Impact of Semantic Fields on AI and Human Translation of Camel, Alcohol and Rain

This paper highlights the significance of culture while translating between Arabic and English with reference to two semantic fields, and suggests ways of handling such problems. Using machine and human translations, the study adopts componential analysis to compare the translation of camel vocabulary in Arabic vis-à-vis inebriation vocabulary in English as fields where translation and acculturation can be difficult due to their inherent attachment to local cultural context. The study participants were 17 undergraduates (9 males and 8 females) in their final year at an English Department at a Yemeni university, and Reverso and DeepL (both use Artificial Intelligence (AI)) were used to obtain machine-translated data for the selected semantic fields. The responses were analysed using the componential analysis method. Moreover, the changes in the rain metaphor in modern Arabic literature are shown as an example of literary and psychological acculturation and epistemological shift. The study concludes that while some semantic fields allow for varying degrees of acculturation, other semantic fields pose challenges to translators due to culture-specificity.