<
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/nov/11/it-gets-more-and-more-confused-can-ai-replace-translators>
"As anyone who has tried pointing their phone’s camera at a menu in a foreign
country lately will know, machine translation has improved rapidly since the
first days of Google Translate. The utility of AI-powered translation in
situations like this is unquestionable – but the proposed use of AI in literary
translation has been significantly more controversial.
Dutch publisher Veen Bosch & Keuning’s announcement that it would use AI
translation for commercial fiction has outraged both authors and translators –
despite attempts to reassure them with promises that no books will be
translated in this way without careful checking and that authors will have to
give consent.
“A translator translates more than just words, we build bridges between
cultures, taking into account the target readership every step of the way,”
says Michele Hutchison, winner of 2020’s International Booker prize for her
translation of Lucas Rijneveld’s
The Discomfort of Evening. “We smuggle in
subtle clues to help the reader understand particular cultural elements or
traditions. We convey rhythm, poetry, wordplay, metaphor. We research the
precise terminology for say agricultural machinery, even in a novel.”
Translators and authors have also pointed out that AI translation requires very
careful checking and editing – ideally by someone who knows both languages. At
that point, that person may as well be translating the text themselves.
Cultural sensitivity is a particular concern, as AI has been known to produce
things that are wildly inappropriate.
“Last year a reader flagged some issues in a French edition of one of my
books,” says Juno Dawson, author of the
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series.
“The translator had used a slightly outdated term to describe a trans person.
We were able to change the term before publication. It’s these nuances I
suspect AI would miss, meaning that AI generated content would then require
stringent editing anyway.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
