Translating poetry through AI and MT: The case study of "a slumber did my spirit seal" by William Wordsworth.

Abstract

In today's fast-paced world, translating pragmatic or technical texts has become significantly quicker than in the past. This acceleration can be attributed to the advancements in translation technologies, which have revolutionized the translation process, making it moreefficient and timesaving. The presence of state-of-the-art tools and technologies in translation has contributed significantlyto theproductivity oftranslation services, particularly inthe localization industry, where simultaneous global releases of products are crucial (Olohan, 2017; Balkul, 2016, Pym, 2014).Astranslation needs continue torise, thevolumeofmaterialsrequiringtranslationhas expandedexponentially. Thisgrowth posesa challengeto the traditional approach of human translation, prompting theexploration of alternativemethodstomeettheincreasing demand for multilingual content. In recent years, machine translation systems have emerged as a potential solution, raising questions about the future role of human translators. Initially developed to provide acceptable and readable translations of pragmatictexts, machinetranslationsystems arenowbeingtested in literary and poetic content. Even more interestingly, AI systems have also started to be tested in poetry and literary translation. Whilesuch systemsseem adequate in technical translations, their application to the nuances and complexitiesof literary worksremainsrelatively uncharted territory