Strategies for Translating Culturally Loaded Information From Chinese in the Context of Artificial Intelligence: A Quadrilingual Comparative Study

The purpose of this study is a comprehensive quadrilingual comparative analysis of machine and human translation approaches to culturally loaded information in contemporary Chinese literature. The object of analysis is the translation of culturally loaded linguistic units from Yu Hua’s novel “Brothers” (兄弟) from Chinese into English, French, and German. This study compares human translations by professional translators with machine translations generated by ChatGPT and DeepL artificial intelligence systems across all three target languages. The research methodology employs systematic comparative analysis of material culture terms, stylistic units, and socioculturemes across four languages. Through comprehensive quadrilingual comparative analysis, this research concludes that cultural transfer strategies vary significantly between target languages and cultural contexts, while AI translation systems demonstrate consistent limitations across all target languages, particularly when dealing with emotionally nuanced content containing extensive background cultural and historical information. The study contributes to translation studies by providing systematic empirical evidence for the continuing necessity of human cultural expertise in literary translation while identifying specific areas where AI systems might serve as auxiliary tools.