The Effect of Prompts on LLMs Performance in Translating Maribi Proverbs from Arabic into English: An Analysis of Strategies and Accuracy

Abstract

This study aims at examining the effect of employing prompts on the the accuracy and strategies used by LLMs in translating Maribi proverbs. To achieve the objectives of this study, 74 Maribi proverbs were processed into Chat GPT, Gemini and Deepseek.a quantitative approach was utilized and the frequencies and percentage and means were run via SPSS to yield the result.  Based on the outcomes of these Models, a thorough analysis of the accuracy of translation and the strategies used were made. The findings of the study revealed that the prompts on the had a great effect on all LLMs- particularly Gemini. also the strategies were modified from literal to paraphrase and use of proverbs of similar meanings and form. they study concluded with implications for teaching translation courses, stressing on teaching students how to use and design prompts.