Translation and interpreting in disaster situations

Disasters negatively affect the health and wellbeing of those who experience them. People communicate with each other to prepare for, respond to, and recover from these effects. In a context of linguistic and cultural diversity, this communication may involve translation and interpreting. Therefore, the study of translation and interpreting in disasters is worthwhile for an understanding of translation and health, especially because the future is likely to bring more disasters that will cut across linguistic, cultural and regional boundaries. This chapter reviews research on language, culture, translation and interpreting in a variety of disaster settings. It explains the potential of translation and interpreting to unlock the knowledge and participation of local communities in disasters, improve their decision-making and risk awareness and achieve equity, justice and dignity. It also reveals common characteristics of translation and interpreting in the disasters studied – including their ad hoc, local, and voluntary nature, as well as the importance of cultural issues – and recommends future avenues for research