(part 2 of 2)
The human translation:
"Poetry –
but what is poetry anyway?
More than one rickety answer
has tumbled since that question first was raised.
But I just keep on not knowing, and I cling to that
like a redemptive handrail."
https://www.szymborska.org.pl/en/wislawa/selected-poems/some-people-like-poetry/
Translated by Stanisław Barańczak and Clare Cavanagh
The LLM translation:
"Poetry –
but what exactly is poetry.
More than one wavering answer
to this question has already been given.
And I do not know and do not know and cling to that
like to a saving handrail."
Interesting result: the LLM translation could be more accurate (compare the penultimate line) word-by-word but I still would prefer the human translation. For instance, the word "saving" may be more common (higher probability in LLM) but the word "redemptive" has a different quality. Also, the human translation paints a picture ("rickety", "tumbled") while the LLM version does not. The poem translated by humans is a new work of art, the LLM translation is not.
Apparently, human translators are a species at the brink of extinction, which I find very regrettable. It would be good to have in books a quality label like "translated by humans" to protect that species.
#poetry #translation #AI #WislawaSzymborska
