Dear EATAW Members,

I hope this email finds you all well. 

On Monday, a reporter from my local newspaper (the Toledo Blade, out of Toledo, Ohio, USA), will interview me for a story about the effect of Coronavirus on the English language and other languages. She has told me she is curious about how various languages are referring to what are called "stay-at-home orders" in the U.S. I thought this listserv might be a good place to gather information. I would be grateful if you would email me at [log in to unmask] and tell me what stay-at-home orders are called in the languages you know, and please give me a literal translation. I'm also curious about whether other terms besides "stay-at-home orders" are used in various English-speaking countries. In the U.S., I've also heard (and used) the term quarantine to refer to staying at home, even if you're not sick.

If you wish, if you respond, I can send you a list of interesting newly-coined words in English related to the Corona virus. Please just ask me. I've been collecting them as one of my new Coronahobbies while I'm confined to my home, needing new means of occupying myself. I have about 35 so far, but here's a sampling: 

Coronabrain: When all you can think about is the Corona virus

Covidfever: Like cabin fever

Procrastibaking: What I've been doing instead of grading papers

Coronababies: We'll have them in our classes in about 18 years and nine months

Hairpocalypse: My current hairdo, which probably won't improve if I let my daughter give me a quarancut

JOMO: Joy of missing out; the opposite of FOMO, fear of missing out

Zoombies: (Zoom + zombie) What teachers feel they’ve become after conducting classes all week on Zoom

Zoomsmen: your groomsmen in a Zoom wedding

Covedient: (Covid + obedient) describes people who are obedient to stay-at-home orders

Zumping: Dumping a romantic partner via Zoom

Thanks, everyone.

Melinda

Dr. Melinda Reichelt

Professor of English, Director of ESL Writing
University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA

[log in to unmask]





 

_________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe login to https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=EATAW You find the 'Unsubscribe' button in the blue 'Options bar'