Translation as resistance

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic saw a sharp rise in social media communication trafficking in divisive stereotypes. The article traces and analyzes the translingual and cross-cultural dialogues around the racist term “Chinese virus” on Twitter and its Chinese counterpart, Weibo. For that purpose, a corpus of online translated texts related to the dissemination and reception of “Chinese virus” was constructed. Analysis found that the strategies of transliteration, literal translation, hybrid translation, acronyms, semiotic translation and coinage were used by Chinese netizens to engage in active resistance against racism. Through the improvisational use of the semiotic resources of different languages, resistance strategies emerged in active online translingual and cross-cultural communication, challenging and even de-centering English-language hegemony, and empowering voices against anti-Chinese racism during the pandemic. Translation as a venue for both racism and anti-racism, however, is evident in the increased occurrence of language violence and the rise of nationalism and xenophobia.