A linguistic dimension of the Butterfly-Effect in emergency communication
Can a butterfly in Chicago cause a tornado in Hong Kong? A metaphorical concept called the ‘Butterfly-Effect’ describes the sensitivity of a system to minor changes. The use of this concept has grown significantly in many technical fields, such as IT and computer science. We wondered if it was applicable to emergency communications.
As part of a recently published study, we interviewed bilingual migrants in Florida. Looking at data from nine languages besides English, we noticed how minor deviations in translation can cause significant differentials in understanding. And such misunderstandings can have catastrophic consequences.
Many migrants to the U.S. do not arrive with a clear understanding of the basic hazard terms – such as ‘hurricane’ and ‘tornado’ – used by local weather channels and in emergency communications. In the absence of institutional support to consider complex linguistic differences, there are few options but direct translation.
This is a simmering public health issue, with clear equity implications. Though our study took place on a college campus, the problem runs much deeper.
When direct translation doesn’t work
While people in the U.S use the word ‘Hurricane’, other geographical locations use the words ‘Cyclone’ and ‘Typhoon’. The difference between the three is down to where the storm originates - they are the same natural phenomenon.
The word ‘Hurricane’ assumes a certain cultural context around the world. This is mainly due to the U.S government’s narrative around hurricanes, and how this is covered in the U.S media. Because of this migrants from India might assume that hurricanes are more destructive than cyclones. They can compare the U.S government response to hurricanes to the Indian government response to cyclones.
If this assumption is made, risk perception is altered. The knock-on effect is that human behavior toward the exact same natural phenomena is altered. Is it not as important to prepare for cyclones as for hurricanes?
The problem is even more complicated when we consider additional languages. For example, the words ‘Tornado’ and ‘Twister’ are used interchangeably in the U.S, but in Spanish, they are not. In Spanish, ‘Tornado’ is translated to ‘Tornado’, while ‘Twister’ is translated to ‘Torbellino’ or ‘Tromba’, which is translated back to English as ‘Whirlwind’. This is similar to the translation ‘Kardbad’ in Persian, which also means a ‘Whirlwind’.
These translations fail to reflect the severity of the hazard, and ultimately the level of risk to humans.
A similar issue appears in Arabic. The two words ‘Tornado’ and ‘Hurricane’ are translated into the same Arabic word, ‘Iiesar’. This word describes a circular movement of wind. The term used in Arabic to describe a hurricane is ‘Iiesar Bahri’, which is translated back to English as ‘Sea Cyclone’.
There is even more confusion if the word ‘Typhoon’ is used. While ‘Typhoon’ and ‘Cyclone’ have the same meaning in English, they do not in Arabic. ‘Typhoon’ has an Arabic origin ‘Tawaphan’, but the word in Arabic means ‘Flooding’. The word also can be found in Persian ‘Tophan’, but here it means a ‘Rainstorm’. The word exists in Hindi as well ‘Toophan’, and here it simply means a ‘Storm’.
The problems do not end with ‘hurricane’ and ‘tornado’. We found similar issues arising with terms used to describe seismic activates and monsoonal dust and sand storms. And we are only scratching the surface. This data is limited to nine languages out of more than 7,100 spoken languages around the world.
Towards more inclusive and equitable emergency communication
Our data demonstrates that emergency communication needs to become more equitable and culturally aware. The gaps that we have observed can cause linguistic minorities to confuse one natural hazard with another, quite possibly leading to the wrong preventive measures.
The disadvantage caused - or indeed harm - may be unintentional. But the act of translating with sensitivity for the ‘periphery’ (non-English) should be seen as an act of solidarity.
Beyond overcoming mistranslation issues, there are opportunities to promote inclusive and equitable disaster preparedness. In the U.S. 67 million people speak a foreign language in their homes.
The provision of emergency communication translations into other languages spoken in the U.S. is already widespread. But without understanding the use of words in their original cultural context, translation itself can fail to convey the intended meaning.