Communicating health-related risks to non-Arabic-speakers in Qatar: policies and practices

Abstract

This study examines policies adopted by the government of Qatar for the communication of essential information during crises, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, to residents who do not speak Arabic–the official language of Qatar. A set of relevant official documents are examined for their discussion and utilisation of ‘translation’ and related activities and policies, including Qatar’s policies on the use of Arabic as an official language and its efforts to improve multilingual communication in published laws, regulations, and policies. Additionally, the utilisation of social media by Qatari authorities to disseminate essential COVID-19 information to non-Arabic-speaking residents is assessed: information from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posted by six official bodies is used to assess public engagement and interaction (shares, likes, retweets, replies, and comments) with COVID-19-related posts. The study finds that translation and other methods related to multilingual communication are not unambiguously defined in Qatar’s crisis management policies. The Qatari government needs to formulate more effective methods for using translation on social media as an emergency management tool to communicate with non-Arabic speaking residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.