1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication
  4. Volume 29, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 29, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0929-9971
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9994
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

What happens when terms are used, translated and coined under the pressure of a global pandemic? By analyzing corpora from the leaders of the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission (EC), Spain and France, as well as Spanish and French press, this corpus-based study aims to identify the extent to which the WHO influenced and contributed to the standardization of COVID-19-related terminology in French and Spanish during the pandemic.

Publicly available speeches from January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021 delivered by these four institutional leaders were compiled and analyzed using corpus linguistics techniques. Use frequencies in the media provide contrasting data on term use in selected French and Spanish newspapers.

Results indicate that terminological variation was less pronounced for more established terminology and more widespread for terms coined during COVID-19. Furthermore, in some cases the analyzed supranational and national institutions and the press failed to adopt standardized WHO terminology. The study concludes that national institutions and the press did not rise to their potential as agents for the standardization and harmonization of WHO’s COVID-19-related terminology.

© 2023 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/term.00072.mor
2023-10-26
2025-04-27

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/term.00072.mor
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Audureau, William
    2020 “Chronique. « Lundimanche », « apérue », « coronabdos »… Les Nouveaux Mots Du Confinement.” Le Monde, April 27, 2020. https://www.lemonde.fr/m-perso/article/2020/04/27/lundimanche-aperue-coronabdos-les-nouveaux-mots-du-confinement_6037915_4497916.html
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Bailey, Stacy Cooper, Marina Serper, Lauren Opsasnick, Stephen D. Persell, Rachel O’Conor, Laura M. Curtis, Julia Yoshino Benavente,
    2020 “Changes in COVID-19 Knowledge, Beliefs, Behaviors, and Preparedness Among High-Risk Adults from the Onset to the Acceleration Phase of the US Outbreak.” Journal of General Internal Medicine35 (11): 3285–92. 10.1007/s11606‑020‑05980‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-05980-2 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bainimarama, Frank and
    2021 “COVID-19 Shows Why United Action Is Needed for More Robust International Health Architecture.” Newsroom – World Health Organization, March 30, 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. [BOE] Boletín Oficial del Estado
    [BOE] Boletín Oficial del Estado 1978 “The Spanish Constitution” 1978 https://www.boe.es/legislacion/documentos/ConstitucionINGLES.pdf
  5. Bowker, Lynne
    2020 “French-Language COVID-19 Terminology: International or Localized?” The Journal of Internationalization and Localization7 (1–2): 1–27. 10.1075/jial.20014.bow
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20014.bow [Google Scholar]
  6. Brezina, Vaclav, Pierre Weill-Tessier, and Tony McEnery
    2020 “#LancsBox v. 6.0. [Software].” corpora.lancs.ac.uk/lancsbox
  7. [BSGUO] Blavatnik School of Government. University of Oxford
    [BSGUO] Blavatnik School of Government. University of Oxford 2022 “The Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT)” 2022 https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/covid-19-government-response-tracker
  8. Cabré Castellví, M Teresa
    Cabré Castellví, M Teresa 1998 “Do We Need an Autonomous Theory of Terms?” Terminology5 (1): 4–19.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Cabré Castellví, M Teresa
    Cabré Castellví, M Teresa 2000 “Elements for a Theory of Terminology: Towards an Alternative Paradigm.” Terminology6 (1): 35–57.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Cabré Castellví, M Teresa
    Cabré Castellví, M Teresa 2003 “Theories of Terminology: Their Description, Prescription and Explanation.” Terminology9 (2): 163–99.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Cabré Castellví, M Teresa
    2016 “Per què és relativament fàcil de detectar neologismes i tan complicat de definir què són: breu apunt epistemològic.” InMots d’avui, Mots de Demà, ed. byObservatori de Neologia, 127–31. Barcelona: Institut Universitari de Lingüística Aplicada. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; Documenta Universitaria.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. [CC] Conseil Constitutionnel
    [CC] Conseil Constitutionnel 1958 “Constitution of October 4, 1958” 1958 https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/constitution-of-4-october-1958
  13. Dalloni, Michel
    2020 “Les Mots Du Covid : « Le lexique guerrier nous est imposé ».” Le Monde, October 12, 2020. https://www.lemonde.fr/m-perso/article/2020/12/10/les-mots-du-covid-le-lexique-guerrier-nous-est-impose_6062941_4497916.html
     [Google Scholar]
  14. DeGooyer, Stephanie, and Srinivas Murthy
    2022 “Health Nationalism.” Dissent69 (1): 69–75. 10.1353/dss.2022.0009
     https://doi.org/10.1353/dss.2022.0009 [Google Scholar]
  15. Domènech-Bagaria, Ona, and M. Amor Montané March
    2022 “Terminologia, neologia i COVID-19: anàlisi de la creativitat lèxica en català.” Revista de Llengua i Dret771: 36–53. CitetononCRdoi:10.2436/rld.i77.2022.3769
     https://doi.org/Cite to nonCR doi: 10.2436/rld.i77.2022.3769 [Google Scholar]
  16. [EAGLES] EAGLES – Expert Advisory Group on Language Engineering Standards
    [EAGLES] EAGLES – Expert Advisory Group on Language Engineering Standards 1996 “EAGLES Guidelines (1996)” 1996 www.ilc.cnr.it/EAGLES/browse.html
  17. [EC] European Commission
    [EC] European Commission 2014 The European Union Explained: How the EU Works. Your Guide to the EU Institutions. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. [EC] European Commission
    [EC] European Commission 2021 “Opening Address by President von Der Leyen at the Global Health Summit.” Press Corner. Speeches (blog). May 21, 2021. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_21_2606
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Factiva
    Factiva. n.d.New York : Dow Jones & Reuters. https://search.library.wisc.edu/catalog/999795312502121
  20. Fall, Papa Louis, and Yishan Zhang
    2012 “Multilingualism in the United Nations System Organizations: Status of Implementation. Note by the Secretary-General.” New York: United Nations. digitallibrary.un.org/record/724628
  21. Federal Chancellery. Switzerland
    Federal Chancellery. Switzerland. n.d. “Terminology Publications.” AccessedDecember 7, 2022. https://www.bk.admin.ch/bk/en/home/dokumentation/languages/publications-on-terminology.html
  22. Flores, Javier
    2020 “Glosario del coronavirus: todos los términos que rodean al Covid-19.” National Geographic. España, March 17, 2020. https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/ciencia/glosario-coronavirus-listado-todos-terminos-que-rodean-covid-19_15314
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Flowerdew, Lynne
    2013 “Corpus-Based Discourse Analysis.” InThe Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis, ed. byJames Paul Gee, and Michael Handford, 174–87. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203809068
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Gross, Jenny, and Mariel Padilla
    2020 “From Flattening the Curve to Pandemic: A Coronavirus Glossary.” The New York Times, March 18, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/us/coronavirus-terms-glossary.html
     [Google Scholar]
  25. [ICTV] International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
    [ICTV] International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 2020 “Naming the 2019 Coronavirus.” News Stories Posted in 2020 (blog) 2020 https://ictv.global/news/news-2020
     [Google Scholar]
  26. INMATEC GaseTechnologie GmbH
    INMATEC GaseTechnologie GmbH 2020 “What Is the Difference between an Oxygen Concentrator and an Oxygen Generator?” FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions (blog). October 20, 2020. https://www.inmatec.de/en/faq_inmatec_en/what-is-the-difference-between-an-oxygen-concentrator-and-an-oxygen-generator.html
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Jelly, Christina A., Holly B. Ende, and Robert E. Freundlich
    2020 “Terminology, Communication, and Information Systems in Nonoperating Room Anaesthesia in the COVID-19 Era.” Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology33 (4): 548–53. 10.1097/ACO.0000000000000882
     https://doi.org/10.1097/ACO.0000000000000882 [Google Scholar]
  28. Journal Regional
    Journal Regional 2021 “Quels Sont Les Quotidiens Les plus Lus En France ?” Journalregional.Fr (blog). July 5, 2021. https://journalregional.fr/quels-sont-les-quotidiens-les-plus-lus-en-france/
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Litmanovich, Diana E., Michael Chung, Rachael R. Kirkbride, Gregory Kicska, and Jeffrey P. Kanne
    2020 “Review of Chest Radiograph Findings of COVID-19 Pneumonia and Suggested Reporting Language.” Journal of Thoracic Imaging35(6): 354–360. 10.1097/RTI.0000000000000541
     https://doi.org/10.1097/RTI.0000000000000541 [Google Scholar]
  30. Lozinskiy, Nikolay V.
    2020 “Multilingualism in the United Nations System : Report of the Joint Inspection Unit /.” Geneva: United Nations. digitallibrary.un.org/record/3893946
  31. Maneo, Liz
    2021 “The Main Public Health Tool during 1918 Pandemic? Social Distancing.” The Harvard Gazette, March 25, 2021. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/03/harvard-experts-discuss-the-history-of-social-distancing/
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Marín Pérez, María José
    2019 “Exploring the Unexpected in Legal Discourse: A Corpus-Based Contrastive Analysis of Spanish and British Judgments on Immigration.” ESP Today7 (2): 148–64. 10.18485/esptoday.2019.7.2.2
     https://doi.org/10.18485/esptoday.2019.7.2.2 [Google Scholar]
  33. 2022 “A Corpus-Based Comparative Analysis of the Evaluative Lexicon Found in Judicial Decisions on Immigration.” InLaw, Language and the Courtroom: Legal Linguistics and the Discourse of Judges, ed. byStanisław Goźdź-Roszkowski, and Gianluca Pontrandolfo. New York, NY: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Molloy, Sean
    2021 Emergency Law Responses to Covid-19 and the Impact on Peace and Transition Processes. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/emergency-law-responses-covid-19-and-impact-peace-and-transition-processes. 10.31752/idea.2021.24
     https://doi.org/10.31752/idea.2021.24 [Google Scholar]
  35. Morales, Manuel
    2021 “Coronaplauso, covidiota... El virus también se extiende por el idioma.” El País, April 13, 2021. https://elpais.com/cultura/2021-04-14/de-coronavirus-coronaplauso-y-coronabebe.html
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Morales Moreno, Albert
    2022 “Exploració lexicomètrica del discurs sobre la COVID-19. Anàlisi de quatre contextos institucionals estatals i supranacionals.” Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law781: 155–176.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Ormanova, Assel B., and Madina L. Anafinova
    2022 “А Linguistic Interference in Information Space Terms: A Corpus-Based Study in Kazakh.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies12 (12): 2497–2507. 10.17507/tpls.1212.04
     https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1212.04 [Google Scholar]
  38. Perazzo, José María
    2010 “Bibliotecas de obras en español.” Naciones Unidas. Día Del Idioma Español. 23 de Abril (blog) 2010 https://www.un.org/es/events/spanishlanguageday/2010/perazzo.shtml
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Prieto Ramos, Fernando, and Diego Guzmán
    2017 “Legal Terminology Consistency and Adequacy as Quality Indicators in Institutional Translation: A Mixed-Method Comparative Study.” InInstitutional Translation for International Governance : Enhancing Quality in Multilingual Legal Communication, ed. byFernando Prieto Ramos, 81–101. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Prieto Ramos, Fernando, and Albert Morales Moreno
    2019 “Terminological Innovation and Harmonization in International Organizations: Can Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth?” InLegal Translation: Current Issues and Challenges in Research, Methods and Applications, ed. byIngrid Simonnæs and Marita Kristiansen, 87–110. Berlin: Frank & Timme. https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:115687
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Prieto Ramos, Fernando, Jiamin Pei, and Le Cheng
    2020 “Institutional and News Media Denominations of COVID-19 and Its Causative Virus: Between Naming Policies and Naming Politics.” Discourse & Communication14 (6): 635–52. 10.1177/1750481320938467
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481320938467 [Google Scholar]
  42. [RAE] Real Academia Española
    [RAE] Real Academia Española 2020 “¿Es «el COVID-19» o «la COVID-19»?” Dudas Rápidas (blog) 2020 https://www.rae.es/duda-linguistica/es-el-covid-19-o-la-covid-19
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Riaz, Mehr Muhammad Adeel, Unaiza Ahmad, Anmol Mohan, Ana Carla dos Santos Costa, Hiba Khan, Maryam Salma Babar, Mohammad Mehedi Hasan, Mohammad Yasir Essar, and Ahsan Zil-E-Ali
    2021 “Global Impact of Vaccine Nationalism during COVID-19 Pandemic.” Tropical Medicine and Health49 (1): 101. 10.1186/s41182‑021‑00394‑0
     https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-021-00394-0 [Google Scholar]
  44. Ro, Christine
    2020 “Why We’ve Created New Language for Coronavirus.” BBC Worklife, May 25, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200522-why-weve-created-new-language-for-coronavirus
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Saladrigas, María Verónica, Laura Munoa, Fernando A. Navarro, and Paz Gómez Polledo
    2020 “Glosario de Covid-19 (EN-ES) Abreviado.” Panace@: Revista de Medicina, Lenguaje y TraducciónXXI (51): 110–72.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Sánchez Ibáñez, Miguel, and Joaquín García Palacios
    2014 “Semantic Characterization of Terms as a Trace of Terminological Dependency.” Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication20 (2): 171–97. 10.1075/term.20.2.03san
     https://doi.org/10.1075/term.20.2.03san [Google Scholar]
  47. Secretaría de Estado de Comunicación
    Secretaría de Estado de Comunicación 2021 “Conferencia al inicio del curso político ‘Por una recuperación justa.’” La Moncloa. Intervenciones Del Presidente Del Gobierno y Comparecencias (blog). January 9, 2021. https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/presidente/intervenciones/Paginas/2021/prsp20210901.aspx
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Selznick, Philip
    1957 Leadership in Administration. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Statista
    Statista 2022 “Número de lectores diarios de los principales periódicos españoles En 2021.” Statista (blog). February 2, 2022. https://es.statista.com/estadisticas/491058/consumo-diario-de-medios-de-comunicacion-en-espana-por-tipo/
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Stefanowitsch, Anatol
    2020 Corpus Linguistics: A Guide to the Methodology. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/record/3735822
     [Google Scholar]
  51. The Global Fund
    The Global Fund 2022 “Personal Protective Equipment.” COVID-19. Health Product Supply (blog). September 6, 2022. https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/united-nations-supports-frontline-covid-19-response
     [Google Scholar]
  52. [UNDGC] United Nations Department of Global Communications
    [UNDGC] United Nations Department of Global Communications 2020 “The United Nations Supports Frontline COVID-19 Response.” United Nations. COVID-19 Response (blog). March 27, 2020. https://www.un.org/en/un-coronavirus-communications-team/united-nations-supports-frontline-covid-19-response
     [Google Scholar]
  53. [UNDP] United Nations Development Programme
    [UNDP] United Nations Development Programme 2022 “Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity.” UNDP. Data Futures Platform (blog) 2022 https://data.undp.org/vaccine-equity/
     [Google Scholar]
  54. UNICEF, World Health Organization, and IFRC
    UNICEF, World Health Organization, and IFRC 2020 “Key Messages and Actions for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Schools. March 2020.” New York: UNICEF New York. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/key-messages-and-actions-for-covid-19-prevention-and-control-in-schools-march-2020.pdf
  55. [UNRICWE] UN Regional Information Centre
    [UNRICWE] UN Regional Information Centre 2021 “Guterres Calls Failure to Share Vaccines a ‘Moral Outrage.’” UN Regional Information Centre (blog). February 22, 2021. https://unric.org/en/guterres-calls-failure-to-share-vaccines-a-moral-outrage/
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Wang, Peng
    2019 “Translation in the COVID-19 Health Emergency in Wuhan: A Crisis Manager’s Perspective.” The Journal of Internationalization and Localization6 (2): 86–107. 10.1075/jial.00014.wan
     https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.00014.wan [Google Scholar]
  57. [WHA] World Health Assembly
    [WHA] World Health Assembly 1978 “Documentation and Languages of the Health Assembly and the Executive Board (Tenth Plenary Meeting, 18 May 1978 (Committee B, Second Report)).” Governing Body Documents. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/93411
     [Google Scholar]
  58. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2011 “Pandemic Preparedness.” Newsroom. Fact Sheets (blog). March 25, 2011. https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/pandemic-preparedness
     [Google Scholar]
  59. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2015 “Technical Specifications for Oxygen Concentrators.” Geneva: World Health Organization.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2017 Communicating Risk in Public Health Emergencies: A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) Policy and Practice. World Health Organization. Geneva. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/259807
     [Google Scholar]
  61. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020 Basic Documents. Forty-Ninth Edition (Including Amendments Adopted up to 31 May 2019). Geneva: World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/
     [Google Scholar]
  62. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020a “Novel Coronavirus(2019-NCoV). Situation Report.” Situation Report 10. Geneva: World Health Organization.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020b “Technical Specifications of Personal Protective Equipment for COVID-19. Interim Guidance. 13 November 2020.” Geneva: World Health Organization.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020c “Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Herd Immunity, Lockdowns and COVID-19.” Newsroom. Questions and Answers (blog) 2020c https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19
     [Google Scholar]
  65. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020d “Herd Immunity, an ‘Unethical’ COVID-19 Strategy, Tedros Warns Policymakers.” UN News. Global Perspective. Human Stories (blog) 2020d https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1075232
     [Google Scholar]
  66. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2020e “Liberia: WHO Donates Oxygen Concentrators to Boost COVID-19 Response.” Newsroom. Feature Stories (blog) 2020e https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/liberia-who-donates-oxygen-concentrators-to-boost-covid-19-response
     [Google Scholar]
  67. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2021 “WHO Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19 – 30 July 2021.” WHO Director-General. Speeches (blog). July 30, 2021. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-30-july-2021
     [Google Scholar]
  68. [WHO] World Health Organization
    [WHO] World Health Organization 2022 “Advice for the Public: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).” Diseases. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Advice for the Public (blog). October 5, 2022. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/term.00072.mor
Loading
Adherence to WHO’s terminology?
Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication 29, 306 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1075/term.00072.mor
/content/journals/10.1075/term.00072.mor
/content/journals/10.1075/term.00072.mor
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error