Matt Sedensky 马特·塞登斯基
Newscasts bring word of “hot zones” and “lockdowns.” Conversations are littered with talk of “quarantines” and “isolation.” Leaders urge “social distancing” and “sheltering in place” and “flattening the curve.”
In an instant， our vocabulary has changed - just like everything else.
Now， those turning to online dictionaries are parsing the difference between epidemics and pandemics， ventilators and respirators， seeking some black-and-white answers in the face of total uncertainty.
“Words matter，” says John Kelly， a senior research editor at Dictionary.com. “They provide comfort and order amid chaos. They provide solidarity in an age of social distancing.”
A look at the fast-evolving lexicon of the coronavirus pandemic:
WARTIME METAPHORS
Trump is now touting himself as “a wartime president” leading the fight against the virus. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is equating ventilators to “missiles” in the battle. French President Emmanuel Macron has bluntly declared: “We are at war.”
Around the world， words typically used in relation to nuclear fallout， active shooters， deadly storms and war are now being deployed to discuss disease.
John Baugh， a linguist at Washington University in St. Louis， says doctors are desperate to shake the public to attention， using metaphors they think can convey the seriousness of the problem. Politicians may be doing the same - or may be trying to capitalize on catastrophe.
SHIFTING DEFINITIONS
As the virus gripped China， onlookers saw a “lockdown” at the outbreak's epicenter of Wuhan. As COVID-19 moved west， though， the meaning of such terms has morphed， and leaders' definitions of disaster jargon has been as varied as the public's interpretations.
Cuomo created a “containment zone” in New Rochelle last week. The phrase conjured images of mass quarantine even as businesses remained open and people were free to come and go.