Chapter 10 - Linguistic and Cultural Challenges in Chinese Translation of Government COVID-19 Health Information in Australia

Summary

Abstract

This chapter highlights the complexity of communicating public health information to culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Drawing on translation evaluation reports generated by ninety students of the University of Melbourne's Master of Translation and Interpreting, this chapter surveys and examines the veracity of official health messaging translated and made available to Chinese communities from state and federal government websites during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compare translated written resources on COVID-19 provided by different Australian states and the federal government, focusing on identifying different approaches to and significant linguistic, cultural, and conceptual discrepancies in the Chinese translation. We argue that a coherent and well-informed approach to communication by responsible government bodies through quality translation is essential in times of health emergency.

Keywords: COVID-19 translated resources, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Chinese translation, government messaging, health communication

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it considerable disruptions and uncertainties, but these have been further exacerbated by linguistic barriers. There has been no shortage of evidence that the novel coronavirus is having a disproportionately high and negative impact on linguistic minority communities around the world. In their statement on the impact of COVID-19 and racial discrimination, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) highlights the global evidence that the pandemic continues to disproportionately affect individuals and communities who belong to “national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,” concluding that the pandemic has exacerbated social and structural inequalities, discrimination and exclusion (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 2020). Responses to the virus have varied all over the world, with countries, international organisations, states and local communities enforcing an array of COVID-19 strategies often in conjunction with differing health advice and tailored to the specific circumstances of the region (Amat et al., 2020; Bakir, 2020; Banerjee, 2020; Benítez et al., 2020; Brown, 2020; de Bruijn et al., 2020; Canestrini, 2020; Capano, 2020; Chabibi and Jamallullail, 2020; Chiplunkar and Das, 2021; Christensen and Lægreid, 2020; Civitarese, 2020). The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of recognising linguistic diversity, embracing social inclusion through language, and safeguarding the health and well-being of society by providing accurate and efficient translated health advice.