Abstract This paper examines the multilingual translation efforts of a group of university student volunteers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of the volunteer team leader, team members, and a local community health worker. Findings identified time constraints, limited language proficiency, and limited technical knowledge as the major challenges confronting the university volunteers. In order to overcome the challenges, they worked in close collaboration and used translingual and network strategies to facilitate prompt and high-quality crisis translation. Findings suggest that foreign language university students in local universities may serve as readily available multilingual resources and can be mobilized in prompt response to the grassroots multilingual needs of the local community in times of crisis. The paper ends with implications for measures and strategies to enhance effective emergency language service and crisis communication for global multilingual cities.

中文翻译：

---

动员外语学生在上海进行多语言危机翻译

摘要本文研究了在上海发生COVID-19爆发期间一群大学生志愿者的多语言翻译工作。通过对志愿者团队负责人，团队成员和当地社区卫生工作者的半结构化访谈收集数据。调查结果确定了时间限制，有限的语言能力和有限的技术知识，这是大学志愿者面临的主要挑战。为了克服挑战，他们紧密合作，并使用了跨语言和网络策略来促进及时，高质量的危机翻译。研究结果表明，本地大学的外语大学生可以作为随时可用的多语种资源，并可以在危机时期迅速调动当地社区对基层多语种需求的反应。本文最后对为全球多语言城市增强有效的紧急语言服务和危机沟通的措施和策略产生了影响。