ‘hope’ and ‘fear’ in a more meaningful way,” adds Assomull. Now, that’s a ‘coronarevelation’ (a life-altering epiphany at the time of lockdown)!
THE PUNDEMIC
Doomscrolling
Obsessively scrolling for updates on the pandemic – even though there’s no good news. Also ‘coronadose’ (overdosing on bad news)
Quarantini
The cocktail people drink at home while under quarantine. Also led to the trend of ‘virtual happy hour’
Coronials/Quaranteens
Babies being conceived while people are cooped up at home. Also, ‘Gen-C’
Covidiot
One who behaves with reckless disregard for the safety of others
Covidivorce
Result of relentless spousal intimacy
Panicdemic
The consequence of ‘coronadosing’ or ‘doomscrolling’
Bat-terfly effect
When chaos theory becomes chaos reality
Pre-traumatic Stress Disorder
When every cough concerns
Quarantime
The slow and unpredictable passage of time in isolation
Cove-dwellers
Those who are hunkering down until the storm passes
Covid-22
Pandemic related dilemmas, for instance, balancing the need for fresh air with the risk of leaving your house
Caremongering
Spreading kindness and love to help the lonely, anxious and vulnerable
Pandemic Proposal (in pic.)
A marriage proposal that happens just because you are stuck alone for so long
Pandemiquette
Social etiquette during a pandemic – no handshaking, coughing into the
elbow etc.
— Source: various websites
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