Revisiting Reflection: AI-Driven Transformation of Translation Reflection

Abstract

This conceptual article extends Chesterman’s 1997 stages of translation by three additional stages – problem solving, processing, and co-evolving – and redefines translation through reflective practice. In response to the growing complexity of AI-mediated translation workflows, it positions reflection as a key pedagogical and epistemological tool that supports translator agency and adaptive expertise. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights, the article highlights established and emerging reflective methods and calls for a comprehensive theory of translation reflection. It identifies theoretical, empirical, interdisciplinary, and pedagogical gaps in current scholarship, arguing that translation pedagogy is uniquely positioned to lead development of reflection theory. The article aims to contribute a conceptual framework that strengthens the role of reflection in translator education and practice in the age of AI.