As a Ph.D. student and polyglot, Yang researches and advocates for linguistic justice in Oregon’s healthcare system
Danlu Yang
By Taylor Pedersen, CLA Student Writer - March 5, 2025
For Danlu Yang, language is more than words—it is a gateway to understanding different cultures and bridging divides. Born and raised in China, she pursued Hispanic philology at an international university in Beijing, studying the Spanish language, literature, and culture. During her studies, she also learned Brazilian Portuguese, a skill that would later shape her career.
For her master’s thesis, Yang focused on studying the Sino-Portuguese translation project From the Soil (Xiangtu Zhongguo 乡⼟中国), a 1938 book by Fei Xiaotong that examines Chinese rural society. She discovered that scholars believed the existing translations and interpretations had missed key cultural nuances, particularly when portraying rural Chinese farms. However, rather than translating the book, she facilitated communication between Portuguese and Chinese publishers, applied for grants, translated the contracts, and bridged the interdisciplinary gap between humanities and social sciences.
“Translation can sometimes be a battlefield,” said Yang. "If you fail to grasp the political and socioeconomic context of the original author, your translation is incomplete. In bridging communication between diverse stakeholders, I became the connective thread uniting different communities," Yang explained.
In 2022, she left China for OSU, where she began working as a research assistant for Associate Professor of Anthropology Shaozeng Zhang. Her role required her to conduct interviews in Chinese, Spanish, and Portuguese, apply for grants, and translate contracts between Chinese and Portuguese. Through this work, she developed a deep appreciation for anthropology. The discipline, she realized, allowed her to explore how communication—or the lack of it—shapes societal structures, particularly in healthcare.
“Medical interpretation is a combination of art and science. You have the flexibility to interpret what others are trying to say, but also the scientific aptitude to ensure accuracy. You become the mouth of somebody else.”
This realization inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. in medical anthropology, with the goal of improving healthcare service and delivery in Oregon. Rather than working as an interpreter, Yang envisions a role in health management and policy, addressing systemic barriers that hinder effective communication between medical professionals and patients.
Yang’s research focuses on bridging the gap between biomedical knowledge and patient care, particularly for non-English-speaking communities. She believes Oregon has made strides in linguistic justice—ensuring that medical services are accessible to immigrants—but sees room for improvement.
“I hope they create a cost-effective analysis of the whole program,” she said. “There needs to be better funding for medical interpreters. Right now, interpreters are underpaid and undervalued, which results in low-quality interpretation. If we don’t address this, the entire healthcare system suffers.”
As a multilingual researcher, Yang has encountered both opportunities and challenges in cross-cultural contexts. The biggest struggle, she says, is reconciling her expectations of how the world should be with what is realistically possible. “I used to think about what the world should be,” she reflected. “Now I focus on what I can do with my abilities. How can I help others with the skills I have? The most difficult thing is navigating societal expectations as an individual.”
For students considering a similar path, Yang offers a refreshingly unfiltered perspective: “I have no advice. Everyone has their own path, shaped by their background, appearance, and social class. Just do your best and try to stay positive. I believe the world is a good place for everyone to live, and there are resources for everyone to thrive.”
As she continues her Ph.D. journey in the School of Language, Culture, and Society, Yang remains committed to her mission of improving healthcare accessibility. Whether through linguistic justice, policy advocacy, or cultural competency training, she hopes to make a lasting impact on how medical care is delivered to Oregon’s diverse communities.