VERBALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT OF POST-COVID IN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS DISCOURSE
Abstract
The article investigates the verbalization of the concept of POST-COVID in the English-language news discourse using BBC reports as a source from 2024–2025. Unlike the concept of COVID, which predominantly has a medical verbalization and pertains to an infectious disease, the concept of POST-COVID encompasses a broader range of phenomena, including medical, psychological, social, economic, and cultural aspects of life after the pandemic. The relevance of the study is determined by the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public life, which led to the formation of a new cognitive-linguistic concept that includes medical, social, political, and cultural dimensions. The aim of the research is to analyze the linguistic features of the representation of the POST-COVID concept through the study of the lexical-semantic means that verbalize it. In the course of the analysis, key lexical-semantic fields reflecting the multifaceted nature of the concept were identified, including topics such as health, memory, social changes, governance, and ethical challenges. The morphological, stylistic, and emotional-evaluative characteristics that shape the concept were explored. The core of the concept consists of universal lexical items related to medical and memorial aspects, while the periphery encompasses the social, legal, and cultural consequences of the pandemic. The language of the news discourse reflects collective trauma, the level of trust in institutions, and society’s desire for justice and recovery.The POST-COVID concept emerges not only as a reflection of reality but also as a tool for shaping public consciousness, influencing the perception of the post-pandemic experience. The study emphasizes that language structures societal experience, contributing to the understanding of the pandemic and its consequences, and forms narratives that reflect the values and priorities of contemporary society. Further research focuses on the conceptualization of the Post-COVID experience in English-language news discourse.
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