Asking ChatGPT to translate does not always help much. Its idea of "translation" - as is unfortunately the case for many people - equates to literal translation.

One of the trickiest words to translate from English to Greek, for example, is "overwhelming." There are so many ways to render it, and translators who translate literally often get it wrong too.

In this example, a celebrity is harassed by the press at the airport and says "It was overwhelming". If you ask a chatbot to translate it, it will likely churn out "συντριπτικό", which is used in different contexts, like "overwhelming evidence".

But if you give the context and ask, "How did the person feel?" or "What does this mean?" it will probably lead you to better solutions.

This kind of prompt provides context and asks for more linguistic context (other words typically around a word). As a translator, based on my experience and knowledge of the actual context, I can get inspiration, retrieve words, and chose the most appropriate ones from those churned out of the machine.

Btw, this is how I reach solutions as well: asking myself and talking out loud, pretending I'm in that context. When I feel like it takes longer, I turn to a chatbot. I try to avoid it, though, to keep my brain sharp.

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