Crowdsourcing translation as a policy: with reference to citizen translation

Abstract

Crowdsourcing translation has become an increasingly important trend in both of the practice and study of translation. This thesis examines the status of Citizen Translator program in Singapore, a newly-launched crowdsourcing translation project in 2020, aiming at enhancing government-general public communication in a multilingual city-state. Initiated by the Ministry of Communication and Information (MCI) of the country, the program serves as a policy, involving translation professionals as well as untrained bilingual talents, who are both organized by the MCI under the program. In analysing the development of Citizen Translator initiative in Singapore, by a descriptive and interpretive approach, the study also offers a comparative perspective on the cases in New Zealand and Australia. It is found that the program faces several issues that needs to be addressed and therefore proposals are made to meet the challenges.