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magaretnahmias wrote in
linguaphiles
Pandemic Spanish
I know I may be a little late with this post by maybe you just starting learning Spanish now, or have not learned vocabulary related to COVID-19 before. So I will sharing a little basic voculbary which some pronunciation and grammatical tips for the English acronyms for the diease in Spanish
One of the most varied words in this category is the one for face mask. La mascarilla, a diminutive of mascara and the only that really applies to a mask (whether for the face or skin). The definition is a mask the covers mouth and nose to protect from pathogens Tapabocas is also used but that can also refer to somethings that covers an opening on a machine or even device. Cubrebocas is new that is doesn't even appear in the official Royal Academy dictionary as I write this. In Argentina Uruguay Bolivia and Paraguay the term barbijo is used but this word also refers to a chin strap (barbaquejo in other reigions and will translated as such by machine translators . La mascarilla is the one I use most and recommend if you have to be neutral. However, you should be aware of these alternate terms if you go where they are used speak to those who use them.
Hand santizer- alcohol en gel literally gel alcohol. You may also see desinfectante de manos. However with the pouplarity of the non-standard verb santizar for sanitize I wouldn't be surprised if a noun form appears despite the academy's objections
Pandemic- La pandemia. If you have studied or are a native Brazilian Portuguese speaker, please be aware that stress of the word is different although it is cognate in Spanish as shown here