This commentary considers the ways in which spatialised metaphors were mobilised within a larger narrative in the quest to eliminate COVID-19 in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In doing so, it examines the links between language and socio-political discourse, focusing on tropes that invoke and engage with geographies of everyday life. The foundational contention is that, to a large extent, language constructs our lived reality. After reviewing scholarship linking language and disease, the commentary turns to a case study of New Zealand’s response to COVID-19. The public health goal was to instil caution and protective practices in the population at large as a defence against transmission. The role of narrative and metaphor in daily press conferences from the Prime Minister and Director General of Health through March and April 2020 is examined by drawing on evidence from media reporting. Three key metaphors are considered: bubbles, levels, and the team, with each metaphor having spatialised implications in the popular imagination. The commentary considers perceptual and behavioural implications of this strategic use of metaphor. I speculate on the ways in which language has an agency such that, until the widespread availability of vaccine, an infectious disease can be restricted through mobilising the population.

中文翻译：

---

新西兰努力消除 COVID-19 的叙述和隐喻

这篇评论考虑了在更大的叙述中调动空间隐喻的方式，以寻求在新西兰 Aotearoa 消除 COVID-19。在此过程中，它考察了语言与社会政治话语之间的联系，重点关注与日常生活地理相关的比喻。基本论点是，在很大程度上，语言构建了我们生活的现实。在回顾了将语言和疾病联系起来的奖学金后，评论转向了新西兰对 COVID-19 反应的案例研究。公共卫生目标是向广大民众灌输谨慎和保护措施，以防止传播。通过利用媒体报道的证据，研究了叙事和隐喻在 2020 年 3 月和 2020 年 4 月期间总理和卫生总干事的每日新闻发布会中的作用。考虑了三个关键隐喻：气泡、关卡和团队，每个隐喻在大众想象中都有空间化的含义。评论考虑了这种隐喻策略使用的感知和行为影响。我推测语言的作用方式是，在疫苗广泛可用之前，可以通过动员人口来限制传染病。评论考虑了这种隐喻策略使用的感知和行为影响。我推测语言的作用方式是，在疫苗广泛可用之前，可以通过动员人口来限制传染病。评论考虑了这种隐喻策略使用的感知和行为影响。我推测语言的作用方式是，在疫苗广泛可用之前，可以通过动员人口来限制传染病。