Apocalyptic representation of COVID-19: A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of the World Health Organization's discourse practices

This study examines the interdiscursive representation of coronavirus disease by World Health Organization from outbreak virus in January 2020 to announcement a successful vaccine November 2020. The aim is find out whether agency has delivered apocalyptic language that increased anxiety and stress among public leading weak human immune system, or contributed creating global cooperation placing emergency measures fight virus. I have adopted discourse analysis approach, with aid NVivo qualitative software corpus linguistic tools, for purpose-built WHO Director-General’s speeches, focusing on referential, predication, perspectivation, intensifying, mitigation argumentation strategies. result revealed referred COVID-19 as an eccentric virus, qualified intensified threat humanity. subjective point view, showing active involvement discursive argumentatively asking people unite until invented.