Linguistic Minorities and Crisis Communication: Assessing the Contribution of Real-Time Machine-Translated Instant Messaging During a Cascading Crisis

• Published in: SAGE open Vol. 14; no. 4
• Main Authors: Tekwa, Kizito, Liu, Jessica Jiexiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2024; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Behavior Theories; COVID-19; Information seeking behavior; Instant messaging; Interviews; Language Minorities; Linguistics; Pandemics; Perceptions; Questionnaires; Semi Structured Interviews; Structured Interviews; China; COVID-19; machine translation (MT); instant messaging (IM); crisis information; linguistic minority community
• ISSN: 2158-2440; 2158-2440
• DOI: 10.1177/21582440241301126

This study investigates the role of machine-translated instant messaging (IM) during a cascading crisis, taking foreigners, who constitute the linguistic minority community in China, as the participants. Informed by the information-seeking behavior theory, the study assesses the extent to which participants machine-translated pandemic-related IMs they received via WeChat, the popular IM platform in China and their perception of the quality of translated IMs. From a cultural perspective, the study evaluates the language and timing of the messages as well as the degree of integration of foreigners into the pandemic messaging apparatus. Based on data gathered via a questionnaire (430 respondents) and semi-structured interviews (15 interviewees), it was found that participants overwhelmingly machine-translated pandemic and non-pandemic-related IMs and perceived the quality to be good. In contrast, they had an unfavorable perception of the timing and tone of IMs, as well as their extent of involvement in the crisis information apparatus. Based on the findings, recommendations are proposed to better integrate members of linguistic minority communities, especially those with knowledge of the mainstream language, into crisis information management. Plain language summary Purpose The study investigates machine-translated instant messaging (IM) use by linguistic minorities during a cascading health crisis. Based on the information-seeking behavior theory and taking foreigners, who are the linguistic minority community in China, as the subject of investigation, the study assesses if participants machine-translated the pandemic-related IMs they received via WeChat, what they thought about the quality, and, culturally, whether they felt integrated into the pandemic messaging apparatus. Methods A mixed method, consisting of analyzing data from a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, was adopted in the study. The questionnaire was completed by 430 foreigners living in China and 15 interviewees. Conclusions It was found that participants overwhelmingly machine-translated pandemic-related IMs, mostly into English, perceived the quality to be acceptable, and believed the ability to translate IMs influenced compliance with COVID-19 protocols. However, they believed that the timing of crisis information was inappropriate, that IM language lacked empathy, and that they were not integrated into the pandemic messaging structure. Implications The study demonstrated that machine-translated IM can be relied upon in crises, where human translators are not readily available to ensure information reaches linguistic minority communities. Recommendations are suggested to ensure that authorities factor in the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of minorities during crises. Limitations The authors did not analyze real IMs disseminated during COVID-19, hence the analysis is based on perceptions and interviews. Furthermore, the study did not include foreigners in China who are fluent in Chinese and did not need to translate the IMs they received.