Riyan Ali Khalfan Al Mandhari & Dr. Hassan Obaid Alfadly
Department of Foreign Languages, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman
This study compares the effectiveness of AI and human translators in rendering cultural references from Omani literature into English. Using two Omani novels, Celestial Bodies and The Bitter Orange Tree, the research identifies and analyzes cultural references in translations produced by both methods. Nida’s Theory of Dynamic Equivalence serves as the theoretical framework, focusing on how well the translations preserve the intended cultural and emotional impact on readers. The findings reveal that while AI translations are efficient, they often fail to capture cultural nuances, resulting in generic and contextually inaccurate translations. In contrast, human translators demonstrate a deeper understanding of cultural and linguistic subtleties, producing more accurate and culturally faithful translations. This study highlights the challenges AI faces in handling complex cultural references and underscores the need for collaboration between AI systems and human translators to achieve optimal results. It also emphasizes the importance of cultural preservation in literary translation and calls for further advancements in AI translation technology.
Keywords: Literature, Translation, Cultural References, AI, Human Translation
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The 10th International Conference on Languages, Linguistics, Translation and Literature (WWW.TLLL.IR), 1-2 February 2025, Ahwaz.
