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The Double-Edged Sword of Language: Empowerment and Precarity for Interpreters in a Chinese Border Hospital

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Title: The Double-Edged Sword of Language: Empowerment and Precarity for Interpreters in a Chinese Border Hospital
Language: English
Authors: Jia Li (ORCID 0000-0002-3391-5720), Mengyi Luo, Jinhyun Cho (ORCID 0000-0002-4185-0592), Jie Zhang (ORCID 0000-0002-3979-7032)
Source: Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication. 2026 45(2):147-173.
Availability: De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Multilingualism, Language Usage, Translation, Hospitals, Language Proficiency, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Empowerment, Political Issues, Social Influences, Economic Factors
Geographic Terms: China, Vietnam
DOI: 10.1515/multi-2025-0168
ISSN: 0167-8507
1613-3684
Abstract: China's borderlands represent an ideal space for examining the ways in which multilingualism is socially experienced, enacted and exploited. This critical ethnography examines the lived experiences of five Vietnamese-Mandarin interpreters at a Chinese hospital bordering Vietnam. Drawing on the concept of alternative language regimes, we demonstrate that Vietnamese proficiency, while creating a crucial niche for employment and mobility, simultaneously functions as a mechanism for entrenching precarity. Specifically, Vietnamese proficiency provides interpreters with a competitive edge in securing a job and maximizing cross-border mobility. However, the convertibility of Vietnamese language remains largely speculative, which entails a high degree of self-investment and precarious forms of labor. We argue that Vietnamese as an alternative language regime relegates interpreters to a highly uneven distribution of symbolic and material precarity in the cross-border medical market. The study offers a nuanced understanding of how language functions as both a resource and a site of constraint within the geoeconomic dynamics of China's evolving borderlands. It contributes to the emerging scholarship on alternative language regimes in regulating migrant labor and distributing medical resources in the China-Vietnam borderlands and beyond.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1500056
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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IllustrationInfo
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  Data: The Double-Edged Sword of Language: Empowerment and Precarity for Interpreters in a Chinese Border Hospital
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jia+Li%22">Jia Li</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3391-5720">0000-0002-3391-5720</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mengyi+Luo%22">Mengyi Luo</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jinhyun+Cho%22">Jinhyun Cho</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4185-0592">0000-0002-4185-0592</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jie+Zhang%22">Jie Zhang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3979-7032">0000-0002-3979-7032</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Multilingua%3A+Journal+of+Cross-Cultural+and+Interlanguage+Communication%22"><i>Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication</i></searchLink>. 2026 45(2):147-173.
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  Data: De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 27
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Usage%22">Language Usage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Translation%22">Translation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hospitals%22">Hospitals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Proficiency%22">Language Proficiency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnamese%22">Vietnamese</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mandarin+Chinese%22">Mandarin Chinese</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empowerment%22">Empowerment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Issues%22">Political Issues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Influences%22">Social Influences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Economic+Factors%22">Economic Factors</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
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  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vietnam%22">Vietnam</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1515/multi-2025-0168
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  Data: 0167-8507<br />1613-3684
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: China's borderlands represent an ideal space for examining the ways in which multilingualism is socially experienced, enacted and exploited. This critical ethnography examines the lived experiences of five Vietnamese-Mandarin interpreters at a Chinese hospital bordering Vietnam. Drawing on the concept of alternative language regimes, we demonstrate that Vietnamese proficiency, while creating a crucial niche for employment and mobility, simultaneously functions as a mechanism for entrenching precarity. Specifically, Vietnamese proficiency provides interpreters with a competitive edge in securing a job and maximizing cross-border mobility. However, the convertibility of Vietnamese language remains largely speculative, which entails a high degree of self-investment and precarious forms of labor. We argue that Vietnamese as an alternative language regime relegates interpreters to a highly uneven distribution of symbolic and material precarity in the cross-border medical market. The study offers a nuanced understanding of how language functions as both a resource and a site of constraint within the geoeconomic dynamics of China's evolving borderlands. It contributes to the emerging scholarship on alternative language regimes in regulating migrant labor and distributing medical resources in the China-Vietnam borderlands and beyond.
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: EJ1500056
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        Value: 10.1515/multi-2025-0168
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 27
        StartPage: 147
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Multilingualism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Usage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Translation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hospitals
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Proficiency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vietnamese
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mandarin Chinese
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Empowerment
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      – SubjectFull: Political Issues
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      – SubjectFull: Social Influences
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      – SubjectFull: Economic Factors
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      – SubjectFull: China
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vietnam
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Double-Edged Sword of Language: Empowerment and Precarity for Interpreters in a Chinese Border Hospital
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