Translating Tribal Invective: Between Translation and Betrayal – A Comparative Study of Analyzing Human and Machine Translation

This study examines the translation potential of tribal invective through a comparative analysis of machine and human translation of the case study “Al-Damigha” by the Umayyad poet Jarir, using the skopos theory developed by Vermeer. The study also employs Van Dijk’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework to explain the rhetoric and force of the poem’s verses before comparing machine and human translation. The results demonstrate that machine translation alone causes a loss in the poem’s rhetorical balance and ideological force, recommending the importance of human intervention, especially in literary works of high cultural specificity, such as “Al-Damigha,” to avoid betraying the literal equivalent at the expense of the cultural and rhetorical identity of the poetic verses.