ABSTRACT
In this concluding chapter, we summarise the main insights about discourses on Covid-19 generated from our case studies, detailing how language was used in political discourse and public health communication as well as science communication, and how language and other modes were used creatively. We also discuss the contributions this book has made to the study of language and discourse on health and science communication in general. We review the methodological approaches we have employed and consider how they lend themselves to possible future research topics, such as the role of dis/misinformation in a pandemic. We offer some critical reflections on the role of language use during a large-scale health crisis and discuss the cognitive, material and other effects of (in)effective communication. The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to be a developing situation for some time to come, so we end the book by considering the changes to language and language research that have already been observed, as well as suggestions for adapting and extending language-based research to support both students and experienced researchers in navigating global health issues.
