Amidst the chaos of everything that is happening right now, many of us are, hopefully, realizing how undervalued certain jobs have been and wanting to do something about it. From health-workers in the USA not having the necessary equipment, to grocery clerks still needing to go to work without getting hazard pay, and figuring out how to keep teachers and therapists doing their job, all of society’s roles need to re-assessed and valued for their true worth.
We Must Thoroughly Investigate the Language of the Messages That Reach Us About the Coronavirus
Grocery store clerks and medical staff everywhere are being called heroes or given free t-shirts “for their service”. However, more than a free t-shirt and superlatives, they need to be paid what they deserve for the work they are doing in a time of crisis. Likewise, we need to look at what other aspects of our system can be harmful and how spread this harm without realizing it. Let us look at the role of that of the translator. As information and misinformation gets spread around, many of the world’s less wealthy countries are getting the worst of what is out there.
Conspiracy theories, religious doctrine, and incorrect so-called “holistic” approaches will do more harm than good. The people in control of the information that want to release it to an audience that speaks another language that is not English or Chinese, should also make sure that is correctly translated to said language.
Fearmongering and the Privilege of Language During the Coronavirus
A lot of the information is coming out from Italy and China first, and this information is being translated to English while leaving vulnerable communities out of the loop and subject to conspiracy theories and other misinformation (no, garlic will not cure the coronavirus). While it is already difficult to know who to trust right now when fear-mongering is used by the media to control us, there are model citizens doing their best to get correctly sourced information available to populations that do not have the same access to the internet as other nations might.
Translators out there might be doing it for free out of the goodness of their heart, but that does not mean that they have access to the most valid and urgent information. Many people are unfortunately resorting to free apps to translate the information, trusting that it will get the message across, not realizing how one sentence can misrepresent an entire text, and how delicate it is to consider cultural context.
It is crucial for business to hire translators of ALL languages to translate important and valid information to reduce the risk of vulnerable communities getting run over by misinformation. Individual educators should seek out translators that are efficient in their job to make sure that delicate information is shared as efficiently as possible to the whole world.
As we consume information, we must all be weary of where the sources are coming from and if they have our best interest at heart. We should also be weary when sharing this information. Those of us that have the monetary power to pay fair wages right now absolutely should. As a planet, we cannot afford to undervalue ourselves and each other right now. The way we spread information, much like the virus, can do a lot of harm if we do not take the correct precautionary measures. Writers, journalists, and translators should band together to make sure reports and advice are received by as many people as possible.
Should I Hire a Translator To Ensure the Correct Use of Language During the Coronavirus?
Are you writing an important article with crucial and correctly sourced information? Is your business in charge of releasing material to the masses? Are you someone with access to educational information and you would like to share this knowledge with as many people as possible? Get in touch with Paladria and let’s build a team of translators to spread the wealth of knowledge to as many people as possible in as many languages. As a writer or a sponsor of information, we salute your role in the community. As translators, we hope you value our work too.
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