The Languages of Hong Kong's International Crisis Relief Response

Providing timely and necessary assistance in the context of international crisis relief depends on the linguistic access to aid. This means, in most cases, the provision of translation and interpreting services between relief organisations and disaster affected communities. Recent studies have proven that translation in the humanitarian sector happens directly from English or using English (and to a lesser degree other languages such as French, Arabic, and Portuguese) as intermediary language to distribute humanitarian and development aid to the local population that does not speak English. In the context of Hong Kong relief organisations, often communication with local crises-affected communities happens through an intermediary partner organisation in the country that is the recipient of the relief. This study will investigate translation practices of Hong Kong-based humanitarian organisations when providing crisis relief aid to local communities affected by disasters around the world. It aims to examine the use of English as an intermediary language in crisis relief distribution.