Exploring Translation Approaches For Popularized Scientific Texts: Human-Machine Collaboration In The Arabic Context

Abstract

This study examines approaches to translating popularized scientific texts from English to Arabic, comparing the effectiveness of human translation versus machine.

translation. Scientific popularization plays a crucial role in knowledge sharing, yet the lack of standardized terminology and cultural barriers pose challenges for Arabic translations. Both human translators and machine translation software were evaluated based on accuracy, speed, ability to convey technical concepts, and capacity for error correction. While machine translation has improved greatly, limitations remain such as incorrectly ordering symbols and the inability to understand nuanced context. Human translators rely on linguistic skills and subject matter expertise but are slower. The findings indicate that sole reliance on machine translation is insufficient for complex scientific popularization due to language comprehension issues. However, utilizing machine translation as a first draft followed by human post-editing combines strengths and compensates for weaknesses. Other hybrid translation techniques like pre-editing source texts and interactive human-machine cooperation were also proposed.Given the significance of accessible science education, developing standardized Arabic scientific lexicons and leveraging modern technologies are recommended to revive Arabic scientific translation movements. Integrating popularized science translations can help close knowledge gaps while restorin[1]g Arabic prominence in technological and educational spheres. Overall, strategic partnerships between humans and machines were determined to yield the highest quality popularized scientific translations. The paper concludes with some relevant recommendations.