Functionalism and Accuracy in Human Translation vs. AI Translation of Arabic Podcast Transcript: A Contrastive Study

This paper is a contrastive study of two translations of the popular Arabic podcast episode from functional perspective. The episode is entitled “How Relationships Succeed” presented by Yasser Al-Hazaimi, and is provided through the Arabic podcast “Fnjan’. It is one of the tops in global YouTube charts as it exceeds 100 million views. One of the translations under study is human translation produced as subtitles added to the video, while the other is an automated translation by AI-generated tool, specifically ChatGPT. AI translation tools are an attempt to artificially reproduce human thinking and transfer this to computers to imitate human cognitive abilities. However, when it comes to informal spoken language such as podcasts, the precision of the translated text is called into question. Applying functional theory by testing the functions of both contents of the target texts compared to the source text, rather than strict equivalence, is a must. Functional perspective confirms that the accurate translation is the one that provides precise representation of the hidden intentions, tone, and coherence of the original text, in addition to conveying cultural references. To assess the functionality of the two translations, the paper contrasts both target texts concerning accuracy, readability, coherence, and contextuality. The content of podcasts is chosen as it depends heavily on verbal communication that sheds the light on the importance of functionality in translation. Overall, the paper assumes that human cognitive abilities are indispensable in the area of translation studies, especially when it comes to verbal contents and informal language.