Introduction
A crisis is a disruptive event with cascading social, economic, and health effects that occur over a prolonged period. The implication is that mitigation of the impact relies on how fast relevant information reaches the most at-risk people (Olimat & Mahadin, 2022). It is essential to have a free flow of information in society, especially when there is an overall risk to human life. Article 19 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that people have the right to seek, receive, and impart information (O’Brien et al., 2018). They have fewer resources and ways to get up-to-date information due to social and economic factors.
One of the primary purposes of translation is to bring information to as many people as possible. During the pandemic, translation became a way for officials and many population segments to communicate. Disseminating information on safe interactions during COVID-19, methods of prevention, and individual and collective protection were critical. Translating this information was a significant challenge because it was necessary to keep the population safe as quickly as possible.
According to Luo (2019), at the outset of the outbreak, Chinese translators collaborated with experts on the outbreak to rapidly translate information into critical languages and disseminate it abroad, thereby sharing China’s awareness of the virus and urging other nations to take precautions. It is the government’s responsibility to disseminate this information and the conditions for rapid translation.
The materials that volunteers collect for people may not be received because they are mislabeled. Zhang and Wu (2020) found that donated emergency medical supplies were not delivered from Wuhan to critical areas because of a translation error. In a pandemic where any help was needed, such errors serve as a reminder of the underdeveloped state of translation practices. Wang (2019) suggests that some cultural communities are more isolated than others, and this separation can be a limiting factor in aid delivery and communication with other countries.
Characteristics of Translation in Crisis
The main characteristics of translation in times of crisis include a set of rules, requirements, and conditions imposed not only on the translation itself but also on its dissemination. The rules of analysis and the need to verify information comprehensively apply to translation to prevent the dissemination of false or incomplete information. Additionally, critical situations require a clear and concise presentation of information to avoid omitting specific populations.
Crises create an uncomfortable state where it is necessary to resolve problems promptly and ensure public awareness. Federici et al. (2019) note that it will be challenging to cope with the information load in a critical situation without thorough planning. Planning will make it easier to manage translation by creating several specific areas of translation.
O’Brien (2022) notes that translation requirements should also include the inclusion of less protected populations in a crisis, such as immigrants and migrants in transit. Internationally recognized languages (e.g., UN languages such as English, French, or Spanish) should be included in the planning of translation strategies. In a crisis, they will make the work of translators easier by having specific areas of focus.
Some characteristics are evident in quality crisis translation that considers timeliness and accuracy to manage the situation. According to Federici et al. (2019), it is crucial to recognize and respect linguistic patterns embedded in an unfamiliar culture. Translators should avoid using jargon, abbreviations, and slang to enhance accuracy. Additionally, it may be necessary to adopt citizen translation, which is often provided voluntarily by community members who are partially trained (Federici et al., 2019).
Moreover, there are 4A standards for the kind of information that should be provided, including availability (affordability), accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability (O’Brien et al., 2018). In a translation crisis, availability refers to the ability to retrieve information quickly. Accessibility refers to the ability to obtain information in different ways, and acceptability guarantees this right through translation. Adaptability is the translation of information for the hearing and the visually impaired. The crisis management and mitigation process is delayed if the communication falls short of the four principles.
However, crisis translation is sometimes challenging when dealing with a highly diverse group. For instance, O’Brien (2019) recognizes that in the present age of globalization, increased immigration, and urbanization, there is a high chance that people living within the same geographical environment speak diverse languages. The implication is that when communicating to such a group, it is vital to first understand all the language groups in the area before the translation, to draw up a plan for crisis communication and translation so that the information reaches all people.
The process may lead to delays, and some people may feel left out. There is also a danger that crucial information about the crisis does not reach them, which could put them and/or others at risk. The nature of the disaster may necessitate crowdsourced translators through social media channels, such as WeChat (Zhang & Wu, 2020). As much as such solutions are eminent, they present danger if the volunteer translator is incompetent, untrained, or has ill intentions for the community.
Nevertheless, it is essential to mention that the competent translation and interpreting process includes ethics. According to O’Mathúna et al. (2019), compared to translating and interpreting in typical (economic or governmental) situations, crises involve several unusual elements that may need to be evaluated against the requirement to provide the service. In crisis translation, the conflict between social benefit and private interests must be carefully considered and balanced (O’Mathúna et al., 2019).
Moreover, the disrupted needs of the population after an incident should be noted: a pandemic restricts movement, while natural disasters can deprive people of their homes and jobs. These needs should always be part of translation practice and cannot be excluded from increasing translation speed.
In addition to adding to the ethical obligation to offer services, translation may be crucial to developing community resilience and fostering trust among groups (O’Brien, 2022). Thus, it should be remembered that translating anything does not automatically inspire confidence; instead, it depends on what is being translated, who is translating it into what language and style, and how trustworthy the actors are.
Civilian interpreters are appointed as part of government crisis management programs. They are required to translate and publish on official websites and documents. They are responsible for relaying information to first responders, communicating the translation to the public, and explaining the situation on the spot as needed. Outsourced or crowdsourced translators are typically not involved in public policy, as they perform translation work on behalf of others. They may be private journalists or translators for online or print magazines and newspapers, translating and adapting information after the official translation. Their role in crisis translation is to disseminate information to their target communities.
In times of crisis, it is essential to balance the accuracy of translations against other vital ideals and social objectives. For instance, in situations where there is a shortage of translation practitioners or where a crisis may individually impact those practitioners, it may be necessary to use other individuals (O’Mathúna et al., 2019). These can be civilian translators or technology that will increase the speed at which statements are translated. However, caution should be exercised with such systems, as they may provide low-quality translations and intentionally distort information for personal gain.
Particular difficulties arise when trying to meet all the requirements and conditions for translation in a crisis. These conditions include the previously voiced 4A and the peculiarities of the information for translation. First, it is essential to acknowledge that the information initially received for translation may be incomplete. The absence of some facts will lead to the fact that the translation will be inaccurate, and its meaning will decrease.
Second, there is the paradox of information overload: to translate all available data, it is poorly analyzed. Not all populations will thoroughly analyze the information after receiving it and choose the one that makes the most sense and is most relevant. Populations, especially the most vulnerable, may receive redundant information, and translation does not diminish the criticality of the situation.
Finally, interpreters may not cover all requirements and intentionally avoid some. For example, the use of slang and jargon is unacceptable because these linguistic elements are not specific and may be misunderstood by the population. Moreover, they can reduce the quality of the translation in the eyes of the target audience, and as a result, the translation will not reach them.
Contextual factors such as reliance on technological communication or the presence of people with disability can interfere with the flow of communication. There is the danger of increased false news that may be circulated through social media in the local languages (Ratzan et al., 2020). The people who are deaf and need sign language interpretation present another challenge because of the scarcity of competent translators (O’Brien, 2019). Thus, as the people responsible for disaster management may be working hard to ensure that the communities have the correct content, sometimes inaccurate data spreads faster.
COVID as a Global Health Crisis
The impact of COVID-19 on public health is significant and affects almost everyone. The pandemic has changed the idea of what information is and explained its values in terms of social theories. In crisis translation, COVID-19 has identified response problems expressed in the inability to make a unified decision about the information chosen for translation. The primary issue identified was the inadequate planning of crisis translation.
The COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread to all continents. The viral infection-induced inflammatory immune response (cytokine storm) caused pulmonary fibrosis and increased the chances of comorbidities (Pollard et al., 2020). The disease is communicable, implying that all humans are at risk of infection and death. The issues with communication and dissemination of information across multilingual groups in each country exacerbated the problem.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all areas of life, changing the way of life because of constant anxiety and difficulties in communication. In addition, the pandemic has significantly limited social contact and imposed restrictions on in-person encounters, thereby complicating both production and social processes. Decision-making has dramatically accelerated, but its quality has not; this has significantly changed the very idea of communication (El-Jardali et al., 2020). Luo (2021) notes that the ability to respond quickly will help manage such crises in the future and avoid communication difficulties. For translation practice, COVID-19 served as a test highlighting the current difficulties in correctly using and interpreting complex medical terminology.
Illiterate crisis translation management has made it challenging to provide accurate and concise translations of narrow topics to the public. The pandemic showed that society was not prepared to face such severe constraints and that social institutions were not a supportive tool. It is likely that society lacked crisis management to respond to the constraints and pronounced psychological stress, including difficulties in obtaining information.
Al-Ahdal et al. (2020) believe that this served as one of the factors that led to all decisions being made from the top, and the population had to translate the information and understand it themselves. The linguistic environment of each country is individual, so some societies lack pronounced linguistic constraints. Nevertheless, some parts of the community still cared more than others, and the consequence was a search for information in all languages. However, machine translation was still not sufficiently advanced to replace manual translation, so the information we received could also raise questions.
COVID-19 raised the problem in translation practice that quality translations of medical terminology and complex topics require knowledge of the language and background in a crisis. The problem arises that not all translators are suited to work in critical situations, and states do not consider this in crisis planning. The lack of crisis translation in planning is probably because the state chooses to preserve the economy and capital more often than others.
The language barrier prevents the public from being informed about the state of the crisis, as state policies may not be translated into more than one language. Social institutions do not act as a means of support, so the costs of organizing help can increase significantly. Lack of access to information leads to communicative complications, which cannot always be counterbalanced by minimal translation.
To mitigate the COVID-19 crisis, some specific behavioral instructions and rules were intended to minimize the spread of the disease. Remarkably, it is crucial to ensure that, during emergencies, information is clear and accessible to all citizens (Civico, 2021). However, achieving the demand to provide accurate information to many people proved difficult due to several translation barriers.
As established in Civico’s (2021) research, a crisis has the potential to become a barrier to information dissemination, leading to miscommunication and a decrease in available translation services. The severe consequences of COVID-19 have led to a decrease in the number of personnel who can technically be involved in the organization of translation activities. Although the effects of the disease have affected each state differently, the loss of people is significant and must be taken into account in a crisis. The pandemic has forced staff to work hard, which is another major complication.
The imperfection of crisis response systems shows a lack of professional crisis interpreter training at the state level. This raises the question of how COVID-19-type crisis translation training should be implemented. The first thing to look at is what information is generally available for translation and from what sources. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, most information came from China and the US since these countries were researching the virus and publishing current clinical data.
Translating Chinese into European languages is challenging, as these are linguistically distant groups. The translation was also complicated by the lack of adequate and efficient tools to facilitate the translation from Chinese. This has led to distorted information in the media, and all new research has not been given the publicity it deserves. Errors in translation and free interpretation of texts by the media have only increased the fear of the disease.
In a crisis, the culture of translation and information delivery must be specific to avoid inaccuracies. Public translators may not have enough freedom in what information to translate and present to the public. In addition, the media changes information repeatedly and may distort interpretations so that the resulting translation may contain serious errors. COVID-19 has changed how we think about information and why it is so valuable. However, even with this realization, the problem of inaccurate translation and distorted information persists.
From Translations to Translators
Translation is of value not only as a product of human activity and labor but also as a consequence of individual merit. Interpreters, as a group, are a fundamental social unit that needs to be studied in the context of their role in crisis planning and the principles of selection for civilian resources or outsourcing. Their cultural background can be an essential part of interpreter practice, as there is a correlation between the quality of translation, language, and social impact.
Crisis translation, as a science, does not stand still, and the pandemic has presented opportunities to develop this field. Research in this area became relevant with the advent of COVID, and the focus of scholars has been divided. On the one hand, the translation technique and its organization in the crisis management process are receiving attention. Conversely, there has been high interest “in translators themselves, their work environment, and the relations between translators and other parties” (Wang & Munday, 2020, p. 234).
Initially, much attention was extended exclusively to the work these translators produce. Currently, Translation Studies pay more attention to sociological aspects than in the past, where they tended to focus on analyzing the translated text. Wang and Munday (2020) further note that scholars are more concerned with understanding the translators’ position in crisis translation. Translators’ personalities and professional qualities become essential aspects of crisis translation. In other words, translators are themselves the center of focus (Wang and Munday, 2020, p. 335). Scholars are interested in their position in social and cultural contexts and workplaces.
Sufficient attention is paid to what psychological aspects are associated with translation and its impact on communities. Meister (2018) and Boukhaffa (2018) analyzed the social perceptions of translation practices. They evaluated the Holmes-Toury map and found that it did not contain elements that would indicate the value of translators’ identity. This leads to the question of what tools of translation practice, in general, are associated with translators.
The Holmes-Toury map is a tool used in translation studies to analyze and understand the strategies used when translating between two languages. It is a graphical representation of the relationship between the two languages, showing how much they influence each other. The map is named after the translation scholars James Holmes and Gideon Toury, who developed the concept in the 1970s (Van Doorslaer, 2007).
COVID in Saudi Arabia
COVID-19 has been widely encountered throughout Saudi Arabia, prompting it to respond quickly and rapidly change its crisis strategies. Although the general tactics in securing the population were similar to international rules, there were differences in curfews, information publication, and officials’ cooperation with the population. Information became a stumbling block, as Arabic, Chinese, and English are very different linguistic groups.
In Saudi Arabia and other countries, the COVID-19 epidemic spread quickly, creating a serious health disaster. According to research, 35,000,813 people are living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Since the first incidence was reported in March 2020, on November 6, 2020, there have been a total of 349,822 cases of infection reported in KSA (or 0.99% of the population) (Al-Ahdal, 2020).
The other virus-positive individuals either self-quarantined at their residences or were admitted to hospitals because of acute sickness and breathing difficulties (Salam et al., 2022). This shows at what point in time KSA has performed well compared to the worldwide COVID-19 scenario, where some nations are still experiencing the epidemic, while others are beginning to show signs of recovery.
In the early stages of the epidemic, health officials in Saudi Arabia took several precautionary actions, resulting in a curfew throughout the whole nation, the closure of all borders, and the suspension of all flights and in-country transportation. Messages were regularly delivered to citizens and permanent residents on mobile devices and in various languages to advise them of information and safety precautions (Al-Ahdal, 2020). The Ministry of Health has issued recommendations in more than ten languages: for example, Arabic, English, and French.
All services, especially food and medication, could be delivered, which was communicated partly in translation to the public (Al-Ahdal, 2020). There have been mobile applications for basic self-testing, scheduling screenings, speaking with doctors, tracking contacts, and alerting those who have come into contact with persons who are coronavirus-infected, to mention a few. Therefore, as can be seen from the numbers and actions, the authorities were proactive and maintained cultural awareness regarding spreading the information.
The presence of COVID-19 in the country has been reduced in stages, first by early 2021 and then by April 2022. All residents had free access to testing, screening involving more than 8 million people, and hospitalization. The daily average of infected and death cases reported peaked on May 16, 2020, at 2,840, and then it began to decline (Al-Ahdal, 2020). The restrictions were to be lifted nationwide on May 31, 2020, except in Makkah, the Holy City, which would remain in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day (Alkhatnai, 2021). It involved the restart of domestic travel and inter- and intra-city commuting, the restoration of retail and small store operations, the resumption of office hours for all public and private personnel, and the reopening of mosques.
In a pandemic, multicultural and multilingual countries must provide their populations with correct translations. The epidemic has changed the perception of texts and the speed of their translation and publication, forcing communities to cooperate and act together according to the critical situation. English is a language of international communication and dominates many communities as a way of international dialogue.
During a pandemic, it became a way to set up an exchange of information and notify the population promptly about the current healthcare principles. For Saudi Arabia, the questions of how to organize and carry out the transfer of information support to the population are relevant. However, the problem arose for Saudi Arabia because it is a relatively closed state, and English is not widespread enough to become an official language (Alkhatnai, 2021). Language barriers were relevant to Saudi Arabia, leading to the problem of the difficulty of transmitting information to unprotected or small populations without access to resources in Arabic. Multiple translation services operate in the nation, ensuring multilingual awareness.
Cultural differences also lead to difficulties in interpreting texts, depending on which techniques were used in the translation. For example, a literal translation from Chinese to Arabic could completely change the facts and disrupt the correspondence between parts of sentences. Difficulties in translation arise in English: differences in constructions and grammar force the search for new ways of translation that are not available in a crisis. During a crisis, there is insufficient time to find the best solutions to resolve those differences (Abdelmajd, A. E. M., & Akan, 2018).
The problem may be that the population did not perceive the information received as credible because it was perceived as ridiculous (Shahata, 2020). A literal translation could completely change the structures of the messages and how the narrative is told, and replace terms with commonly used words (Akan et al., 2019). In such a case, the population would not understand the meaning of what was written. Combined with mistrust in the COVID-19 era, this is a critical situation for media and translation practice.
Conclusion
In conclusion, crisis translation is an essential subject with the potential to enhance disaster preparedness and mitigation. It focuses on the accurate and timely dissemination of vital information in the event of a wide-scale disruption to the normal flow of events. The relevance is ensuring that all people have access to vital information that can reduce danger and improve coping strategies.
During the COVID-19 crisis, there were various challenges, including the spread of false news, inaccurate translations, the death of administrative staff, and the scarcity of translators for vulnerable populations, among others. Therefore, ensuring that the disaster response team has well-trained translators with multicultural competencies is vital.
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