Koronashokku: Loanwords in Japanese and the Covid-19 pandemic

O'Neill, Tom

Abstract

Foreign loanwords have come to form a substantial portion of the contemporary Japanese vocabulary. While many studies have been undertaken on language borrowing, the phenomenon of global events, disasters and socio-economic movements precipitating their inception is underexplored. The purpose of this paper is to build on the prior research on well-established loanwords by examining novel usage in the specific context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Data was obtained using tweeted replies to coronavirus-related articles in order to identify which novel loanwords have come into use due to Covid-19. Subsequently, to determine comprehension rates and attitudes, a survey was carried out using 121 participants drawn from members of the Japanese public. It found a low comprehension rate of the novel loanwords, particularly amongst participants over 60 years of age. Drawing from these results, the utility of novel loanwords related to Covid-19 is called into question.

Citation

O'Neill, T. (2021). Koronashokku: Loanwords in Japanese and the Covid-19 pandemic. SOAS working papers in linguistics, 20, 121-141. https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00035587

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 4, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 4, 2021
• Journal: SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 1473-0855
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Pages: 121-141
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00035587
• Keywords: Linguistic borrowing, English loanwords, Japanese language, comprehension, Twitter, Covid-19, language policy
• Publisher URL: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/schools-and-departments/school-languages-cultures-and-linguistics/department-linguistics/soas