Navigating crisis

This Wimmelbild is an ideal visual translation of the findings gained in the project “Multilingualism in a public health crisis”, conducted at the Research Centre on Multilingualism (2021–2024). After all, only after taking a closer look is it possible to unravel the profusion of communication and translation activities generated already at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Governmental authorities, NGOs, and grassroots organizations alike commissioned translations during the crisis. As a result, translators were under constant pressure to deliver work fast, while the fluid situation meant translations had to be updated on an ongoing basis.

Translation is often associated with values such as inclusion, equal opportunity, and solidarity. In reality, however, black-and-white selection criteria are largely what determine translation processes, with statutory provisions and statistics often dictating which target languages are chosen for translation. Available resources are also a determining factor – as are preconceived notions about the language communities being addressed. This latter point is seen in the fact that content from the national coronavirus campaign translated into migrant languages mainly concerns information and directives for safeguarding public health (in particular, social distancing and hygiene rules), while information and forms for receiving financial support (compensation for loss of earnings) were provided almost exclusively in Switzerland’s three official languages. Here, people acting as intermediaries (often individuals with an immigration background from non-governmental organizations) stepped in to provide fast, unbureaucratic, albeit non-professional translations, often with the help of translation apps. However, this solution also tended to reinforce a certain “naturalization” of the volunteers’ multilingual competencies; it also underscored the fact that these services are rarely compensated.

During the pandemic, the work of medical staff became more visible in the public eye, yet language services delivered by professionals and laypersons alike remained largely unseen. However, despite the lack of public perception, an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes translation work was carried out.

Navigating the poster

This poster represents segments of Swiss society during the Covid crisis. Communicating in multiple national languages and foreign languages is often more complicated than one might imagine. Click on areas of the poster to zoom in on specific situations and discover the challenges of communication in times of crisis. The texts are available in FR/DE/EN/IT (see top right). Under each situation description, you will find links that lead to similar situations.

Details on data, methods, and results are available in the project report: LINK →