Soon after the new coronavirus infections was discovered, Chinese government sent more than 42 thousand medical personnel, which included national army medical teams, to 16 cities including Wuhan city in Hubei Province. We saw the Chinese words like \u201c\u6297\u75ab(fight with infections)\u201c\u3001\u201d\u63f4\u6e56\u5317\u201d(assist Hubei), “\u6700\u524d\u7dda\uff08forefront\uff09\u201d\u3001\u201d\u51fa\u5f81(go to the front)\u201c in mass media and slogans of each medical teams. Mass media reported repeatedly that medical personnel were sent to the \u201cfront\u201d (Hubei province) and was being prepared for \u201cfighting\u201d against infections. People nationwide were strained.<\/p>\n
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There was another \u201cwar\u201d actually besides the \u201ccorona\u201d. The \u201clanguage war\u201d.\u00a0 Languages are strong \u201cweapons\u201d which are indispensable in daily lives and in social activities. But medical personnel, who were sent to Hubei, had difficulties in languages. Because there were a lot of elderly persons who spoke dialects which medical personnel baffled. Both sides could not communicate with each other\u2019s and medical care was hindered.<\/p>\n
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As you may know, there are 56 races in the Chinese main\u3000land and you may understand there are a lot of dialects also. What I like to draw attention point out here is there are big differences among such dialects, except for few dialects, is standard Mandarin. It is said that they could not communicate each other in the past when they have crossed a mountain. People in Japan, where standard Japanese language is popular, may not be able to believe in such situation. We can say that standard Chinese language are not prevailing in the whole area in China. People, who weren\u2019t had school education, cannot speak standard language. Especially, in the pandemic, elderly people who did not had school education or people who spoke only local dialects had difficulties in communicating with the people who came from other areas.<\/p>\n
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There are three dialects in Hubei province. Southwestern Mandarin, Lower Yangtze Mandarin and Gan Mandarin. These three dialects are divided to smaller dialects. Medical teams, who were sent to Hubei Province, engaged in their medical treatment divided into nine areas.<\/p>\n
Four areas in Southwestern Mandarin speaking area (Wuhan, Jingzhou, Yichang, and Xianyang), three areas in Lower Yangtze Mandarin area (Xiaogan, Huangshi, and Ezhiu), Huanggang dialect area and Xianning dialect area where they speak Gan dialect. Medical personnel could not understand such dialects and that affected treatment.\u00a0 And patient could not answer the questions which medical staves asked and answered in local dialect as they do not know standard Mandarin.<\/p>\n
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When the medical team of Qilu Hospital in Shandong University arrived Huangang City, they realized difference of language. A nurse Mr. Z. started \u201cself-help\u201d because he realized communication difficulties between medical staffs and patients and affected to their medical efficaciousness.\u00a0 He completed \u201cCommunication Book between Medical Staffs and Patients\u201d on February 1 and put it to practical use at the Medical Center in Dabie-shan\u3000area. \u00a0Mr. G. who belonged to the fifth medical team in the hospital and arrived at Wuhan on February 9, realized also language problem and completed \u201cWuhan Dialect Practical Hand Book\u201d \uff08\u300e\u56fd\u5bb6\u63f4\u9102\u533b\u7642\u968a\u6b66\u6f22\u65b9\u8a00\u5b9f\u7528\u624b\u518c\u300f\uff09, under cooperation of doctors and other university staff member in Wuhan, within 48 hours after his arriving at Wuhan. They used it immediately.<\/p>\n
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Mr. Li Yu-ming, Language Resources High-precision Innovation Center in Beijing, came to know that medical team in the hospital, have edited \u201cWuhan Dialect Practical Handbook\u201d \uff08\u300e\u6297\u6483\u75ab\u60c5\u6e56\u5317\u65b9\u8a00\u901a\u300f\uff09. And he organized a service team named \u201cLanguage Service Team for Fighting Infections\u201d under cooperation with Universities, research institutions and enterprises and completed, in only three days, a \u201ctool\u201d named \u201cWuhan Dialects for CORONA Infectious Control\u201d. This handbook introduced translation and conversation between nine dialects in Hubei Province and standard Mandarin.\u00a0 It contains 156 vocabularies and 75 sentences which are used in infection control and medical treatment. He gave this handbook to medical personnel in the \u201cforefront\u201d and to patients.<\/p>\n
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There are various \u201ctools\u201d for language problem at medical sites. Web-Site- Net-Version, On-Line Telephone, Telephone Counseling, Net Text etc.<\/p>\n
DUB (data under voice) and Micro Video are always reproduced. We have \u201cWeChat\u201d version too. In this \u201ctool\u201d, everybody can start sound reproduction system by scanning QR cord and listen sound broad casting so that sentences spoken by standard Mandarin and dialects can correspond.<\/p>\n
Moreover, \u201cFusion Media Pocket Book\u201d is printed in the style of pocketbook and \u201cTikTok\u201d version is also prepared. Beside such tools, there contains various software like dialect translation software, voice sending software by intelligent, telephone medical assistant robots, and retrieval site by the company \u201cQihoo 360\uff08Technology\uff09\u201d which can confirm whether it is a mere rumor or not. The government of Hubei province and Wuhan city offered video simultaneous interpretation service to overcome \u201clanguage\u201d problems. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Utilizing such printed matters, they established \u201cForeign Language for Corona Control\u201c\u3001and \u201cEasy Chinese Language for Corona Control\u201d\u3000\uff08\u300e\u75ab\u60c5\u9632\u63a7\u5916\u8a9e\u901a\u300f\uff09and offered to medical sites and foreigners. It is said that \u201cEasy Chinese language\u201d \uff08\u300e\u75ab\u60c5\u9632\u63a7\u201c\u7c21\u660e\u6f22\u8a9e\u201d\u300f\uff09 was made getting a hint from \u201cEasy Japanese language\u201d which are given to foreigners in Japan. More than 500 people and a lot of organizations and types of industry are involved in participation of \u201cdisaster language service\u201d by \u201cLanguage Service Team for Fighting Infection\u201d.<\/p>\n
We understand now that huge number of people, not only medical personnel but people, who belong to other fields than medical field, involved in medical countermeasure and offered \u201cdisaster language service\u201d.<\/p>\n
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