Capturing the Cultural Essence of Saudi Poetry through Artificial Intelligence: A Case Study of Selected Poems by Ibrahim Khafaji

الملخص

Aligning with the Ministry of Culture’s vision of promoting Saudi national art and identity, this study offers a literary-cultural evaluation of two approaches of translating two poems by Ibrahim Khafaji: the Saudi national anthem, “Hasten,” written in formal Arabic and the love poem, titled “I See You Every Day, Then Leave,” written in informal Arabic. The study compared the poems’ translations performed through artificial intelligence (AI) (Google Gemini and ChatGPT) and Google Translate, and found AI to be more competent in capturing the poems’ cultural essence. While both Gemini and ChatGPT surpassed Google Translate in delivering reliable translations, ChatGPT provided the most acceptable models from both poetic and cultural perspectives. The inaccuracy in translation models can be corrected through collaboration with human translators to ensure maximum accuracy. Despite being regarded as a national and cultural icon, English-language scholarly articles have neglected promoting Khafaji’s works outside the Middle East. Therefore, this study fills the gap in the existing literature on Saudi poetry and on the use of AI translation to foster international exposure. The study’s novelty lies in highlighting the value of Saudi poetry and the utility of AI in facilitating the translation and global dissemination of Saudi poetry.