Discursive construction in multilingual crisis risk communication: An analysis of ‘A letter to foreign nationals’ messages in China’s COVID-19 fight

Abstract

This article examines the discursive construction of a specific letter-style multilingual crisis message released by local governmental institutions during China’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a sociocognitive analysis of a collection of 33 English-language messages, the analysis revealed the structural features of the message and the discursive strategies in constructing and negotiating the identities of the message’s addresser and the addressee. It was found that the discursive relationship between the addresser and the addressee was established on an ingroup-outgroup distinction mediated by neutralising strategies to reduce authoritative imposition and image-enhancing strategies to promote a responsible government. The findings suggest that multilingual crisis communication is a multivocal, complex social practice shaped by genre, textual, media and contextual factors. These findings will provide insights into the crisis discourse as an emerging topic of interest and help inform multilingual communication strategies in and beyond the context of a public health emergency.

Sentiment analysis of tweets and government translations: Assessing China’s post-COVID-19 landscape for signs of withering or booming

“…The result NaN represents an extraordinarily positive or enthusiastic tone in the source text. However, the translation process involves various complexities, such as adaptations, tensions, and innovations, as discussed in prior research (Chen, 2022; Lu, 2021; Zeng & Li, 2020). The English target text yielded a sentiment score of 0.1 using TextBlob, falling within the positive sentiment range of −1 to 1.…”

“…Additionally, interpreters’ institutional roles and public narratives can substantially affect mediation (Chase, 2019; Li & Xu, 2018; Liao & Pan, 2018). Despite these obstacles, the crucial role of translation in providing access to information during crisis communication is undeniable (Chen, 2022; Lu, 2021; Zeng & Li, 2020). Reflecting upon these findings, the researchers propose the following research question:…”