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                                                                                                 U.S. NEWS Saturday 21 March 2020
            Continued from front         Mayor  Bill  de  Blasio  have  But  Hall  Jamieson  marvels
            "They provide comfort and  subsequently  aired  differ-   at  how  Dr.  Anthony  Fauci
            order  amid  chaos.  They  ent messages on the possi-     and others have managed
            provide solidarity in an age  bility of more severe restric-  to get the public to grasp a
            of social distancing."       tions  in  the  biggest  Ameri-  complicated medical con-
            A look at the fast-evolving  can  city,  with  the  mayor  cept  with  the  phrase  "flat-
            lexicon  of  the  coronavirus  urging residents to prepare  tening the curve," often ac-
            pandemic:                    to  "shelter  in  place"  and  companied by visual hand
            WARTIME METAPHORS            the governor criticizing the  cues. And many see "social
            Trump,  who  spent  weeks  idea  and  the  language.  distancing" to be the great-
            brushing  off  the  sever-   Cuomo has dismissed "shel-   est pandemic-era addition
            ity of the crisis, is now tout-  ter in place" as a relic of the  the vernacular yet — easily
            ing  himself  as  "a  wartime  Atomic Age, when people  understood  phrasing  that's
            president" leading the fight  were  trained  to  get  to  an  helped  communicate  to     In  this  Wednesday,  March  18,  2020  file  photo,  a  pedestrian
                                                                                                   walks past a COVID-19 testing sign at Advocate Lutheran Gen-
            against the virus. New York  interior  windowless  room  millions  that  they  need  to   eral Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill.
            Gov.  Andrew  Cuomo  is  until they got an "all clear"  keep a safe berth to avoid                                              Associated Press
            equating ventilators to "mis-  message.                   spreading the virus.
            siles"  in  the  battle.  French  "Now, that's not what peo-  "That's  really  taken  off,"  on Feb. 11, declaring it CO-  linguistic similarity to a liba-
            President  Emmanuel  Ma-     ple  really  mean,  but  that's  says Eric Acton, a linguist at  VID-19.               tion  often  consumed  with
            cron  has  bluntly  declared:  what it sounds like," he said.  Eastern Michigan University,  It doesn't exactly roll off the  a  lime  wedge,  dismissing
            "We are at war."             "Communicate  what  you  "and (it's) a term that prob-    tongue,  and  no  obivous  it  as  a  "beer  virus"  over-
            Around  the  world,  words  mean  without  using  terms  ably  will  have  a  life  that  acronym  like  AIDS  or  SARS  blown  by  media  hysteria.
            typically  used  in  relation  that  nobody  understands  outlives this outbreak."     or MERS has arisen as a re-  And others bored with the
            to  nuclear  fallout,  active  and only incites panic."   REBRANDING,  OR  SEEKING  placement.                      limitations of COVID-19 and
            shooters,  deadly  storms  With  people  clamoring  to  LEVITY                         Seeking  to  rebrand,  Trump  the even clunkier name of
            and war are now being de-    know  what's  next,  it's  im-  "We now have a name for  and his allies have taken to  the  virus  that  causes  it  —
            ployed to discuss disease.   portant  that  a  San  Fran-  the  disease,"  the  head  of  calling it the "Chinese virus,"  severe  acute  respiratory
            John  Baugh,  a  linguist  at  cisco "shelter in place" not  the World Health Organiza-  which  many  consider  rac-  syndrome  coronavirus  2  —
            Washington University in St.  be confused with a Wuhan  tion,  Dr.  Tedros  Adhanom  ist. Alaska Rep. Don Young  have  come  up  with  their
            Louis, says doctors are des-  "lockdown," but it's hard to  Ghebreyesus,  announced  played on the coronavirus'  own shorthand.q
            perate to shake the public  get the same message pro-
            to  attention,  using  meta-  jected everywhere.
            phors  they  think  can  con-  "People  are  using  differ-
            vey  the  seriousness  of  the  ent  terms  somewhat  inter-
            problem.  Politicians  may  changeably," said Dr. Irwin
            be  doing  the  same  —  or  Redlener, an  expert on di-
            may be trying to capitalize  saster  preparedness  and
            on catastrophe.              public  health  at  Columbia
            "They're  intended  to  grab  University.  The  tug-of-war
            attention, whether it's politi-  over  terminology  echoes
            cally motivated or for some  the patchwork of measures
            other reason," Baugh said.   that  state  and  local  gov-
            SHIFTING DEFINITIONS         ernments  have  taken,  he
            After the virus gripped Chi-  said.
            na,  onlookers  saw  a  "lock-  VIRUS VOCABULARY
            down"  at  the  outbreak's  Kathleen  Hall  Jamieson
            epicenter  of  Wuhan,  with  cringes when scientists toss
            public  transit  coming  to  a  out statements of "morbid-
            halt, monitors enforcing or-  ity"  and  "mortality"  in  the
            ders keeping people inside  same  breath,  when  public
            and officials going door-to-  officials  warn  of  "asymp-
            door searching for infected  tomatic"  people  posing
            people  to  be  forced  into  a  threat,  and  when  news
            quarantines.                 conferences are peppered
            As  COVID-19  moved  west,  with words like "vector" and
            though,  the  meaning  of  "transmission."
            such  terms  has  morphed,  "They  are  incomprehensi-
            and  leaders'  definitions  of  ble to many in the public,"
            disaster jargon has been as  said the University of Penn-
            varied as the public's inter-  sylvania  communications
            pretations.                  expert, who co-edited "The
            Cuomo,  whose  state  has  Oxford  Handbook  of  the
            the largest number of virus  Science  of  Science  Com-
            cases in the U.S., created a  munication."
            "containment zone" in New  "Public health officials," she
            Rochelle  last  week.  Paired  said,  "need  to  translate
            with  an  order  dispatch-   their  technical  language
            ing  the  National  Guard  —  into intelligible language."
            though  only  for  cleaning  That  means  saying  some-
            and food distribution — the  thing like "not showing any
            phrase conjured images of  symptoms"  instead  of  "as-
            mass  quarantine  even  as  ymptomatic,"  using  simple
            businesses  remained  open  verbs  like  "spread"  versus
            and  people  were  free  to  "transmit,"  and  opting  for
            come and go.                 the  clarity  of  "hand-wash-
            Cuomo and New York City  ing" over "hygiene."
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