This blog is part of thinking activity assigned by Dilip Barad To analyse translations generated using Gen AI tools (ChatGPT and Gemini) by applying theoretical frameworks of translation studies. Students will evaluate the translations based on sound, metre, syntax, tone, grammar, and cultural connotations, and discuss challenges and resolutions. (Worksheet)
Task Instructions
Step 1: Select and Translate Poems
1: Translate Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Urdu poem "Mujh Se Pehli Si Mohabbat Mirii
Mehboob Na Maang" into Hindi and English.
ChatGPT
🌺 Hindi Translation (काव्यात्मक, प्रवाहयुक्त)
मुझसे पहली-सी मोहब्बत, मेरी महबूब, न माँग
मैंने समझा था कि तू है तो उजली है हयात
तेरा ग़म है तो ज़माने का फ़साना क्या है
तेरी सूरत से ही इस आलम की बहारें क़ायम
तेरी आँखों के सिवा दुनिया में रखा क्या है
तू जो मिल जाए तो तक़दीर सँवर जाएगी
यूँ न था—मैंने तो बस चाहा था यूँ हो जाए
और भी दुख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
सुकून और भी हैं, वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
अनगिन सदियों के अँधेरे, वहशी तिलिस्म
रेशम-ओ-अतलस-ओ-कमख़्वाब में लिपटे हुए
गली-कूचों में, बाज़ारों में बिकते हुए जिस्म
धूल में लथपथ, लहू में नहलाए हुए
जिस्म निकले हुए बीमारी के तनूरों से
पीप बहती हुई, गलते हुए नासूरों से
उधर भी लौट जाती है नज़र—क्या कीजिए
अब भी दिलकश है तेरा हुस्न—मगर क्या कीजिए
और भी दुख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
सुकून और भी हैं, वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
मुझसे पहली-सी मोहब्बत, मेरी महबूब, न माँग
🌹 English Translation (Poetic, rhythm-conscious)
Do not ask of me, my love, that old love again
I thought—if you were here, life would blaze with light
That your sorrow alone could eclipse the world’s despair
That spring itself drew permanence from your face
That beyond your eyes, the world held nothing fair
If you were mine, fate itself would bow its head
It was not so—I only wished it so instead
There are other griefs in this world besides love
Other comforts than the rapture of embrace
Centuries of dark, brute enchantments endure
Bodies wrapped in silk and satin and brocade
Flesh sold openly in alley, street, and mart
Dust-smeared forms, in blood ceremonially bathed
Bodies rising from disease’s blazing kilns
From ulcers rotting, pus in endless streams
Even there the eye is drawn—what can one do?
Your beauty still enthralls the heart—what can one do?
There are other griefs in this world besides love
Other comforts than the rapture of embrace
Do not ask of me, my love, that old love again
Gemini
Hindi
मुझसे पहली सी मोहब्बत मिरी महबूब न माँग
मैंने समझा था कि तू है तो दरख़्शाँ है हयात
तेरा ग़म है तो ग़म-ए-दहर का झगड़ा क्या है
तेरी सूरत से है आलम में बहारों को सबात
तेरी आँखों के सिवा दुनिया में रखा क्या है
तू जो मिल जाए तो तक़दीर नगूँ हो जाए
यूँ न था मैंने फ़क़त चाहा था यूँ हो जाए
और भी दुख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
अनगिनत सदियों के तारीक बहीमाना तिलिस्म
रेशम-ओ-अटलस-ओ-कमख़ाब में बुनवाए हुए
जा-ब-जा बिकते हुए कूचा-ओ-बाज़ार में जिस्म
ख़ाक में लथड़े हुए ख़ून में नहलाए हुए
जिस्म निकले हुए अमराज़ के तनूरों से
पीप बहती हुई गलते हुए नासूरों से
लौट जाती है उधर को भी नज़र क्या कीजे
अब भी दिलकश है तिरा हुस्न मगर क्या कीजे
और भी दुख हैं ज़माने में मोहब्बत के सिवा
राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
मुझसे पहली सी मोहब्बत मिरी महबूब न माँग
English
My love, do not ask from me that love we had before.
I had believed that because of you, life was luminous.
Having your grief, why would I quarrel with the sorrows of the world?
Your face gives the springtimes of this world their permanence.
What is there left in this world, if not for your eyes?
If I were to find you, destiny itself would bow down.
It was not truly so; I only wished that it were so.
There are other sorrows in this world besides the pain of love,
And other comforts besides the comfort of union.
The dark, beastly spells of countless centuries,
Woven into silks, satins, and brocades.
Bodies being sold here and there, in every lane and marketplace,
Smeared in dust and bathed in their own blood.
Bodies emerging from the furnaces of diseases,
With pus flowing from festering, rotting wounds.
My gaze turns back that way too; what can I do?
Your beauty is still ravishing, but what can I do?
There are other sorrows in this world besides the pain of love,
And other comforts besides the comfort of union.
My love, do not ask from me that love we had before.
2: Translate W. B. Yeats's The Second Coming into Hindi and Gujarati.
Chat GPT
🌪️ हिंदी अनुवाद (काव्यात्मक)
घूमता हुआ, फैलते हुए चक्र में घूमता हुआ,
बाज़ अब अपने बाज़ीगर की पुकार नहीं सुनता;
सब कुछ बिखर रहा है; केंद्र टिक नहीं पा रहा;
निरा अराजकता संसार पर छोड़ दी गई है।
रक्त से धुंधली लहर छूट पड़ी है, और हर ओर
निर्दोषता का अनुष्ठान डूब रहा है;
श्रेष्ठ लोग विश्वास से रिक्त हैं,
और निकृष्ट लोग उग्र आवेग से भरे हैं।
निश्चय ही कोई दिव्य उद्घाटन समीप है;
निश्चय ही दूसरा आगमन समीप है।
दूसरा आगमन! वे शब्द अभी गूंजे ही थे
मेरी दृष्टि को व्याकुल कर देती है:
मरुस्थल की रेत में कहीं
सिंह का शरीर, मनुष्य का सिर,
सूर्य-सा निर्विकार और निर्दय दृष्टि,
धीरे-धीरे अपनी जंघाएँ घसीटता हुआ,
और उसके चारों ओर
क्रुद्ध मरु पक्षियों की परछाइयाँ चक्कर काटती हैं।
अंधकार फिर छा जाता है; पर अब मैं जानता हूँ
कि बीस सदियों की पत्थर-सी नींद
एक झूलते पालने से दुःस्वप्न में बदल गई थी।
और कौन-सा खुरदुरा पशु,
जिसका समय अंततः आ पहुँचा है,
बेथलहम की ओर जन्म लेने को
घिसटता चला आ रहा है?
🌪️ ગુજરાતી અનુવાદ (કાવ્યાત્મક)
ફરતું, વિસ્તરતા ચક્રમાં ફરી રહ્યું છે,
બાજ હવે બાજીગરનો અવાજ સાંભળતો નથી;
બધી વ્યવસ્થા તૂટી રહી છે; કેન્દ્ર ટકી શકતું નથી;
નિર્લજ્જ અરાજકતા વિશ્વ પર છૂટેલી છે.
લોહીથી ધૂંધળો પ્રવાહ છૂટ્યો છે, અને સર્વત્ર
નિર્દોષતાનો વિધિ વિલય પામે છે;
શ્રેષ્ઠ લોકો વિશ્વાસ વિહોણા છે,
અને નિકૃષ્ટ લોકો ઉન્મત્ત ઉત્કટતાથી ભરેલા છે।
નિશ્ચિત કોઈ મહાન પ્રકટ્તિ નજીક છે;
નિશ્ચિત બીજું આગમન નજીક છે.
બીજું આગમન! એ શબ્દો હજુ ગુંજ્યા જ હતા
કે Spiritus Mundi માંથી ઉપજેલી
એક વિશાળ પ્રતિમા
મારી દૃષ્ટિને વ્યથિત કરે છે:
રણની રેતમાં ક્યાંક
સિંહનું શરીર અને માનવનું મસ્તક,
સૂર્ય સમી નિષ્ઠુર અને નિર્વિકાર નજર,
ધીમે ધીમે પોતાની જાંઘો ઘસડતું,
અને તેના આસપાસ
ક્રોધિત રણપંખીઓની છાયાઓ ઘૂમે છે।
અંધકાર ફરી છવાઈ જાય છે; પરંતુ હવે હું જાણું છું
કે વીસ સદીની પથ્થર જેવી નિંદ્રા
એક હળવા પાળણાથી દુસ્વપ્ન બની ગઈ હતી।
અને કયું ખડખડિયું પશુ,
જેનાનો સમય અંતે આવી પહોંચ્યો છે,
જન્મ લેવા માટે
બેથલેહેમ તરફ લથડતું આવી રહ્યું છે?
Gemini
Hindi Translation: द्वितीय आगमन (The Second Coming)
घूमते-घूमते उस विस्तृत भंवर में,
बाज अब सुन नहीं पाता अपने बाजदार को;
सब बिखर रहा है; केंद्र अब थाम नहीं पा रहा;
महज अराजकता दुनिया पर छोड़ दी गई है,
रक्त-रंजित ज्वार उमड़ पड़ा है,
और हर ओर
मासूमियत का संस्कार डूब गया है;
श्रेष्ठ जन विश्वास खो चुके हैं,
जबकि अधम
उग्र तीव्रता से भरे हुए हैं।
निश्चय ही कोई रहस्योद्घाटन निकट है;
निश्चय ही द्वितीय आगमन निकट है।
द्वितीय आगमन!
अभी ये शब्द निकले ही थे
कि 'स्पिरिटस मुंडी' (विश्व-आत्मा) से एक विशाल बिम्ब
मेरी दृष्टि को व्याकुल करता है:
कहीं मरुस्थल की रेत में
सिंह का शरीर और मनुष्य का सिर वाली एक आकृति,
एक टकटकी,
सूर्य जैसी शून्य और निर्दयी,
अपनी सुस्त जांघें हिला रही है,
जबकि उसके चारों ओर
क्रुद्ध मरुस्थलीय पक्षियों की परछाइयां मंडरा रही हैं।
अंधेरा फिर घिर आता है;
पर अब मैं जानता हूँ
कि बीस सदियों की पथरीली नींद को
एक झूलते पालने ने डरावने सपने में बदल दिया था,
और वह कौन सा खूंखार जीव है,
जिसका समय अब आ गया है,
जो बेथलेहम की ओर जन्म लेने के लिए रेंग रहा है?
Gujarati Translation: બીજું આગમન (The Second Coming)
વિશાળ થતા ચકરાવામાં ઘૂમતો ને ઘૂમતો,
બાજ હવે તેના રખેવાળને સાંભળી શકતો નથી;
બધું જ વિખરાઈ રહ્યું છે; કેન્દ્ર હવે પકડી શકતું નથી;
માત્ર અરાજકતા જગત પર છૂટી મૂકવામાં આવી છે,
રક્ત-રંજિત ભરતી ઉછળી છે, અને સર્વત્ર
નિર્દોષતાનો ઉત્સવ ડૂબી ગયો છે;
શ્રેષ્ઠ લોકોમાં કોઈ નિશ્ચય રહ્યો નથી,
જ્યારે અધમ લોકો
ઉગ્ર ઝનૂનથી છલકાઈ રહ્યા છે.
ચોક્કસ કોઈ સાક્ષાત્કાર નજીક છે;
ચોક્કસ 'બીજું આગમન' નજીક છે.
બીજું આગમન! હજુ તો આ શબ્દો બોલાયા જ છે
ત્યાં 'સ્પિરિટસ મુંડી' (વિશ્વ-આત્મા) માંથી એક વિશાળ આકૃતિ
મારી દ્રષ્ટિને વ્યગ્ર કરે છે:
રણની રેતીમાં ક્યાંક
સિંહનું શરીર અને મનુષ્યનું મસ્તક ધરાવતું એક રૂપ,
જેની નજર સૂર્ય જેવી શૂન્ય અને નિર્દય છે,
તે સાથળ હલાવતું ધીમે ડગ માંડે છે,
જ્યારે તેની આસપાસ
રોષે ભરાયેલા રણ-પક્ષીઓના પડછાયા ઘૂમે છે.
અંધકાર ફરી છવાય છે;
પણ હવે હું જાણું છું
કે વીસ સદીઓની પથ્થર જેવી ઊંઘને
એક ઝૂલતા પારણાએ ભયાનક સ્વપ્નમાં ફેરવી દીધી હતી, અને એ કયું હિંસક પશુ છે, જેનો સમય આખરે આવી ગયો છે,
ને બેથલેહેમ ભણી જન્મ લેવા માટે ઘસડાઈ રહ્યું છે?
3: Choose a Gujarati poem and translate it into Hindi and English.
અખંડ વરને વરી by મીરાંબાઈ
ChatGPT
🌸 हिंदी काव्यात्मक अनुवाद (Bhakti-meter oriented)
अखंड वर को वरण कर, सखि! मैंने अखंड वर को वरा।
भवसागर में महादुःख पाया, लाख चौरासी फेरा भरा॥
संसार समूचा काला-भयावह, देख काँप उठी धरा।
कुटुंब-सहोदर स्वार्थी निकले, प्रपंच छोड़ मन हरा॥
जन्म धराकर संताप सहे सब, गृह का झंझट करा।
संत-संगति में महा-सुख पाया, ठौर ठिकाने ठहरी धरा॥
सद्गुरुजी की पूर्ण कृपा से, भवसागर से पार उतरा।
बाई मीरा कहे—गिरधर नागर, संत चरण में शीश धरा॥
🌼 English Poetic Translation (Lyric Bhakti Style)
I chose the Eternal Bridegroom, O friend!
Yes, the Eternal One I chose.
Through oceans of birth and boundless pain,
Eighty-four lakhs of lives I rose.
This world appeared so dark, so dread,
I trembled at the sight, O friend.
Self-bound kin and grasping ties—
All worldly webs I chose to end.
Born again, I bore the ache,
Fulfilled the household’s weary role.
In saints’ communion, bliss I found,
At last, my heart reached resting shoal.
By the True Guru’s perfect grace,
The ocean of becoming crossed.
Says Mira: “Giridhar, my Lord—
At saints’ feet, I cast my loss.”
Gemini
English Translation: The Eternal Groom
Refrain:
I have wed the Eternal Groom, O friend!
I have wed the Groom who never dies.
Verses:
I wandered through eighty-four lakh births,
In the ocean of life, where deep sorrow lies. (Saheli!)
I saw the world as a dark, fearsome void,
And trembled in terror before my eyes. (Saheli!)
Kin and siblings are driven by self;
I cast off their webs and their worldly ties. (Saheli!)
Since birth, I have suffered in endless toil,
Doing the chores that the household buys. (Saheli!)
In the company of Saints, I found supreme bliss;
Now my heart is still, where my true home lies. (Saheli!)
By the perfect grace of my Satguru,
I have crossed the sea where the spirit dies. (Saheli!)
Says Meera: I found the Mountain-Lifter Lord,
At the feet of the Saints, my spirit flies. (Saheli!)
Hindi Translation: अचल सुहाग (अखंड वर)
मुखड़ा:
अखंड वर को वरी, सखी! मैं तो अखंड वर को वरी।
अंतरा:
भवसागर में महादुख पायो, लख चौरासी फिरी, सहेली।
संसार सारा भयंकर कारो, देख जिसे मैं थरी, सहेली।
कुटुंब-सहोदर स्वार्थी सारे, प्रपंच को मैं परी हरी (त्यागी), सहेली।
जन्म धरके संताप व्यथा सही, घर के धंधों में मरी, सहेली।
संत समागम महासुख पायो, अब निज घर में ठहरी, सहेली।
सद्गुरु की पूर्ण कृपा से, भवसागर मैं तरी, सहेली।
बाई मीराँ कहे प्रभु गिरिधर नागर, संतन चरणन पड़ी, सहेली।
4: Choose a Hindi poem and translate it into English and Gujarati.
नई खेती by रमाशंकर यादव विद्रोही
chatGPT
🔹 Gujarati Translation (કાવ્યાત્મક)
હું ખેડૂત છું—
આકાશમાં ધાન વાવું છું।
કેટલાક લોકો કહે છે,
“અરે પાગલ!
આકાશમાં ક્યાં ધાન જમે?”
હું કહું છું—
ગેગલા-ઘોગલા!
જો ધરતી પર ભગવાન જમ્યો હોઈ શકે,
તો આકાશમાં ધાન પણ જમી શકે।
અને હવે તો
બંને એક થઈને રહેશે—
અથવા તો
ધરતીમાંથી ભગવાન ઊખડી જશે
અથવા
આકાશમાં ધાન જમશે।
English Translation (Poetic & Faithful)
I am a farmer—
I sow paddy in the sky.
Some people say,
“You madman!
Paddy never takes root in the sky.”
I say—
gabble-gobble!
If God can take root on earth,
then paddy too can root in the sky.
And now, it is certain—
the two shall merge as one:
Either
God will be uprooted from the earth,
or
paddy will take root in the sky.
Gemini
Gujarati Translation
હું ખેડૂત છું,
આભમાં ડાંગર વાવી રહ્યો છું.
કોઈ કહે છે મને,
કે એ પાગલ, આભમાં ડાંગર ન ઊગે.
હું કહું છું એમને—
એ ઘેલા અને ઠોઠડાઓને—
જો આ ધરતી પર ભગવાન જામી શકતો હોય,
તો આભમાં ડાંગર પણ જામી શકે છે.
અને હવે તો,
બન્નેમાંથી એક થઈને જ રહેશે—
કાં તો ધરતી પરથી ભગવાન ઉખડશે,
કાં તો આભમાં ડાંગર જામશે.
English Translation
I am a farmer, Sowing paddy in the sky.
Some say to me, "You fool, rice doesn’t grow in the sky."
I say to those— The simpletons, the slow-witted—
If God can take root upon this earth, Then paddy can take root in the sky.
And now, One of these two must come to pass:
Either God shall be uprooted from the earth, Or paddy shall flourish in the sky.
Step 2: Analyse Translations
• Compare the translations from ChatGPT and Gemini.
• Identify how each tool handles:
o Syntax: Are sentence structures retained or altered?
Sentence structure is largely retained. But as we discussed in class that when we translate English into Guajarati the sentence structure must be change, for example if we translate હું ખેડૂત છું in English then it follow the structure of subject+ Object/Noun+ Verb. so, it is translate like...
Subject (मैं / Main): I
Object/Noun (एक किसान / ek kisaan): A farmer
Verb/Auxiliary (हूँ / hoon): am
o Metre and Sound: Is the rhythm of the poem preserved?
As I mention above that sentence structure change so, rhythm is automatically change. It majorly happen when we translate Indian regional language into English or English in Guajarati. But when we see two regional language like Hindi and Guajarati we find almost same rhythm. For Example..
અખંડ વરને વરી, સાહેલી! હું તો અખંડ વરને વરી.
ભવસાગરમાં મહાદુઃખ પામી, લખ ચોરાશી ફરી, સાહેલી૦
अखंड वर को वरण कर, सखि! मैंने अखंड वर को वरा।
भवसागर में महादुःख पाया, लाख चौरासी फेरा भरा॥
I chose the Eternal Bridegroom, O friend!
Yes, the Eternal One I chose.
Through oceans of birth and boundless pain,
Eighty-four lakhs of lives I rose.
so, here we find Guajarati and English is same but we find long translation in English rather than rhythm. so, we are not able to convert description like line in any rhythm.
Another different I found in Chatgpt and Gemini is Gemini is even not able to follow proper structure of poem where ChatGPT maintain proper structure of poem.
o Lexicon and Grammar: Are the word choices appropriate?
At some extend yes. Because it keep some word as it is. for example in poem અખંડ વરને વરી by મીરાંબાઈ, ChatGPT is keep as it is of ગિરિધર at another side Gemini translate as Mountain-Lifter and it true that ગિરિધર is someone who lifted mountain at once. But many time we it is not able to choose appropriate words. For example in title of second coming both Chat GPT and Gemini translate as द्वितीय आगमन or બીજું આગમન but according to me પુનર્જન્મ should be most appropriate. Otherwise mostly words are appropriate. Also we find Spiritual mundi as it in translation of Hindi and Guajarati in both chatbot.
o Cultural Connotations: Are culturally significant words or phrases translated
meaningfully?
Culturally significant words and symbols are mostly translated meaningfully, but with varying degrees of sensitivity.
Examples:
- Bethlehem remains untranslated, preserving its Christian eschatological weight.
- Spiritus Mundi is retained, acknowledging Yeats’s philosophical and mystical framework.
- In Faiz’s poem, words like vasl, hijr, mehboob, and dard are carefully contextualised rather than replaced with flat equivalents.
However, devotional Gujarati poetry poses challenges:
Words like “अखंड वर”, “संत-संगति”, and “भवसागर” carry layered spiritual meanings that English translations can only approximate.
Analysis Prompts
1. Identify and discuss:
Which parts of the poem were challenging to translate? Why?
Cultural Idioms & Devotional Nuance: In Mirabai's poem, phrases like "लाख चौरासी फेरा" (84 lakh rebirths, a Hindu/Buddhist concept) and the divine epithet "गिरधर" (Mountain-Holder, a name for Krishna) pose a challenge. ChatGPT often opts for a functional translation ("Eighty-four lakhs of lives I rose," "Giridhar, my Lord"), while Gemini sometimes provides explanatory glosses ("Mountain-Lifter Lord").
How were cultural connotations and collocations handled in the translation?
"गगला-घोगला" in Nayi Kheti is a non-lexical, dismissive retort. ChatGPT's "gabble-gobble" captures the sound and dismissive tone well. Gemini's choice to interpret it as "The simpletons, the slow-witted" explains the meaning but loses the poem's sonic texture and abrupt, colloquial force.
o Were there untranslatable words or phrases? If yes, how did the AI tools
resolve them ?
Were there untranslatable words or phrases? If yes, how did the AI tools
resolve them?
"Spiritus Mundi" in Yeats is retained in both tools' translations (as is), treated as a proper noun from the source culture's philosophical lexicon. Similarly, "वस्ल" (visl/union) in Faiz, with its Sufi connotations, is translated literally as "union" or "embrace," relying on context to convey its spiritual weight.
How AI Tools Resolved Them: The tools primarily use two strategies:
Literal or Close Translation: For culturally loaded but common terms (e.g., "भवसागर" -> "ocean of life/worldly existence").
Interpretative Expansion: Where a direct equivalent fails, they paraphrase to convey meaning, as seen in Gemini's handling of "गगला-घोगला" or "गिरधर."
2. Explain the choices and considerations made during translation:
Did the metre or rhyme scheme influence the translation?
ChatGPT consistently attempted to mimic a poetic structure—using line breaks, stanzas, and a more rhythmic syntax (e.g., "I chose the Eternal Bridegroom, O friend! / Yes, the Eternal One I chose."). Gemini often defaulted to a prosaic, explanatory format, breaking the poem into title, refrain, and verses with annotations like "(Saheli!)", which, while clarifying, disrupts the lyrical flow. In regional language translations (Hindi-Gujarati), both tools maintained a closer structural parity due to shared syntactic roots.
Were any liberties taken to retain the poem's tone and emotion?
ChatGPT's translations often feel more lyrical and crafted, aiming for a self-contained poetic voice. Gemini's outputs read more like faithful semantic transcriptions, prioritizing clarity of meaning over aesthetic re-creation. For example, in Faiz, ChatGPT's "life would blaze with light" feels more evocative than Gemini's "life was luminous."
3. Compare the translations:
Highlight differences between ChatGPT and Gemini outputs.
Evaluate which tool performed better in retaining key aspects of the original
poem.
Aspect | ChatGPT | Gemini | Evaluation |
Poetic Form | Stronger. Actively tries to preserve stanza form, lineation, and a sense of rhythm. | Weaker. Often uses paragraph-like formatting, adding explanatory labels. | ChatGPT performs better as a poetic translator. |
Lexical Choice | More literary, sometimes creative ("blaze with light," "ceremonially bathed"). | More direct, sometimes explanatory ("Mountain-Lifter," "simpletons"). | ChatGPT for tone; Gemini for semantic clarity. |
Syntax | More willing to alter English syntax for poetic effect (inversion, compression). | Tends to follow source syntax more closely, leading to awkwardness. | ChatGPT produces more idiomatic poetic English. |
Cultural Terms | Prefers assimilation/transcreation (e.g., keeping "Giridhar"). | Prefers gloss/explanation within the text. | Subjective. ChatGPT treats the reader as an insider; Gemini as an outsider. |
Overall Fidelity | Dynamic Fidelity: Aims to recreate the experience of the poem. | Formal Fidelity: Aims to reproduce the content of the poem accurately. | For literary appreciation, ChatGPT. For study/analysis, Gemini. |
4. Reflect on the theoretical frameworks discussed in class:
How do Jakobson’s, Catford’s, Devy’s, and Ramanujan’s ideas about
translation apply to your findings?
Roman Jakobson (On Linguistic Aspects of Translation): Your analysis highlights Jakobson's categories. Both tools engage heavily in "interlingual translation" (between languages). The struggle with "गगला-घोगला" touches on the "intralingual" challenge—explaining the same idea within a language. The loss of sound pattern (e.g., metre) underscores Jakobson's view that "poetry is untranslatable"; only "creative transposition" is possible, which ChatGPT attempts more actively.
J.C. Catford (A Linguistic Theory of Translation): The tools operate on Catford's model of "textual equivalence." The shift in sentence structure you noted (SOV in Hindi/Gujarati to SVO in English) is a "level shift" (grammar to lexis) and a "structure shift." Catford's concept of "untranslatability" due to cultural absence (e.g., "लाख चौरासी") is resolved by Gemini through "cultural translation" (explanation) and by ChatGPT through "functional translation" (using a near-equivalent concept).
G.N. Devy (Indian Literary Translation): Devy argues that translation in India is not a mere transfer but a "transaction" and "renewal" within a "translating consciousness." The AI tools, however, often miss this. They treat the poems as isolated texts. A Devy-informed translation of Mirabai or Faiz would require embedding it within the continuum of Bhakti or Sufi traditions, which the AI's context-free approach lacks. Your suggestion that The Second Coming might be better translated as "પુનર્જન્મ" (Punarjanma/Rebirth) than the literal "બીજું આગમન" is insightful—it seeks a culturally resonant "renewal" of the concept, aligning with Devy's thought.
A.K. Ramanujan (On Translating Indian Poetry): Ramanujan stressed the importance of "context-sensitivity"—the genre, dialect, and cultural echoes. The AI tools largely fail here. They translate Mirabai's intimate, song-like "સાહેલી" (Saheli) as the formal "friend" or "O friend," losing its gendered, colloquial, and musical context. Ramanujan believed the translator must be a "poet in the target language." ChatGPT shows glimmers of this aspiration in its rhythmic choices, while Gemini acts more as a linguistic decoder.
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