Introduction
The topic I would like to focus on in this research paper is the development and spread of new internet slang caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that no previous healthcare crisis has induced such a widespread and intensive reaction makes this subject relevant and important to study. Consequently, I have chosen the article titled “Coronavirus has led to an explosion of new words and phrases – and that helps us cope” as the class source for this work (Lawson).
Main body
The source is interesting because it happens to cover a topic that I can relate to. Linguistics is a complex science; however, its practical aspects connected with neologisms can be associated with other fields such as sociology, which is significantly more accessible. The particular topic of the new words created in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown is especially attractive because almost every person is part of it. In addition, it is always more exciting for me to investigate a new phenomenon while it is developing, as opposed to delving into issues that have existed for a long time.
The drawback of researching a topic that is as new as this is that it tends to be challenging to find adequate sources that contain comprehensive information. Unlike older questions, where there is a broad choice of academic and popular articles covering different aspects of the issue from varying angles, new problems can confine the writer to a limited selection of works. Consequently, the correct choice of search terms is crucial to finding relevant material that would bring valuable insight into the subject.
Google Scholar is usually the preferred option for finding high-quality academic works; logically, I would start my search there. Unfortunately, entering the words “COVID slang” and other similar terms does not seem to yield any useful results. Adding specifying modifiers did not help either, as the search engine only presented me with articles aimed at healthcare workers trying to improve communication. It seems that I would have to resort to reading magazine articles on the topic, and referring to their sources for additional information.
A search with the same terms results in numerous articles outlining the most common neologisms and sometimes speculating on their origin. The page on Dictionary.com seems to have the most comprehensive collection of topical words with a thorough description for each (“New Words We Created Because Of Coronavirus”). Other pages appear to contain the same core information presented in different ways. There is, however, another article on The conversation that provides extensive coverage of the topic (Burridge and Manns). I will likely use these two articles in addition to the class source. They offer valuable information on the development and etymology of the new COVID vocabulary and explain the meaning of most of the new words.
Conclusion
As for the academic source, since I failed to find any papers covering this subject I intend to refer to some of the studies used in the class source. Although this method might not fit the definition of search, it is an effective way to discover valuable articles that are ignored by Google’s algorithms. Finally, to supplement my research on the topic, I would use Urban Dictionary to study the alternate meaning of the notions I choose to include. This website is a valuable tool for studying neologisms, as it offers unfiltered input from the community.
References
Burridge, Kate, and Howard Manns. “‘Iso’, ‘boomer Remover’ and ‘Quarantini’: How Coronavirus Is Changing Our Language.” The Conversation, 2020, Web.
Lawson, Robert. “Coronavirus Has Led to an Explosion of New Words and Phrases – and That Helps Us Cope.” The Conversation. 2020, Web.
“New Words We Created Because Of Coronavirus.” Dictionary.Com, Web.