Strategic tendencies in generative AI translation of Zhuangzi’s core concepts: A quantitative analysis using BLEU, BERTScore and COMET
生成式AI英译《庄子》核心概念的策略倾向研究——基于BLEU、BERTScore与COMET的量化分析

摘要

生成式人工智能的发展为翻译研究提供了新的路径，也引发了不同模型翻译策略差异的讨论。本文以《庄子》内七篇30个核心概念（75个翻译单元）为研究对象，以理雅各和华兹生英译本分别作为异化与归化策略参照，采用BLEU、BERTScore和COMET三项评价指标，对ChatGPT（GPT-4o）与Qwen（通义千问）的英译结果进行量化比较。结果表明，两种模型整体上均与华兹生译本具有更高相似度，表现出较为明显的归化倾向；但在“大宗师”“无待”“卮言”等文化负载程度较高的概念上，Qwen与ChatGPT呈现出不同的策略选择，反映出模型在哲学概念翻译中的策略分化。三项评价指标所得结论基本一致，说明多指标交叉验证能够较为稳定地反映AI译文与参照译本之间的趋同性。研究认为，生成式AI的翻译策略并非由模型来源单一决定，而是受到文本体裁、概念属性及训练数据等多重因素的共同影响。“技术化译者主体性”为理解这种差异提供了新的解释视角。本研究可为生成式AI参与中国哲学典籍英译的策略评价及相关研究提供参考。

Abstract

This study examines the translation strategy tendencies of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in translating the core concepts of the Zhuangzi into English. Thirty representative concepts from the seven Inner Chapters, comprising 75 translation units, were selected as the corpus. The English translations by James Legge and Burton Watson were used as representative references for foreignization and domestication, respectively. ChatGPT (GPT-4o) and Qwen were compared using BLEU, BERTScore and COMET. The results show that both models demonstrate a stronger overall similarity to Watson’s translation, indicating a tendency toward domestication. Nevertheless, culturally loaded concepts such as Dashizong, Wudai and Zhiyan reveal noticeable differences between the two models, suggesting that AI translation strategies vary across philosophical concepts. The three evaluation metrics lead to largely consistent conclusions, indicating that a multi-metric approach provides a reliable basis for identifying translation strategy tendencies. The findings further suggest that AI translation strategies are jointly shaped by text genre, conceptual characteristics and training data rather than by the origin of the model alone. The notion of technologized translator subjectivity offers a useful perspective for interpreting these differences. This study provides empirical evidence for evaluating AI-assisted translation strategies in Chinese philosophical classics.