“Traditional” Translation Versus Automatic Translation: Use of Semicolon in Spanish and Serbian

Abstract

In this paper, we highlight the significance of punctuation marks within the framework of contrastive analysis, particularly the use of semicolon. We examine the basic uses of this punctuation mark in Spanish and Serbian on the example of the translation of the novel Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós, comparing two versions of the translation: human translation and an automatic translation produced by GPT. Considering that authors often deviate from spelling norms, we selected an author and his novel where such tendencies are not present. Benito Pérez Galdós is a representative of 19th-century Spanish realism, and his novel Doña Perfecta is characterized as a realistic novel. The conclusions regarding the similarities and differences in the use of this punctuation mark will serve as one of the guidelines for determining the behaviour of GPT translations when using this particular punctuation mark.