Prompting ChatGPT for Translation: A Comparative Analysis of Translation Brief and Persona Prompts

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the impact of translation briefs and personas in prompts for ChatGPT translation tasks, highlighting their limited effectiveness and the need for further research.

Contribution

It explores the use of translation concepts like briefs and personas in prompt design, revealing their limited impact on translation quality in ChatGPT.

Findings

Certain elements facilitate human-to-human translation communication

Effectiveness of translation briefs and personas is limited in ChatGPT

Calls for research on integrating translation theory into AI training

Abstract

Prompt engineering has shown potential for improving translation quality in LLMs. However, the possibility of using translation concepts in prompt design remains largely underexplored. Against this backdrop, the current paper discusses the effectiveness of incorporating the conceptual tool of translation brief and the personas of translator and author into prompt design for translation tasks in ChatGPT. Findings suggest that, although certain elements are constructive in facilitating human-to-human communication for translation tasks, their effectiveness is limited for improving translation quality in ChatGPT. This accentuates the need for explorative research on how translation theorists and practitioners can develop the current set of conceptual tools rooted in the human-to-human communication paradigm for translation purposes in this emerging workflow involving human-machine interaction, and how translation concepts developed in translation studies can inform the training of GPT models for translation tasks.