Lifei Wang, School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University
Jiangwei Sun, School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University
Jie Ren, School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University
Yongye Meng, Institute of Language Services, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities
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Editor’s note: In our series of language aspects of the COVID-19 crisis, we today switch perspectives away from health communication to the economy: how is the crisis affecting translation and interpreting service providers, as well as other language services? Findings from a survey of Chinese language service providers conducted at the end of February provide some preliminary insights.
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Language services are a thriving industry in China but have been hit hard by the corona crisis
As an emerging service industry, China’s language services industry has grown quickly in the last decade into a sizable industry which provides different kinds of services and products to facilitate multilingual and cross-cultural exchanges (Luo et al., 2018). By estimation of the Translators Association of China, in June 2018, there were 320,874 language-related enterprises in China, among which 9,652 are specialized in language services and translation. In 2018, the total output value of China’s LSPs reached 35.93 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 10% (Translators Association of China, 2019).
How has this burgeoning language services industry been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?
To provide relevant information to stakeholders and offer language service providers (LSPs) helpful suggestions, the Academy of Global Language Services Sciences (AGLSS), and the School of Translation and Interpreting(STI), Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) , and the Institute of Language Services, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities (HBUN) jointly launched a survey to assess the impact of the epidemic on LSPs in China. The joint team started the survey of companies specializing in language services throughout the nation in the form of online questionnaires on February 23, and surveyed 113 LSPs by February 25.
The following provides an overview of some of the results.
Composition of the survey participants
Participants of the survey comprise 113 language service firms from the Chinese mainland, including eight state-owned enterprises (SOEs), 14 joint-stock companies, 89 private companies, and two foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs). 31.86% of the surveyed LSPs have more than 100 employees, and 68.14% have less than 100 employees. About one-third of the total number have a staff of less than 20 persons. The data are basically in line with the composition of LSPs in China.
In terms of main business, 76.11% of the surveyed companies provide mainly translation and interpretation services, followed by those engaged in localization services (35.40%) and in language technology services (32.74%). Those in R&D of software, consulting services, and foreign language training have a relatively low proportion, accounting for 23.01%, 19.47%, and 17.70%, respectively. In terms of the scope of services, most of the companies offer a package of services, covering interpretation, translation, localization and language technology services.
Orderly resumption of operation
Our findings show that over 90% of companies had resumed work through telecommuting, and nearly half had started work in-office by the survey date. Most of the companies resumed operation to a large degree through the Internet, cloud-based computer aided translation (CAT) platforms, and online business management systems. The resumption rate of work through telecommuting exceeded 90%. Only 3.54% of the firms chose to suspend their business. Conversely, 4.42% reported 100 percent staff back at work in the office; all of these firms are in the provinces of Jiangsu, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Shandong, which had good control of the epidemic and were less severely impacted. They include two SOEs, one joint-stock company, and two private companies.
53.98% of the surveyed LSPs required all their employees to start work from home. Through checking on work attendance and holding video conferences regularly, they actively carry out online production for self-help and overcome the adverse effects caused by the epidemic. In some less-affected areas, due to a contraction of business, 19.47% of the LSPs required only a part of their staff back to work in the office, and 15.04% choose to work through telecommuting with part-time attendance.
It is evident that companies in the language service sector, as largely supported by internet and information technology, have the advantage of being able to conduct online business under the stress of the epidemic. They have relatively strong capability to respond to emergencies compared with the business model of physical stores, and therefore, COVID-19 has had limited impact on them.
Contributing to the fight against COVID-19
It is worth noting that more than 70% of the LSPs surveyed had contributed to the fight against the epdidemic in various forms and to different extents. Specifically, 46.02% of them provide online interpretation and translation services; 13% even offer on-site interpretation services in the epidemic-hit areas at great risk, showing the spirit of selflessness and dedication.
In addition, 23.01% provide language services related to overseas donations; 16.81% offer consulting services to foreigners. A small part of the services are about epidemic-related training and the R&D of anti-epidemic mobile products. For example, following instructions issued by the Ministry of Education, a 40+ strong “Language Service Corps”, comprising professionals from Transn, one of the country’s leading LSPs, and several higher education institutions such as BLCU and other organizations, has developed online platforms and a mobile app, Hubei Dialect Guidebook, to help medical workers from other parts of the country who do not understand Hubei dialects.
As COVID-19 spread quickly from Wuhan to the rest of the nation, countries all over the world have assisted China in different ways to combat the coronavirus, and many overseas Chinese have donated money and supplies, which have created a growing demand for emergency language services. The LSPs in China, actively responding to the government’s call, have made use of their strength in providing specialized interpreting and translation services to support the battle against the epidemic and assume their social responsibilities.
Impacts of COVID-19 on the surveyed LSPs by business forms
Loss of business
Nearly 80% of participants were worried about a decline in business due to a sharp fall of on-site language services. The survey indicates that the operating income of the LSPs is closely related to that of their clients. With the spread of COVID-19 virus around the world, both domestic and international clients of language services are affected by the epidemic to varying degrees and face the risk of income decline. As a countermeasure, they are likely to cut their less urgent needs and lower the cost of urgent services.
According to the survey, 64.6% of the participants consider the “drop or loss of existing translation business” as the major challenge, as it will bring high uncertainty to their operation. Furthermore, “funds shortages” is also a bottleneck restricting the LSPs’ development (accounting for 42.48%).
China’s language services industry has a cup lid-shaped structure (China Language Service Industry Development Report, 2018); that is, 98% of companies in the industry have a registered capital of less than 10 million yuan, and are comparatively weak in fending off risks. A lesser concern are layoffs, resignation of employees, or breach of contracts by their partners, as the LSPs have sufficient supply of labor. During the epidemic prevention and control period, part-time employees and freelancers have a lot of free time, leading to an abundant supply or even oversupply of workforce.
The survey shows that the on-site business of LSPs has suffered a severe blow, as have on-site services or exchanges in other sectors, because of control measures like isolation, closed-off management, and lockdowns of cities. On-site interpretation is worst hit (62.83%), followed by public relations (PR) (52.21%), on-site translation (34.51%), and marketing (29.20%).
Hard-hit English language services
The survey finds that services related to English are struck hardest by the coronavirus epidemic, to a high rate of 67%, while the figure for services involving other languages is below 20%. This is mainly because more than 90% of Chinese LSPs are providing English-related services (China Language Service Industry Development Report, 2018), which are easily impacted by the strict restrictions imposed on China by English-speaking countries such as the United States and Australia.
It is estimated that the withdrawal of nationals, suspension of flights and issuance of visas and other restrictive measures will directly or indirectly hamper the development and cooperation of overseas business. Some English-speaking nations may stop or cancel deals with the language service firms in China, striking a heavy blow to English-related services.
It appears that the epidemic has much less influence on business related to other languages, but given the fact that such businesses overall take a small share and some companies do not have multilingual business at all, a rate of 13-17% is rather high.
Overall, the epidemic has had a large impact on the language services industry in China. Without strong support from central and local authorities, a number of companies might close down or go bankrupt, and a lot of people will lose their jobs. The relevant authorities, therefore, should pay close attention to the conditions of the businesses.
Post-epidemic recovery
Projected Impacts of COVID-19 on performance of the surveyed LSPs
According to the survey data, the coronavirus outbreak has hurt multiple activities of the surveyed businesses, affecting the communication between LSPs and clients by 51.33%, financial settlement by 46.9%, and contract signing by 40.71%. As a result, the operating income has dropped and liquidity has tightened. Nevertheless, by enhancing internal system building, the LSPs have remained strong in providing service solutions and delivering services. As long as the LSPs continue to strengthen their capacity building and keep good communication with their clients, they will surely recover business after the end of the epidemic.
The epidemic will eventually end and things will get back to normal, just as the winter has gone and the winter jasmine are in full bloom. People who go through the difficult time will continue their life with an even stronger will.
Businesses are making every effort to resume operation by themselves, but meanwhile, they hope to get help from the government. The survey data show that 75.22% of the participants expect tax reduction or exemption; 57.52% want to get rent reduction or exemption; 46.02% hope to receive job subsidies; 35.4% are eager for loans and financing.
As for aid directly related to fighting the virus, 38.05% want to receive masks and other protective supplies, and 20% need effective guidance on epidemic prevention and control to ensure the health of their staff.
Behind the data is the determination of companies to restore production and their general expectation for support from relevant government authorities and trade associations. To this end, we call for a joint action by the government, the public and the trade associations to help the businesses rise to the current challenges. At the same time, the companies themselves should also do what they can to pull themselves through.
Adjusting business models
More than 90% of companies surveyed put adjustment of business models on their agenda. Comprising mostly micro and small enterprises, the language service industry in China has been confronted with many problems.
The outbreak of COVID-19 brings these problems to the surface. They mainly relate to business portfolio (47.79%), crisis response (42.48%), capital chain (42.48%), and strategic planning (26.55%).
The disaster gives companies a chance to review the mix of their business and identify weak areas, and then to adjust their strategies and business models to meet the challenges posed by globalization and the 5G era. Efforts may include strengthening capacity building in risk tolerance, strategic planning, human resources, technology development, and crisis response.
The survey finds that 94% of the companies surveyed think it is necessary to change their business models, and 59.29% plan to improve the layout of online business. The participants also put the following issues on the agenda: improving efficiency and efficacy of telecommuting (52.21%), raising digital marketing capabilities (41.59%), increasing investment in intelligent technology and products (35.4%), and providing more remote services (38.94%). In this sense, the epidemic is not just a disaster, but a driving force to make companies seek changes, expand growth space, open up new business areas, and lead the digital era.
Conclusion and Suggestions
The survey results indicate that COVID-19 epidemic has had a huge impact on LSPs in China. The language services industry will face certain downturn pressure in the full year of 2020. The adverse spillover effect will surface in the second half of the year and pose severe threats to some companies. On the basis of the results of this survey, we put forward the following suggestions for China’s LSPs:
- Regions affected less by the disease should resume work as early as possible for self-help instead of overreacting or waiting too long. They should seize the day to minimize the losses and costs caused by the epidemic. Our recommendation is to conduct dynamic management based on real conditions and take business-specific measures. Through resuming operation in an orderly manner, companies are expected to sustain their activities to prevent “secondary disasters” like closure and layoff.
- As upstream or downstream companies to support the large enterprises, the LSPs under safe conditions should resume operation as early as possible to ensure the production restoration of big firms.
- Both the central and local governments have already introduced a slew of measures to help enterprises affected by the epidemic. Major incentives include reducing or exempting the social insurance payment for SMEs from February to June and halving such payment for large companies, among others. Nevertheless, to help businesses sustain production and operation, more flexible and targeted measures should be applied to reduce the financial burden on SMEs, including tax and fees cuts, financial support, and rent subsidies or reductions.
- The LSPs should endeavor to explore the market, seek new opportunities, and develop new business, with a view to turning the impact into an impetus for their growth. Efforts could be made to enhance strategic planning and carry out training on improving telecommuting ability for employees, changing business models, and improving layout of Internet-based business.
Acknowledgment
We record our sincere thanks to the people involved in translation and proofreading, and all the participants of this survey.
References
- 2018 China Language Service Industry Development Report. Beijing: Translators Association of China, 2018.
- Luo H, Meng Y, Lei Y, et al. China’s language services as an emerging industry. Babel, 2018, 64(3): 370-381.
- Translators Association of China, China academy of translation industry development strategies. 2019 China language service industry development report. Beijing: Translators Association of China, 2019.
About the authors
Lifei Wang is Professor in the School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University, China. His research interests include language services studies, business lingua franca, and applied linguistics.
Jiangwei Sun is a PhD candidate in the School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China. His research interests include language services studies and translation economics.
Jie Ren is a PhD candidate in the School of Translation and Interpreting, Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China. Her research interests include language services studies and business lingua franca.
Yongye Meng, PhD graduate from the University of International Business and Economics, is Dean of Institute of Language Services, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities in Chengde, China. His research interests include language services and internationalization of standards.
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To view the full Language-on-the-Move coverage of applied and sociolinguistic perspectives on the COVID-19 crisis visit our COVID-19 series.
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Thank you for the detailed and fascinating portrait of how the language services industry is or has been affected. I have two questions.
(1) What are the main models of employment in China’s LSPs? (Are the workers freelancers, people who have permanent contracts etc?) The variable impacts of coronavirus on different types of workers would be interesting to know more about.
(2) This question relates to the role of English as a lingua franca in foreign businesses/trade in China. You’ve shown the enormous impact especially on LSPs that offer English-language services. I can see why you say that these are “easily impacted by the strict restrictions imposed on China by English-speaking countries such as the United States and Australia” (I agree). However, if “more than 90% of Chinese LSPs are providing English-related services”, the LSP industry is probably not only servicing customers who are first-language English speakers. So aren’t these LSPs also easily, and highly, impacted by the restrictions on nationals from all countries, not just from English speaking countries? Surely with the global shutdown that has now ensued, it is not only “English-speaking nations” who may cancel deals with the language service firms in China, and so the recovery should also address the wider variety of nations/customers who use English as an international lingua franca.
Looking forward to reading more of your work coming out of this great survey!