About the Coronavirus from a Linguistic Perspective

Did you know that the name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, which means “crown, halo, wreath”? The virus got this name because of the appearance of the virus particles, which resemble a crown or the solar corona – the outer part of the sun’s atmosphere, which during a solar eclipse appears as a wreath.

Did you know that in Serbian it is correct to write and say “virus korona” and not “korona virus” or “koronavirus”? This solution was proposed by the Committee for Standardization of the Serbian Language. It is a linguistic institute that brings together experts who scientifically study the Serbian language and aims to preserve and nurture the Serbian language. Among other things, it also deals with linguistic rules. At the beginning of February, the Committee considered the writing and pronunciation of the new virus name. You can find the expert explanation of this rule on the Committee’s website: OSSJ.RS

“How and in what way can we protect ourselves from the coronavirus?” is a sentence we often heard on television since the epidemic began. Do you know what is stylistically incorrect in this sentence? “How” and “in what way,” as well as “so” and “in that way” are expressions that have the same meanings and it is redundant to use them next to each other in the same sentence. It is better to ask – How can we protect ourselves from the coronavirus? We will protect ourselves by washing our hands and wearing masks. In that way we protect both ourselves and others.

These days the question is often asked whether and when we will be able to travel carefree again. We say: “We can do it today!” To all those who long for travel, we suggest reading travelogues by our great writers and thus travel, at least briefly. If you want to visit Norway, there are “Letters from Norway” by Isidora Sekulić. The great Miloš Crnjanski takes us to Paris in his “Letters from Paris,” while we will journey to Greece, Italy, Switzerland and Egypt in the company of Jovan Dučić and his travelogue “Cities and Chimeras.” Let’s travel into the world of literary works!

Professor of Serbian Language and Literature,
Marija