Main innovations of the pandemic period in the Russian language

Van Tinyan' Postgraduate Student, Department of the Russian Language and Methods of its Teaching, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) 117198, Russia, Moscow, ul. miklukho-Maklaya, 6, 6 1042218032@rudn.ru Other publications by this author

Mitrofanova Irina Igorevna ORCID: 0000-0003-0532-8841 PhD in Sociology Associate Professor, Department of Russian Language and Teaching Methodology, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str. 6, 1, office 526 mitrofanova-ii@rudn.ru

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic, which began back in 2019, as it seems, in connection with global international transformations and multiple tragic events, has long been a thing of the past. But despite the fact that it disappeared from the front pages of news publications, Covid-19 has become a part of our life, manifested in work, education, business, as well as in the field of language.

The relevance of the chosen research topic lies in the fact that the main trends in the cultural, economic and social spheres of any state are reflected in the groups of neologisms that appear in its language. The changes related to the Covid-19 pandemic are reflected in Russian. Three years after the beginning of this tragedy, it is important to determine whether they really became part of it or were a temporary phenomenon during the culmination of the unfolding events ^{[20, pp. 5-12]}.

It can definitely be argued that the pandemic at its peak was the main topic of the headlines of the world's most famous newspapers and magazines. So, in the Russian-language segment of the Google search engine, the following news is presented according to the results of the query "Covid-19 Pandemic" by relevance:

1. "WHO has declared a pandemic of a new coronavirus" (Headline). "The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the spread of the new coronavirus has reached the stage of a pandemic, as affected ..." (Subtitle). Publication date: March 11, 2020. Source: BBC ^[5]. 

2. "WHO cancelled the Covid-19 pandemic status – May 5, 2023" (Headline). "On March 11, 2020, WHO announced that the Covid-19 outbreak had become a pandemic. According to WHO, from that moment on from the effects of the coronavirus ..." (Subtitle). Publication date: May 5, 2023. Source: Fontanka.ru ^[7].

According to the results of the "Covid-19" request, the following news is presented:

1. "WHO: Covid-19 is no longer an emergency..." (Headline). "In accordance with the decision of the Coronavirus Infection Committee, the head of WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, announced on Friday that Covid-19 is no longer ..." (Subtitle). Publication date: May 5, 2023. Source: UN News ^[8].

2. "WHO cancelled the emergency regime in the world because of ..." (Title). "Covid-19 every week. Material on the topic. Where the coronavirus disappeared: How swine flu defeated Covid-19" (Subtitle). Publication date: May 5, 2023. Source: Forbes.ru ^[6].    

Approximately the same picture in the Russian search service Yandex. You can also analyze news trends using a special Google Trends service. Analytics show that Covid-19 is still present in search queries today. During the week from October 17 to 24, 2023, there were 4,272 requests for topic blocks in Russian on the topic of coronavirus in Google:

1. hand washing (2,169 requests);

2. hand antiseptic (1,741 requests);

3. medical mask (362 requests) ^[15].

The most frequently mentioned topic of the three is hand washing, the rarest is a medical mask.

All this confirms the high and long-term relevance of the topic of the pandemic today, which has influenced word-making ^{[9, pp. 28-34]}. A whole group of new words was formed, which were attributed to the group of words of the coronavirus era. At the same time, its innovations are presented by philologists and linguists in different ways. Therefore, it is extremely important to analyze them and back them up with the results of your own research, eventually identifying the main groups of lexical units of the coronavirus era in the Russian language.

Groups of lexical units in the Russian language during the Covid-19 pandemic

In the culminating period of the Covid-19 pandemic, the topic of the disease was in the first place in all countries, and the frequency of its mention in the media reached the highest percentages. The introduction of a self-isolation regime has left people at home with digital means of communication and the only topic on the agenda. All this affected the appearance of various innovations in the Russian language of this period, which can be divided into the following groups:

(1) new words and new expressions related to the pandemic, such as "quarantine", "self-isolation", "mask mode", "distance learning", etc.;

(2) changes in the use of previously known words: for example, the word "mask" has become used practically only in the meaning of "medical maxi", and not any other;

(3) changes in the meaning of some words: for example, the word "contact" at that time more often had a negative connotation and was used with the meaning of "interaction, as a result of which an individual acquires a high risk of contracting the disease", and the word "virus" began to be used exclusively in connection with the disease Covid-19;

(4) changes in the field of dominant discourse in the field of language towards medical and economic; 

(5) non-formal changes in the scope of semantics, which manifest themselves in the use of words with multiple meanings, only in one of them;

(6) intellectualization of language, manifested in an increase in the frequency of use of highly specialized and professional terms in everyday life;

(7) the appearance of a large number of slang words associated with the expression of negative emotions.

Let's analyze the data of the innovation group. And you should start with (1) the appearance of new words that were not previously in the Russian language. As a rule, these are words that have come to Russian from other foreign languages through ordinary translation or full-fledged lexical development.

As for the words that came into the Russian language as a result of a simple translation, they include:

a. the word "covid" is a direct translation of the word "covid" from a foreign language. This also includes the word "coronavirus", translated "coronavirus".

b. words and expressions "zoom in" – translation of the English word "zoom"; "zoom meeting" - translation of the expression "zoom meeting"; "zoom conference" – translation of the expression "zoom conference";

c. the word "covidiot" is from the English "covidiot", etc.

d. "omicron" [Greek: ] is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. It can also have the meaning "small, i.e. short" ^[25]. And during the pandemic, the word "omicron" began to be used in Russian to refer to the strain of coronavirus.

E.I. Golovanova cites as examples words that reflected the peculiarities of people's everyday life, life during the pandemic, work, restrictions of Covid-19, rules of behavior in public places: "remote format", "social distance", "remote", "export flights", etc. ^{[12, pp. 48-55]}.

There are also a number of words that, when they were transferred to the Russian language, passed lexical mastering. For example, the already mentioned word "covid" was lexically mastered, and this is confirmed by the fact that it is used in the Russian language, including in a metaphorical form, for example, in the expression "covid has a female face."

Researchers T.B. Radbil, L.V. Ratsiburskaya and I.V. Paloshi note serious changes in connection with the coronavirus period on the example of (2) lexical and semantic units of the Russian language. These changes are mostly associated with the acquisition of new meanings by old words, these processes are referred to by them as "new polysemy" ^{[21, pp. 63-79]}.

As an example, the authors cite the word "self-isolation". Previously, this word had an exclusively negative connotation, according to linguists ^{[21, pp. 63-79]}. Paying attention to its word formation – "self" and "isolation", scientists note that earlier self-isolation was an "action directed at oneself" ^{[24, pp. 865-886]}. Moreover, they also say that self-isolation in its former meaning did not represent a purposeful action, but was for the most part forced.

With the pandemic period, the word "self-isolation" has acquired a positive connotation. The researchers note that it became a voluntary action aimed at preventing a pandemic. Of course, it cannot be said that this action is completely voluntary, but such trends can still be observed. Rationality, on the contrary, could have been present in this term earlier in the previous meaning. Therefore, it is possible to accept the authors' theses, but with some reservations. So, they call the phenomenon described by the example of "self-isolation" a "new polysemy" ^{[21, pp. 63-79]}.

As another example, reinforcing the words of the above-mentioned researchers, the word "respirator" can be cited. In the Large Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian language edited by S.A. Kuznetsov, the meaning of the word "respirator" is revealed as follows – it is "[from Lat. respirare – breathe] Device (mask or half mask with filter) for respiratory protection from harmful gases and dust. Put on R. Gauze R. Work in a respirator. Respiratory, -th, -th. r. helmet. The R-th tube. The R-th mask" ^[4]. During the pandemic, the word "respirator" began to be used overwhelmingly in the meaning of a device for protection against coronavirus.

There is another phenomenon that T.B. Radbil, L.V. Ratsiburskaya and I.V. Paloshi talk about in the framework of changes in lexical and semantic units of the Russian language. Researchers believe that the use of previously known words in a new meaning can be called "homonymy". Homonymy is different meanings of words that sound the same. They believe that there have also become a lot of similar phenomena and cite the word "crown" as an example. If earlier the crown meant a headdress, a symbol of power and status, today it is the name of the disease, used mostly in everyday life ^{[21, pp. 63-79]}.

The Russian linguist V.S. Harutyunyan notes within the group of semantic innovations (3) shifts of "negative-positive connotation in the Russian vocabulary. As examples, he cites such expressions as "virus-culprit", "disease – crisis", which are based on the lexeme "Covid-19", or its synonyms – "disease", "virus", etc. With the advent of the coronavirus vaccine, V.S. Harutyunyan records shifts towards a positive connotation and confirms this with favorable dynamics not only in the field of disease reduction, but also in the field of language, where expressions like the following appear: "vaccination program"; "protection from disease"; "prevention of disease"; "protection of oneself and one's own close", etc. ^{[2, pp. 71-86]}.

E.I. Golovanova also notes that under the influence of medical specialists in the Russian language, some literary words began to be used in a new meaning. For example, the word "separation" has lost its negative connotation and acquired a positive meaning associated with the actions of people aimed at limiting the spread of the virus ^{[11, pp. 33-39]}.

The linguist also believes that the language discourse has also changed in the Russian language (4), which has shifted towards medicine and economics. V.S. Harutyunyan notes that it is in economics that new cultural meanings have emerged in the linguistic picture of the world ^{[2, pp. 71-86]}. The discourse in the field of medicine, in general, is clear – it is associated with an infectious disease, its treatment, the identification of new cases, prevention, etc. As for the economic discourse, the situation is different here and it is connected with the consequences of the spread of infection around the world, these consequences are expressed in such words and expressions as: "economic downturn"; "stagnation"; "decline in GDP"; "threats to business"; "remote work"; "resolution for full-time work"; "economic ties"; "severance of economic ties", etc.

E.N. Gekkina also believes that the neoplasms of the pandemic period can be separated into a group of individual words. The author notes that the most active changes occurred in the vocabulary, which in a new form began to reflect the new reality, its assessment and interpretation. The main factor of changes, as she writes, was the medical and biological, respectively, it was on the basis of a group of these concepts that the bulk of neologisms in the Russian language were built ^{[10, pp. 95-108]}.

N.S. Dankova writes about (5) non-formal changes in the volume of semantics ^{[13, pp. 69-83]}. She reveals this phenomenon as follows: a specific word that previously denoted a number of objects or phenomena similar to each other is now used only to denote one specific object or phenomenon. This was previously the case with the word "party" in the USSR, and today it is observed with the word "virus" ^{[13, pp. 69-83]}. If earlier any infectious disease was associated with the word "virus", then during the Covid-19 pandemic, in conditions of prevalence in the media and in general in the life of a single coronavirus discourse, it began to be used practically only in the meaning of "coronavirus".

Indeed, non-casual changes in the volume of semantics have become characteristic of the Russian language. To the examples already given above, you can also add the word "strain" [it. Stamm] – "Biol. A pure culture of microorganisms of the same species isolated from some source and possessing special properties (used in medicine, biology, food industry, etc.)" ^[4], and during a pandemic is a type of coronavirus infection resulting from mutations.

(6) As for the phenomenon of "intellectualization of language", it is due to the elevation of the Covid-19 pandemic during its culmination into the category of vital problems. E.I. Golovanova and S.I. Majaeva believe that new words came into the Russian language because they were often used by medical specialists, who were constantly shown in various media mass media. And that is why specialized and non-specialized medical terms have become part of every person's language. Moreover, all these terms have actively spread on the Internet and social networks, which is why they have entered the everyday life of every person ^{[12, pp. 48-55.]}.

As examples of such words, she cites the following lexical units: "pandemic"; "virus mutation"; "viral load"; "artificial lung ventilation (ventilator)"; "vaccination"; "antibodies"; "immunologist"; "virologist"; "saturation"; "telemedicine"; "red zone"; "contactors"; "host", etc. ^{[11, pp. 33-39]}. E.I. Golovanova believes that all these words came into everyday speech from medicine, thereby influencing the "intellectualization of language" through the dissemination of complex medical and scientific terms in it ^{[11, pp. 33-39]}.

V.V. Katermina and S.H. Lipiridi also write about the appearance in the Russian language of a large number of professions from medicine: "regime"; "quarantine"; "infected". In a separate group they allocate abbreviations: "WHO"; "CT"; "VENTILATOR". In another separate group, linguists include professionalisms with the suffixes "-qi (I)": "isolation" ("self-isolation"); "saturation"; "vaccination"; "observation"; "hospitalization"; "resuscitation". Also, V.V. Katermina and S.H. Lipiridi supplement these groups with synonymous rows and variants of names: "new coronavirus infection"; "coronavirus"; "crown"; "remote"; "remote", etc.; as well as figurative names: "red zone"; "patient zero"; "exit to the plateau" etc. ^{[17, pp. 170-175]}.

(7) E.I. Golovanova and S.I. Majaeva believe that during the pandemic, a lot of words appeared that reflected people's emotions and their attitude to the current situation. For the most part, these words are slang. As an example of such words, they cite the following: "coronapsychosis"; "coronapanics"; "coronaphobia"; "coronabesie", etc. ^{[12, pp. 48-55]}.

For example, several articles with the headings "Coronapanika" were published on the Zen information resource in 2020 at once:

1. "Coronapanics: ideas that can help stop being afraid of illness" ^[18].

2. "Coronapanics: how not to go crazy because of quarantine" ^[19].

Conclusion

Thus, we come to the following conclusions. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the Russian language. It entailed the emergence of new words translated from a foreign language and passed lexical development; expansion of economic and medical discourses in the field of language; changes in lexical and semantic units (polysemy and homonymy); "non-formal changes in the volume of semantics"; lexical development of many foreign terms; the use of a large number of slang vocabulary. Many authors have recorded these changes in the form of subgroups in one broad group of word formations of the pandemic period.

As a separate subgroup of neoplasms in the Russian language, highly specialized terms can be distinguished, which began to be used not only in the professional environment, but also in everyday life as unofficial names for the realities of the spread of the virus and people's reactions to it. Along with the penetration of the profile vocabulary of the Russian language into everyday life, its mastering from English also took place. This was due to the worldwide nature of the event.

Another group of words, large in volume, were words that can be attributed to ordinary unprofessional medical vocabulary. These processes in scientific circles are called medicalization, that is, the process of spreading the influence of medical discourse on areas of life that are not related to the field of medicine. In the field of language, these processes have the character of determinologization, that is, the transformation of a scientific term into a commonly used one. Another important group were semantic neologisms – words that previously existed in the language, which today have acquired a new meaning. The clearest example of a semantic neologism can be the word "self-isolation", which was previously used only in a negative connotation. During the pandemic, self-isolation not only became a common phenomenon, but also a phenomenon encouraged by society, to which not only the state, but also the general public called for everyone.

Finally, it can be noted that the pandemic has become a great challenge for all people who were able to unite not only physically, but also lexically in the fight against it, speaking the same language. This was especially evident in the appearance of expressions and words on the topic of coronavirus in a playful way.

As V. I. Karasik writes, "humor is an organic protective characteristic of the human psyche, a rather subtle and complex emotional phenomenon associated with human survival as a species, i.e. humor is associated with human vital values" ^{[16, p. 156]}. Analyzing the "covid" humor, scientists unanimously agree: "Jokes about the pandemic become a tool of communication, stress relief, emotion management, a collective mechanism of mental defense" ^{[14, pp. 259-295]}. M. M. Bakhtin also noted: "They play with the scary and laugh at it: the scary becomes a "cheerful bogeyman"" ^{[3, p. 752]}. It is no coincidence that the mechanisms of word-making turned out to be comparable in a number of linguistic cultures, which allows us to talk about some typological universals in the perception of terrible and life-threatening events for an individual, about the parallelism of associative mechanisms and images ^[22]. 

So, lexical units of the coronavirus era provide material for the study of the process of adaptation of lexical borrowings, semantic transformations and mechanisms of neologization in already existing lexemes before the Covid-19 pandemic. Innovations are observed in all aspects of the Russian language.