Translation as a Medium of Cultural Transfer and a Catalyst for the Development of Linguistic Studies

Abstract

Translation is an interdisciplinary field that facilitates cross-cultural communication by transferring knowledge, cultural values, and social perspectives across languages. As linguistic studies and digital technologies continue to evolve, translation has become a complex process involving linguistic, cultural, pragmatic, and technological dimensions rather than simple linguistic substitution. This study aims to examine the relationship between translation, cultural transfer, and linguistic development while exploring the relevance of translation theory in the era of globalization and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Using a qualitative descriptive approach with a library research design, data were collected from scholarly books and peer-reviewed journal articles on translation studies, applied linguistics, intercultural communication, and AI-assisted translation. The findings indicate that translation contributes significantly to the development of semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and corpus linguistics. Although AI and Neural Machine Translation have improved translation efficiency and lexical consistency, they remain limited in interpreting implicit meanings, idiomatic expressions, humor, metaphors, and culturally embedded concepts. Consequently, translators' intercultural competence, pragmatic awareness, and ethical judgment remain essential for producing accurate and communicatively effective translations. This study highlights translation as a dynamic interdisciplinary field that integrates language, culture, and technology to support effective global communication.