In brief
The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies hosted a virtual lecture on November 5, 2026, examining AI’s role in translating the Najdi dialect and maintaining its cultural identity. Speakers highlighted the balance between technological efficiency and the preservation of local meaning, a key concern in the UNESCO Translating Cultures program.
In Riyadh, a virtual lecture was held on November 5, 2026, by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) to discuss how artificial intelligence can translate the Najdi dialect while keeping its cultural nuances intact. The event was part of UNESCO’s Translating Cultures program and received support from the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission.
Dr. Dana Al‑Suhaim, an associate professor of Translation Studies at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, delivered the main lecture. She explained the challenges of translating dialectal expressions from Najdi Arabic into other languages, stressing that it is not merely a question of finding equivalent words but also of preserving the social and cultural meanings embedded in the dialect.
Dr. Al‑Suhaim highlighted that local dialects are not inferior to Modern Standard Arabic; they are living repositories of identity and cultural memory. She illustrated how people express emotions, relationships, and everyday experiences through dialect, and that these aspects must be reconstructed by any translation system.
The lecture also examined the transformations AI has brought to translation practices. Dr. Al‑Suhaim and the audience explored questions about the capability of modern language models, not only in terms of literal accuracy but also in understanding and retaining cultural and social characteristics.
Dr. Arwa Al‑Mubaddal, an assistant professor at the College of Language Sciences at King Saud University, moderated the discussion. She emphasized the need for a reassessment of translation practices in a world where linguistic, cultural, technological, and ethical dimensions intersect.
The event opened with remarks by Dr. Moneera Al‑Ghadeer, chairholder of UNESCO’s Chair in Translating Cultures. She noted the chair’s interest in examining how translation and emerging technologies relate, especially the impact of AI on the production and exchange of meaning across cultures.
Dr. Al‑Ghadeer explained that translation is no longer merely the transfer of texts from one language to another. It has become a field that blends technological tools with deep cultural understanding, requiring a careful balance of human insight and AI capability.
The speakers pointed out that AI can provide efficiency in translating large volumes of text, but the technology must still be guided by linguistic and cultural experts. Otherwise, the subtlety of dialect and social reference could be lost.
The lecture discussed specific AI tools used by KFCRIS and its partners. These tools include advanced neural machine translation models fine‑tuned on Najdi Arabic corpora, along with human post‑editing to ensure fidelity to cultural context.
Participants shared case studies where AI aided scholars in translating Najdi poetry, traditional stories, and everyday conversations, enabling wider accessibility while maintaining authenticity.
Critics in the discussion cautioned against overreliance on AI, noting that it occasionally misinterprets figurative language or omits idiomatic expressions that carry specific cultural connotations. They emphasized that after AI produces a draft, a native speaker must review and adjust the translation to preserve meaning.
The lecture also touched on the potential for AI to help preserve endangered dialects. By creating digital archives of spoken Najdi and auto‑translating them, scholars could record cultural heritage for future generations.
A key takeaway was the need for collaboration between computational linguists, translators, and community members. This partnership ensures that AI tools are trained on authentic data and that output remains culturally resonant.
KFCRIS plans to continue exploring AI’s role in translation through future workshops and joint publications with UNESCO and other institutions. The center aims to publish guidelines for using AI responsibly in translating dialects like Najdi while safeguarding cultural identity.
In summary, the virtual lecture highlighted both the promise and the challenge of using AI for translating the Najdi dialect, underscoring the vital role of human expertise in preserving cultural nuance in translation projects.
