I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, an Affiliate Lecturer in the Department of Human Centred Computing at Monash University. I was Associate Editor of the journal Interpreting and Society - An Interdisciplinary Journal (Sept. 2021 - Aug. 2023) and a member of the editorial board of the journal (Sept. 2023 - present).  

To cite: Yu, C. or Yu, Chuan 

Also known as: Clara Chuan Yu

My research is situated at the intersection of translation studies, anthropology, and media and communication studies. I have been conducting anthropologically informed ethnography to investigate the processes of human-to-human and human-to-machine collaborative translation, the networks developed through shared practices, and the identities of the human agents involved. My recent work explores the linguistically and culturally mediated communication needs of marginalised populations in the context of globalisation and migration. I primarily employ ethnography, but I also utilise digital research methods in my studies.

In my book (Yu 2022), I tackle the increasingly influential collaborative translation phenomenon, with special reference to China. I employ the unique perspective of an ethnographer to explore how citizen translators work together as they select, translate, edit and polish translations. My area of particular interest is the burgeoning yet notably distinctive world of the Chinese internet, where the digital media ecology is with Chinese characteristics.