Are Citizen Science “Socials” Multilingual? Lessons in (Non)translation from Zooniverse

Abstract

AbstractFew studies outside Translation Studies examine the presence and role of translation in the social media landscape, particularly beyond the “big” players (e.g., Facebook; Twitter)—as if the exchange of content occurs seamlessly in these inherently multilingual and multicultural contexts. This study examines a distinct social platform (“Zooniverse”) that links academe and citizen scientists. The chapter examines how and to what effect translation is mobilized to produce and disseminate (scientific) knowledge on social platforms/social media. This research builds on previous work investigating the motivations of volunteer translators in citizen science, but it is distinct in its methodology: instead of examining volunteer motivations, the focus is on the presence (or lack thereof), as well as the role(s) and effect(s) of translation in relation to linguistic representation, knowledge production, and knowledge dissemination.