Machine translation : the cultural and idiomatic challenge

Abstract EN

While we grow to be more dependent on machines in all our walks of life, using machines in translation has become a remarkable challenge.

Machines can satisfy our needs of saving time, effort and cost during the translation process; however, the issues of accuracy and fidelity to the source text are still unsolved.

While machines can be functional in the translation of certain texts, the cultural and idiomatic realities of languages remain a big challenge.

In this study, the researchers have analyzed some texts and their translations which are produced by Google Translate.

The researchers have categorized the translations according to a group of markers and indicators: the implied vs.

literal meaning, capturing the different senses, everyday language and culture, context-bound and context free expressions, grammatical structure, and the unit of translation.

The researchers have reached a number of recommendations on how to enhance the use of machine translation.

The translation movement is heading towards utilizing the use of machine programs in translation effectively; there is no turning back even though the human intervention in translation is still fundamental.