Translation in the COVID-19 health emergency in Wuhan: A crisis manager’s perspective
What is it about?
Intercultural crisis communication in an interconnected and globalized world emphasizes the need for translation to be put in place as foreign nationals with cultural and linguistic barriers might rely on it to prepare for a possible crisis or make informed decisions when already affected by a crisis. The author investigates crisis translation by using a case study of the disruptive outbreak of novel coronavirus disease in Wuhan.
Why is it important?
Based upon the author’s first-hand experience as a crisis manager at the Office of Foreigner Affairs in the Municipal Government of Wuhan, this article describes how government translators with the help of external volunteer translators made language services available and accessible to affected foreign nationals in the response phase from 8 January 2020 to 7 April 2020. It analyses these translation-mediated activities from a crisis manager’s perspective.