Cover not available
Article published In:
Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 47:1 (2023) ► pp.72–94

Translation policies in times of a pandemic

An intercity comparison

ORCID logo | KU Leuven | University of Melbourne
| KU Leuven | University of Melbourne
| KU Leuven
| KU Leuven
| University of Melbourne

In 2020–22, multilingual vaccination communication became an urgent priority around the world, requiring trusted communication in non-official languages. In Brussels, Melbourne and Shanghai, quite different legal frameworks and language policies were challenged by the need for behavior-change communication in a wide range of culturally and linguistically diverse communities. In all three cases, practices were developed that showed the limitations of existing translation policies. Here we use policy analysis to explore the nature of those challenges, to compare the different solutions found in the three cities, and to propose how policies might be developed and adjusted to enhance time-pressured trust-building communication.

Keywords: Language policy, translation policy, crisis translation, COVID-19, vaccine hesitancy, minorities
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Brussels
    • 2.1Languages in Brussels
    • 2.2Belgian federal language and translation policy
    • 2.3Brussels-Capital Region language and translation policy
    • 2.4Multilingual vaccination information in Brussels
  • 3.Melbourne
    • 3.1Languages in Melbourne
    • 3.2Australian national language and translation policy
    • 3.3Victorian language and translation policy
    • 3.4Multilingual vaccination information in Melbourne
  • 4.Shanghai
    • 4.1The linguistic background
    • 4.2Chinese national language and translation policies
    • 4.3Shanghai government language and translation policies
    • 4.4Multilingual vaccination information in Shanghai
  • 5.A cross-city comparison
  • Note
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 23 May 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.22053.bou
References
Agentschap Binnenlands Bestuur
(2019) Lokale Inburgerings- en Integratiemonitor Editie 2018: Brussel. Retrieved 12 May 2022 from [URL]
Alter Échos
(2021) 24 heures avec… Mobivax, vacciner les plus précaires. Retrieved 8 September 2022 from [URL]
Belgian Federal Government
(2022) About Belgium: Belgium, a federal state. Retrieved 1 September 2022 from [URL]
Benhaddou, K.
(2021 24 January). Naar aanleiding van een vraag (zie foto) die ik kreeg van de Vlaamse Gemeenschamscommissie mbt de Brusselse vaccinatiestrategie wil ik het antwoord graag hier delen. Facebook. [URL]
Brussel Onthaal – Bruxelles Accueil [BO/BA]
(2022) Jaarverslag 2021 Rapport annuel, Brussels: Brussel Onthaal – Bruxelles Accueil.Google Scholar
Catteau, L., van Loenhout, J., Stouten, V., Billuart, M., Hubin, P., Haarhuis, F., & Wyndham, Thomas C.
(2021) Vaccinatiegraad en epidemiologische impact van de COVID-19-vaccinatiecampagne in België. Gegevens tot en met 31 oktober 2021. Sciensano. [URL]
China News Network
(2020) 上海今起每日多种语言向中外人士通报最新疫情 [Shanghai will inform Chinese and foreigners about the latest epidemic prevention and control in multiple languages every day]. China News, 1 February 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022 from [URL]
China, Ministry of Civil Affairs
(2018) Excellent community regulations. Retrieved 20 February 2022 from [URL]
China, Ministry of Education
(2010) The Guidelines of the National Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010–2020). Retrieved 20 February 2022 from [URL]
(2012) The Guidelines of the National Medium and Long-term Reform and Development of Language and Characters (2012–2020). Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
(2012) The National Guidelines for the Use of Foreign Languages in Public Service Areas. Retrieved 20 February 2022 from [URL]
(2013) The Implementation of the Guidelines of the National Medium and Long-term Reform and Development of Language and Characters (2012–2020). Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
(2016) Guidelines of the Thirteenth Five-year Plan for the Development of the National Language and Characters. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
China, National People’s Congress
(1982) Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]. Translation from English website of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China [URL]
(2017) The Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved from [URL] on 20 Jan. 2022.
China, State Council
(2020) The Guidelines of Comprehensively Strengthening Language and Characters in the New Era. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
(2021) The Notice of the Fourteenth Five-year Plan for National Emergency System. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
China, Supreme People’s Court
(2012) The Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Commissioner of the Official Languages of Canada
(2020) Official Languages Maturity Model. [URL] (Retrieved on 13 October 2022).
Covid Vaccinatie België
(2022) Vaccinaties per regio. Retrieved 8 September 2022 from [URL]
Dalzell, S.
(2020, August 13). Government coronavirus messages left ‘nonsensical’ after being translated into other languages. ABC News, [URL]
Farrer, J.
(2019) International migrants in China’s global city: The new Shanghailanders. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Foreign Affairs Office of Shanghai
(2021) COVID-19 Vaccination for internationals in Shanghai. Retrieved 14 October 2022 from [URL]
Foyer
(2021) Praktische, meertalige informatie over de vaccinatie in Brussel. Retrieved 1 September 2022 from [URL]
Gemeenschappelijke gemeenschapscommissie
(2021 22 July). De vaccinatietoestand in het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest [Press release]. [URL]
González Núñez, G.
(2016) Translating in linguistically diverse societies: Translation policy in the United Kingdom. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gui, T., & Zhou, Y.
(2021) A survey of Shanghainese dialect: its current situation and future. Journal of Student Research, 10 (2), 1–9. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hajek, J., Karidakis, M., Amorati, R., Sengupta, M., Hao, Y., Pym, A., & Woodward-Kron, R.
(2022) Understanding the experiences and communication needs of culturally and linguistically diverse communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
Hlavac, J., Gentile, A., Orlando, M., Zucchi, E., & Pappas, A.
(2018) Translation as a sub-set of public and social policy and a consequence of multiculturalism: The provision of translation and interpreting services in Australia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 251 1, 55–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Holt, S., & Packer, J.
(2001) OSCE Developments and Linguistic Minorities. International Journal on Multicultural Societies 3 (2), 99–126.Google Scholar
Janssens, R.
(2018) Meertaligheid als Opdracht: Een analyse van de Brusselse Taalsituatie op basis van Taalbarometer 4. Brussels: Uitgeverij Vubpress.Google Scholar
La Capitale
(2021) Vaccination : la mosquée El Mouahhidine à Laeken a transformé une salle de prière. Retrieved 8 June 2022 from [URL]
Lam, A. S. L.
(2005) Language education in China: policy and experience from 1949. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lo Bianco, J.
(1987) National Policy on Languages. Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
Médecins Sans Frontières
(2021) Mobivax, notre équipe mobile dédiée à la vaccination covid-19 des personnes sans-abri à Bruxelles. Retrieved 1 September 2022 from [URL]
Meylaerts, R.
(2011) Translational Justice in a Multilingual World: An Overview of Translational Regimes. Meta, 56 (4), 743–757. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2021) Language and translation policies in a bilingual city with a multilingual population. The case of Brussels. In T. K. Lee (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Translation and the City (pp. 97–111) London & New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
forthcoming). Public services and translation policy. In F. Grin, M. Gazzola, L. Cardinal and K. Heugh Eds The Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning London and New York Routledge
National Bureau of Statistics (China)
(2021) 第七次全国人口普查公报 [Bulletin of the Seventh National Census]. Retrieved 3 September 2022 from [URL]
National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)
(2020) National COVID-19 Health and Research Advisory Committee: Risks of resurgence of COVID-19 in Australia, 21 May, [URL]
O’Brien, S. and Cadwell, P.
(2021) Communicating COVID-19 in multiple languages: a maturity model assessment of Ireland’s crisis communication practice. Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, 77, 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
OECD
(2021) Enhancing public trust in COVID-19 vaccination: The role of governments. OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19), OECD Publishing, Paris, DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Office of Shanghai Chronicles
(2020) Shanghai Statistics Yearbook. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Public Health England
(2020) Beyond the data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups. [URL]
Renaldi, E. & Fang, J.
(2020, October 27). Victoria’s coronavirus information mistranslated and outdated for migrant communities. ABC News, [URL]
Samusocial
(2021) MOBIVAX : “Vaccinatie voor mensen zonder toegang tot vaccinatie stopt activiteiten, toegang tot reguliere vaccinatiecircuit een van grootste resultaten”. Retrieved 1 September 2022 from [URL]
Schoonvaere, Q.
(2014) Belgique-Maroc: 50 années de migration. Étude démographique de la population d’origine marocaine en Belgique. Retrieved 12 June 20222 from [URL]
Shanghai Education Commission
(2021) The Implementation of the Guidelines of Comprehensively Strengthening Language and Characters in the New Era in Shanghai. Retrieved from 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai Government
(2016) The Guidelines of the Thirteenth Five-year Plan for the Development of Shanghai Language and Characters. Retrieved on 20 Januar 2022 from [URL]
(2018) Shanghai overall planning (2017–2035). Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
(2021) The Guidelines of the Fourteenth Five-year Plan for Emergency Management in Shanghai, Retrieved 20 February 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai International Studies University
(2020) 上海外国语大学师生助力毕业防控国际话语杂时 [Shanghai International Studies University teachers and students help to control international discourse]. The Paper, December 31, 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
(2022 10 May). “语言大白”来了 沪17所高校外语志愿者化身云端随身翻译官 [Translators in PPE are here! 17 foreign language volunteers from universities in Shanghai have been transformed into cloud-based translators]. Retrieved from [URL]
Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau
(2014) 2013年上海市民语言应用能力调查报告 [2013 The report of Shanghai citizen’s language proficiency]. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai Municipal Health Commission
(2021 7 June). 上海累计接种疫苗超2835万剂，接种点扩容，双休日不间断 [A total of 28.35 million vaccine doses have been administered in Shanghai, and the number of inoculation points has been expanded]. Retrieved 3 September 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai Public Security Bureau
(2020) Six measures on exit-entry measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrieved 20 January 2022 from [URL]
Shanghai Statistics Bureau
(2020) Shanghai Statistics Yearbook. Retrieved 20 February 2022 from [URL]
Sohu News
(2022 5 February) 在沪外籍人士：上海对疫情管控很严，相信上海政府 [Foreigners in Shanghai: Shanghai is very strict on the control of the epidemic, I believe the Shanghai government]. Retrieved from [URL]
Spolsky, B.
(2012) What is Language Policy? In B. Spolsky (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy (pp. 3–15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thunus, S., Creten, A., & Mahieu, C.
(2021) Vaccessible : une étude qualitative des actions locales de vaccination implémentées en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale face à la pandémie du coronavirus. [URL]
Tunger, V., Mar-Molinero, C., Paffey, D., Vigers, D., & Barłóg, C.
(2010) Language policies and ‘new’ migration in officially bilingual areas. Current Issues in Language Planning, 11 (2), 190–205. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
University College London
(2021) Bruisend Brussel: Wereldcentrum in het hart van Europa. Retrieved 10 May 2022 from [URL]
Victoria
(1988) Health Services Act. [URL]
(2006) Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act. [URL]
(2010) Equal Opportunity Act. [URL]
(2011) Multicultural Victoria Act [URL]
Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services
(2017) Language Services Policy. [URL]
Victoria, Department of Premier and Cabinet
(2017) Victoria’s Diverse Population. [URL]
(2019) Effective Translations: Victorian Government Guidelines on Policy and Procedure. [URL]
Victoria, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria
(2020) Inquiry into the Victorian Government’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (submission to Parliament of Victoria’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, July). [URL]
Victoria, Minister for Multicultural Affairs
(2018, June 25). Funding Boost For Interpreters Helps Diverse Communities. Media release. [URL]
Victoria, Public Accounts and Estimates Committee
(2021) Inquiry into the Victorian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. [URL]
Victorian Ombudsman
(2020) Investigation into the detention and treatment of public housing residents arising from a COVID-19 ‘hard lockdown’ in July 2020. [URL]
Zhang, R. P. & Zhao, R. H.
(2020) Language Situation in Shanghai: 2020. Beijing: The Commercial Press.Google Scholar