‘Together, soon enough’

Orienting to theoretical descriptions of ‘affective-discursive practices’ (Wetherell, 2012) and linguistic/semiotic landscapes as ‘affective regimes’ (Wee, 2016Wee, Lionel. (2016). Situating affect in linguistic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape 2(2): 105–126. ), this paper accounts for (some of) the complex ways in which the experience of pandemic and lockdown was articulated and felt across the landscape of Melbourne. I employ a novel combination of autoethnographic and citizen sociolinguistic approaches as self-reflexive research techniques. Working more-or-less chronologically, from the lowest ebbs to feelings of (relative) joy, importantly, this paper does not focus solely on negative articulations such as sadness or anxiety. Rather, it examines the affective resonance of expressions of love, kindness, and resilience in the landscape, and these affects’ intersection with chronotopes during and since isolation; from being locked down, to keeping spirits up, from top-down to bottom-up. This paper concludes with an orientation to hope: to Melburnians’ rejoicing in what they’ve achieved, and the belief that there can be an end to crisis.

本文描述了民众对疫情和墨尔本长期封城的一些经历，感受以及想法。为此，我将参考“情感话语实践”（Wetherell 2012）和以语言/迹象景观作为“情感机制”（Wee 2016Wee, Lionel. (2016). Situating affect in linguistic landscapes. Linguistic Landscape 2(2): 105–126. ）的理论，并结合使用自我民族志和 “公民社会语言学” 作为一种新的、反思性的社会研究方法。本文不仅仅关注消极的表达方式：例如孤独或悲伤。相反，从封城“期间”到结束后出现的（相应的）快乐，我研究了社会表达爱、善意和顽强奋斗的情感分量。我观察了民众在封城后的相互激励，以及随着时间和语言所出现表面上以及非表面的性情转变。本文将以充满希望的方向结尾：墨尔本人们如何为他们的成就感到高兴，并相信这场危机终将结束。