By Dr Saihong Li
Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies, The University of Stirling
Dr Saihong Li is a Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Stirling (UK). She specialises in interdisciplinary digital humanities translation and cross-cultural studies. She was awarded a PhD at the University of Copenhagen in 2009, her doctoral research focusing on comparative studies in Translation and Lexicography in the context of English, Chinese, and Danish. Dr Li has particular expertise within the areas of creative industries and cultural institutions, e.g. creative tourism, food and hospitality translation. Dr Li has produced a substantial body of research analysing food, tourism, and also political discourse translation. Her work has been cited in the creative industries, the hospitality sectors, as well as in international reports relating to the post-Covid recovery of the creative industries and global tourism.
Dr Li’s international working and research experience in China, Denmark, and Britain has straddled diverse cultures, languages, and disciplines. Her network of contacts spans Asia, Europe, and North America. Her research philosophy is to embed theoretical innovation within projects that bring practical benefits to industry and society. From this, she aims to develop funding applications for projects that reflect her professional ethos: ‘teaching and research in digital humanities inform industry; industry therefore informs research and teaching’. To achieve this, Dr Li has prioritized research/commerce synergies; for example, her recent publications exploring the links between language and food consumption / production are direct outcomes of working with food industries such as local fisheries and hospitality services. Research which analyses hospitality sector restaurant menus that combine source languages, translations, and images, has found that this approach is becoming an accepted norm in local Chinese restaurants (e.g. BiteEast) in countries that thrive on tourism and international business. She hopes to work collaboratively with potential partners to develop funding bids linked to the themes of language, food, and the creative industries.