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Social and Physical Distance/Distancing: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Recent Changes in Usage
Christopher S Butler1, Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen2
1School of Music, Humanities and Media, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
Corpus Pragmatics : International Journal of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics
|July 5, 2021
Summary
The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly popularized "social distancing" and related terms. Analysis of British English corpora reveals significant shifts in word usage and meaning due to the pandemic, impacting lexical semantics.
Area of Science:
- Corpus Linguistics
- Lexical Semantics
- Sociolinguistics
Background:
- The term "social distancing" emerged prominently during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Related phrases like "social distance" and "physical distancing" also gained traction.
- The pandemic's societal impact necessitates linguistic analysis of these terms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the frequency and usage of "social distancing" and related terms in British English corpora.
- To investigate shifts in collocational patterns of these terms before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- To understand the pandemic's influence on lexical semantics and language change.
Main Methods:
- Examination of four British English corpora (BNC, ukWaC, NOW 2019, NOW 2020).
- Comparative analysis of phrase frequency and usage across different time periods.
- Identification and analysis of collocational profiles over time.
Main Results:
- Significant increase in the usage of "social distancing" and related terms during the pandemic.
- Observable shifts in the collocational patterns of constituent words, indicating semantic change.
- Corpora data reflect both stability and change in language use influenced by the pandemic.
Conclusions:
- The Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the usage and meaning of "social distancing" and associated phrases.
- This case study demonstrates how external events can drive rapid lexical semantic change.
- The findings highlight the dynamic nature of language in response to major societal events.
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