Are Citizen Science “Socials” Multilingual? Lessons in (Non)translation from Zooniverse

Abstract

Few studies outside Translation Studies examine the presence and role of translation in the social media landscape, particularly beyond the “big” players (e.g., Facebook; Twitter)—as if the exchange of content occurs seamlessly in these inherently multilingual and multicultural contexts. This study examines a distinct social platform (“Zooniverse”) that links academe and citizen scientists. The chapter examines how and to what effect translation is mobilized to produce and disseminate (scientific) knowledge on social platforms/social media. This research builds on previous work investigating the motivations of volunteer translators in citizen science, but it is distinct in its methodology: instead of examining volunteer motivations, the focus is on the presence (or lack thereof), as well as the role(s) and effect(s) of translation in relation to linguistic representation, knowledge production, and knowledge dissemination.

Translation and Social Media Communication in the Age of the Pandemic

“…The Filipino Facebook groups initially created by Cargill employees, for example, were helpful in tipping reporters to a lack of multilingual communication at the plant and within larger communities. This is why the theoretical lens of translational justice/linguistic justice (De Schutter 2017;McDonough Dolmaya 2020;Desjardins 2021a) is appropriate for this study. Language and translation policy inform practice, behaviour and output, and provide a sense of what citizens can expect.…”

Translation and social media communication in the age of the pandemic

“…The Filipino Facebook groups initially created by Cargill employees, for example, were helpful in tipping reporters to a lack of multilingual communication at the plant and within larger communities. This is why the theoretical lens of translational justice/linguistic justice (De Schutter 2017;McDonough Dolmaya 2020;Desjardins 2021a) is appropriate for this study. Language and translation policy inform practice, behaviour and output, and provide a sense of what citizens can expect.…”

Citizen Science and Social Innovation: Mutual Relations, Barriers, Needs, and Development Factors

“…While some research has been carried out on translation in citizen science projects (Michalak, 2015;Desjardins, 2021) and a Citizen Science Translation Hub was launched (Sheppard, 2020), there is still very little academic understanding of transcultural issues of citizen science and social innovation, especially with regard to the aspect of translation. Based on a case study, this paper explores the ways in which translation is used to meet the needs of the contributing participants and the extent to which translation in citizen science projects can bring social innovation.…”

“…In comparison to other citizen science directories or project platforms, Zooniverse allows users to directly work on the Zooniverse platform without being directed to the project website or having to work outside Zooniverse. Zooniverse is therefore an interesting research object for translation scholars, allowing for translation flow analysis and social media analysis (Desjardins, 2021).…”