IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jfr/wjel11/v16y2026i1p45.html

Strategies of Rendering Metaphor from Arabic into English: A Comparative Study of ChatGPT and Matecat

Author

Listed:
  • Bilal Alsharif
  • Razan Khasawneh
  • Musa Alzghoul

Abstract

This study examines the translation strategies employed in rendering Arabic metaphors from Naguib Mahfouz's ZuqÄ q al-Midaq into English, comparing the approaches of a human translator with those of two machine translation systems- ChatGPT-4 and Matecat. Drawing upon Nida's (1964) theory of formal and dynamic equivalence, the research analyzed 106 metaphors to identify predominant translation strategies. The findings reveal that the human translator consistently adopted dynamic equivalence, effectively re-creating the metaphorical meaning and cultural nuances for the target audience. In contrast, while ChatGPT-4 demonstrated a notably higher tendency towards dynamic equivalence compared to Matecat, both machine translation systems still frequently resorted to formal equivalence, resulting in more literal or less idiomatic renditions. This indicates that, despite advancements, machine translation, including advanced large language models (LLMs), continues to face significant challenges in accurately conveying the subtle complexities of figurative language. The study highlights the indispensable role of human translators in achieving nuanced and culturally sensitive metaphorical translations while also underscoring the potential of advanced AI tools to enhance the translation process when complemented by human expertise.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilal Alsharif & Razan Khasawneh & Musa Alzghoul, 2026. "Strategies of Rendering Metaphor from Arabic into English: A Comparative Study of ChatGPT and Matecat," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-45, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:jfr:wjel11:v:16:y:2026:i:1:p:45
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/wjel/article/download/26703/17189
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/wjel/article/view/26703
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Razan Rateb Khasawneh & Mohamed Abdou Moindjie & Shaidatul Akma Adi Kasuma, 2025. "Diachronic Translation of Figures of Speech in Antara's Mu'allaqa," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 15(3), pages 290-290, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rasheed AL-Jarrah, 2026. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: A cross-linguistic investigation of /h/ symbolism: the case of H2O," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Musa A. Alzghoul & Jaber Abualasal & Tahani S. Alazzam & Saif Al-Deen Al-Ghammaz & Raghad M. Alzghoul, 2025. "The Status Quo of Translation Technology Tools in Translator Training Programs at Jordanian Universities," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 15(7), pages 398-398, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jfr:wjel11:v:16:y:2026:i:1:p:45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sciedu Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://wjel.sciedupress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.