Dr Joseph Farquharson, Coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit based at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona. The COVID-19 pandemic has held the greater portion of 2020 in its grip. While its impact on many sectors has been noted, an area outside of the limelight which has been impacted in the cultural arena is language, with the creation of new words and an increase in the usage of existing words and expressions. Dr Joseph Farquharson, coordinator of the Jamaican Language Unit (JLU) at The University of the West Indies, Mona, has described the year’s language experience in Jamaica as “adaptive”.