Can you speak fluent Covid? Pandemic triggers new wave of slang including Miley Cyrus for coronavirus and sanny for hand gel
- Coronavirus pandemic has seen a wave of new slang words across the world
- New Covid-19 related words include ‘sanny’, ‘the rona’ and ‘covidiot’
- ‘Coronaspeak can help the public make sense of the crisis,’ linguist said
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a new wave of ‘coronaspeak’ made up of novel slang words.
Researchers at King’s College London have collated the new slang terms, which are a product of the unprecedented situation people across the globe have found themselves in.
New Covid-19-related words include ‘Miley Cyrus’ for coronavirus and ‘sanny’ for hand sanitizer
New Covid-19-related words include ‘Miley Cyrus’ for coronavirus and ‘sanny’ for hand sanitizer.
Others include ‘Covidiot’, referring to someone who is flouting lockdown or failing to follow social distancing rules, and ‘Iso’, the Australian abbreviation for ‘self-isolation’.
Tony Thorne of King’s College London’s Modern Language Centre told the Sun: ‘We are having to come to terms with unfamiliar medical and scientific terminology.
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a new wave of ‘coronaspeak’ made up of novel slang words
‘Coronaspeak can help the public make sense of the crisis but may also increase levels of stress and confusion if people can’t keep up.’
He continued: ‘In China, Covid-19 led to a whole new specialisation devoted to making language services part of the emergency response.
‘This underlines the need for linguists to participate in fighting Covid-19 to prevent and control miscommunication.’