Terminology Related to Covid-19 in Omani Press; a Study in the Methods of Generating, and Reality of Use

The sudden appearance and rapid spread of the new Corona virus constituted an event that took over the media scene, bringing with it a huge amount of concepts and terms that are flowing and renewed around the clock. This represented a clear challenge for the Arab media to keep up with the event, using the available terminological repertoire. This event constitutes a valuable research opportunity in terms of studies related to terminology of the Arabic language, in order to determine the extent to which the Arabic terminological repertoire keeps pace with the developments of science, and the extent of the readiness of linguistic references to respond to the urgent needs imposed by such calamities. This research sought to investigate the terms related to the Corona pandemic mentioned in the Omani press, and to study them analytically according to two perspectives: the mechanisms of status, and the reality of use. The results of the study showed that the study sample did not find it difficult to find Arabic alternatives to terms related to the pandemic. The research found that the vast majority of terms included in the sample are Arabized terms. As for the reality of use; the study showed that there is no consistency in the use of one Arabic alternative to the foreign term.