DEVELOPING LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL AWARENESS THROUGH MACHINE TRANSLATION POST-EDITING IN JAPANESE–INDONESIAN TRANSLATION LEARNING

Abstract

The rapid development of Neural Machine Translation (NMT) has changed the way translation is taught and learned. Although machine translation systems are now widely used in translation classrooms, many students still tend to accept machine-generated translations without carefully examining their linguistic and cultural appropriateness. This study investigates how Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) helps develop students' linguistic and cultural awareness in Japanese–Indonesian translation learning. A convergent mixed-methods design was employed involving undergraduate students who participated in ten instructional meetings using three Japanese folktales as translation materials. Data were collected from students' MTPE products, reflection sheets, and perception questionnaires. The findings show that students went beyond correcting errors in machine-generated translations by actively evaluating and revising linguistic and cultural meanings. During the post-editing process, they reconsidered word choices, revised semantic and pragmatic meanings, and adjusted culturally embedded expressions. Many students were also able to explain the reasons behind their revisions and reflect on the linguistic and cultural issues they encountered, although some revisions still resulted in overly free interpretations that altered the original meaning. These preliminary findings indicate that MTPE provides students with opportunities to examine machine-generated translations more critically while gradually developing greater awareness of linguistic and cultural aspects of translation. This study offers preliminary insights into how MTPE can support the development of linguistic and cultural awareness in Japanese–Indonesian translation learning.