The Practice and Reflection of Language Services at Guomen Hospitals in the China-Laos Borderlands

Li Jia, Wang Mengna, Zhang Jie, Hong Yu and Deng Rui

Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (4) : 25-33.

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Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (4) : 25-33. DOI: 10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250403

The Practice and Reflection of Language Services at Guomen Hospitals in the China-Laos Borderlands

  • Li Jia, Wang Mengna, Zhang Jie, Hong Yu and Deng Rui
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Abstract

“Guomen Hospitals”, located in China’s border areas, are the medical institutions designated and accredited by relevant Chinese government departments. Guomen hospitals not only provide local residents with healthcare services but also undertake the tasks such as cross-border medical services, joint prevention and control of infectious diseases. Given the significant number of ethnic minority and foreign patients at Guomen hospitals, it is of vital importance to mobilize multilingual resources, enhance the quality of language services, and safeguard the national public health security. This study selected four Guomen hospitals in the China-Laos borderlands as research sites. Drawing on the multiple data types such as semi-structured interviews and participant observations, the study investigates what language services are available at Guomen hospitals and to what extent these language services can help linguistic minorities overcome their communication barriers. There are three types of language services: interpreting and translation services, multilingual landscape services, and multilingual public health services. First of all, this study shows the inadequacy of Mandarin-Lao translation software, which is unlikely to replace human interpreters and translators. Interpreting and translation services at Guomen hospitals highlight the importance of delivering humanistic care and raising cross-cultural awareness. Secondly, multilingual landscape services serve the functions of cultural dissemination and international publicity. Thirdly, multilingual public health services enhance health literacy among Chinese and Lao border residents and foster friendly relations in the China-Laos borderlands. The study relates language services to a wider process of multidimensional effects in economy, culture, good neighborliness, and border security. The study can shed some insights on how to enact multilingual resources, intensify international medical cooperation, and enhance China’s global influence in the healthcare industry.

Key words

Guomen hospital / linguistic minority / language service / China-Laos borderland / Health China

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Li Jia, Wang Mengna, Zhang Jie, Hong Yu and Deng Rui. The Practice and Reflection of Language Services at Guomen Hospitals in the China-Laos Borderlands[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2025, 10(4): 25-33 https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250403

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