The Limitations of Machine Translation Compared to Human Translation

Language is the primary means of communication for people; it is the medium through which thoughts are exchanged and is closely related to social factors such as politics, economy, technology, and culture. In the context of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and the widespread adoption of translation machines, foreign language learners and translation professionals should actively seek change, adapt to the evolving times, promote the application of human-machine collaboration and coupling technologies, and enhance translation efficiency and professionalism.

Jiang Feng, the Party Secretary of Shanghai International Studies University, stated that language is a tool of knowledge that conveys and expresses knowledge about the world, encompassing significant social value. In today’s world, where science and technology are developing rapidly, various disciplines face new challenges. If we merely regard foreign languages as simple communication tools, then human translation can easily be replaced by machine translation. Linguistics integrates language science and technology, and in the future, linguistics will increasingly combine with cognitive sciences like neuroscience and brain science. The translation profession must seek change and adaptability, cultivating students’ abilities to extract different cultural values from language, allowing traditional linguistics to gain new vitality through innovation, thereby finding new development opportunities in the era of artificial intelligence.

“In theory, machine translation is continuously approaching human translation capabilities. However, currently, machine translation is mainly suitable for simple daily conversations; it struggles with complex translation content such as specialized knowledge and national policies.” Professor Yang Hongying from the School of Tourism at Xi’an International Studies University cited the English translations of several important artifacts stored in the Shaanxi History Museum as an example, indicating that machine translation still faces many issues in understanding newly implemented translation rules by the state and interpreting special vocabulary in artifact names. Yang pointed out that Chinese is a language that emphasizes meaning connection, which is quite different from the highly formalized, logical, and syntactically rigorous English. Therefore, during Chinese-English translation, machines often misinterpret meaning groups, mistakenly transferring the characteristics of form-oriented languages to meaning-oriented languages, or translating form-oriented texts into meaning-oriented texts.

Language communication is not merely a scientific issue. Wu Gang, the Deputy Dean of the Advanced Translation Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, stated that from a macro perspective, artificial intelligence language translation systems may replace human translation. However, from a micro perspective, communication between different languages is not simple information exchange; it involves many other complex issues. For instance, literary translation involves the restoration and reproduction of stylistic features, and certain aesthetic worlds woven from the polysemy of language cannot find a single, clear correspondence. Additionally, in language exchanges involving political and legal themes, the subtle differences in emotional tone and the speaker’s attitude can significantly affect the communication outcome.

Professor Wen Xiuying from the Foreign Language Department of Tianjin University of Finance and Economics believes that the biggest difference between human translation and machine translation is that machine translation lacks the creativity inherent in human translation; it cannot perform translation tasks that require creative thinking. Of course, with the further development of artificial intelligence, the accuracy of translations between languages will improve. Especially for texts in fields like technology, business, law, and finance that have specific formats and stable terminology, the accuracy of machine translation has already reached a relatively high level. Even so, artificial intelligence translation still faces some insurmountable difficulties. AI is unable to comprehend simple matters for us, such as slight changes in facial expressions or the distinctions between emotions like happiness, relaxation, satisfaction, and joy. Translation, particularly in fields like literature and film, requires capturing factors such as characters’ emotions and feelings, which means that machines cannot fully replace humans in creative language service tasks like business negotiations, guiding, literary translation, and film dubbing in the short term. Therefore, concerns about human translation being replaced by machine translation are premature.

Wu Gang believes that in an era of rapid technological development, language learners must timely change their mindset, maintain a positive and open attitude, fully utilize new learning methods, adapt to new work concepts, and enhance their knowledge and skills to effectively complement and collaborate with artificial intelligence, thereby strengthening their survival capabilities in the face of technological shocks.

Wang Wenhua, a professor at the School of Foreign Languages at the University of International Relations, believes that language is a product of society and the most important communication tool for humanity. Language is also an important carrier of culture; it not only contains the historical and cultural background of a nation but also embodies that nation’s views on life, lifestyle, and ways of thinking. From this perspective, artificial intelligence cannot replace humans, and machine translation cannot replace human translation. With the enhancement of China’s international status, many foreigners are becoming interested in China’s stories, providing us with a rare historical opportunity. Learning foreign languages helps us tell China’s story well in Chinese. Furthermore, telling China’s story well requires us to respect cultural differences while fully understanding China’s excellent culture, integrating a global perspective into Chinese narratives, appreciating the excellent ideas embedded in different cultures, and constructing an international discourse system that bridges China and the world to better promote exchanges between China and the world.

According to Jiang Feng, to tell China’s story well, we must stand from a global perspective to convey China’s excellent traditional culture and values to the world, showcasing a progressive, open, friendly, and authentic China. This is not only a multilingual translation issue but also an important topic in building a comprehensive discourse capability from multiple perspectives and diversities. The Chinese narrative is not an abstract concept; it is a national and linguistic concept. To tell China’s story well, cultural confidence is fundamental. This requires students in foreign language disciplines to understand their country and culture from a global perspective while also viewing the world from China’s standpoint, forming a world knowledge system with Chinese characteristics to contribute more and better Chinese ideas, wisdom, and solutions.

Original Title: Fully Leverage the Creative Advantages of Human Translation

Source: China Social Sciences Network – China Social Sciences Journal

Editor: Liu Xing Typesetting Editor: Liu Xing