The Dialectics of Translation in the AI Era: Balancing Technological Enthusiasm with Fundamental... скачать в хорошем качестве

The Dialectics of Translation in the AI Era: Balancing Technological Enthusiasm with Fundamental...

Title: The Dialectics of Translation in the AI Era: Balancing Technological Enthusiasm with Fundamental Inquiry Speaker: TAN Zaixi (Hong Kong Baptist University) Abstract: Artificial intelligence is drastically revolutionising the world around us today and the acronym of the term, AI, has fast become such a catchy buzzword that it almost seems a ubiquitous presence in conference themes not only in the field of technology but also in non-technological fields, that of translation and translation studies included. Indeed, in talking about translation at the present time, it would often not seem correct, in the professional and even political sense, not to relate to the topic of AI in one way or another. However, whilst the whole world is so enthusiastic, quite rightly, about the contributions and changes that applications of AI or AI-powered tools bring to what is happening in the field, one may well wonder if it also pays for us to pause a bit on our way forward and ponder whether there are issues or what issues there are behind this AI-in-translation enthusiasm that may remain truly fundamental and require the constant attention of the TS researcher. In the context of such translational quests, this paper proposes to offer a discussion on how we may correlate our appreciation of AI’s role in effecting and enhancing translation on the one hand to our understanding on the other of the fundamentals of translation. The main point that the paper hopes to deliver is that, in this era of AI, we should neither underestimate nor overestimate the power and impact of AI technology on translation by humans and that, as far as I see it, the most fitting stance to take on the nature of translation may perhaps be arguing dialectically about what features there are that remain constant and resist change, and what features that may change with the AI revolution. The purpose of my argumentation is to try and ensure that there is no losing one’s sense of direction on the part of the conventional translator and translation scholar when faced with such advancements in AI and AI-powered translation technology as keep emerging in the world they live. About the Speaker: Zaixi Tan is an Emeritus Professor of Hong Kong Baptist University, and was a Distinguished Professor of Shenzhen University and Chair Professor of Beijing Foreign Studies University. He obtained his BA in English Language and Literature from Hunan Normal University (China), and his MA (by research) and PhD in Translation Studies, both from the University of Exeter (UK). Ranked by CNKI as one of the Top 1% of the “Highly Cited Chinese Researchers”, Professor Tan is the author of some 20 books including The Science of Translation [New Edition] (Chi., 2025; first edition in 2000; twice prize winner), Researching the Historiography of Translation in the West (Chi., 2021; prize winner), Translation Studies: The Making and Evolution of an Independent Discipline (Chi., 2017), Translation and Translation Studies: Perceptions, Perspectives and Methodology (Chi., 2012), A History of Translation in the West [Revised Edition] (Chi., 2004; 11th reprint in 2022; first edition in 1991), and Nida on Translation (Chi.,1984; Top One of the 10 Bestsellers for the 1985 Winter Season at the Hong Kong Commercial Press Bookstores). His major published translations include The Book of Twin Worlds (tr. from the Chinese, 2019), A Dictionary of Translation Studies (tr. of Mark Shuttleworth and Moira Cowie’s English version, 2005) and a translation of Kingsley Amis’ Lucky Jim (1983; 2008/2013). He has also published more than 200 papers in major national and international TS journals including Chinese Translators Journal (Chi.), Foreign Language Teaching and Research (Chi.), Foreign Languages (Chi.), Babel, Translation and Interpreting Studies, Meta, Neohelicon, The Translator, Perspectives, Across Languages and Cultures, Asia Pacific Translation and Intercultural Studies, etc.Some of Professor Tan’s recent paper publications include “Censorship and translation in China” (2025), “Communicating via mother-tongue to foreign-language translating: Meaning, imagology and context” (Chi., 2024), “On the Chineseness and the universalness of the Chinese school of translation theory” (Chi., 2023), “Communication via translation: Disciplinary positioning and features of application: With special reference to the March 2021 translation events at Anchorage” (Chi., 2023), “A cross-boundary approach to the generative nature of translation” (2021), “Historiography of translation in the West and its relevance to current TS research in the Chinese context” (Chi., 2021).....Professor Tan’s research interests focus on the theories and philosophies of translation, the historiography of translation, the cultural-politics of translation, literary and media translation, contrastive English and Chinese language-cultural studies. Date: 21 May 2025