On the C-E Translation of Public Sign 英语专业毕业论文.doc

on the c-e translation of public signacknowledgementsi am writing this letter to express my gratitude to those who have ever helped me during my dissertation-writing period.my sincere and hearty thanks and appreciations go firstly to mr. fan, my supervisor, whose suggestions and encouragement have given me much insight into this thesis writing. it has been a great privilege and joy to study under his guidance and supervision. furthermore, it is my honor to benefit from his personality and diligence, which i will cherish my whole life. due to his help, i have learned lessons and finally finished my dissertation.i am also extremely thankful to all my friends and classmates who have patiently given me assistance and suggestions during the process of writing.contentsabstract11. introduction2. demonstration2.1. an overview of public signs2.1.1 definition of public signs2.1.2 functions of public signs2.1.2.1 informative function2.1.2.2 persuasive function2.1.2.3 prohibitive function2.2 principles of c-e translation of public signs2.2.1 fulfillment of intended functions2.2.2 naturalness of expressions2.2.3 cultural appropriateness2.3 the current problems in the c-e translation of public signs in china2.3.1 spelling mistakes2.3.2 erroneous word-for-word translation2.3.3 misuse of words and expressions2.3.4 culture inappropriateness2.3.5 misunderstanding of the source texts2.4 strategies for translating public signs2.4.1 correct attitude of the translator2.4.2 make flexible use of both metaphrase and paraphrases2.4.3 using idiomatic english collections and set phrases2.4.4 translating in accordance with standard public signs of equivalent function in english-speaking countries2.4.5 adding pictograms and ideograms to public signs3conclusionon the c-e translation of public signs abstract: public signs in appropriate english translation are very significant to china, which is in the move of international development. the primal target of public signs is to caution, inform and publicize the related information to the foreign tourists in china. with these intended functions, public signs can offer more convenience to foreign tourists in china. however, at present, it still remains a lot of problems in the c-e translation of public signs. this paper mainly takes a close look at the present situation on the c-e translation of public signs in the public. after the discussion of such examples with some visible problems and the analysis of these problems, the appropriate c-e translating strategies will be proposed immediately. it is good for the public to pay more attention to the appropriate c-e translation of public signs. it is hoped that these useful and practical strategies can improve and perfect the versions of translating public signs.key words: public signs; definition; functions; principles; problems; strategies.摘要：英译公示语对国际化发展进程中的中国来说，有着十分重要的意义。英译公示语的预期对象为在华外国友人和外国旅客，为的是达到向其警示、告知、宣传的预期功能。但是目前，公示语的英译依然存在着许多问题。本文就现存的状况，结合具体的公示语的汉英翻译实例，分析问题，并提出适当的翻译策略，加强对公示语汉英翻译的重视，以期完善并提高英译公示语的翻译水平。 关键词：公示语；定义；原则；出现问题；翻译策略1. introductionwith the rapid development of economy and technology, china has become a member of the international community and more and more foreigners are willing to travel around china to know more about china. furthermore, china is now in the spotlight of the world, and provides a good opportunity for foreign travelers to understand its rich culture. so we should offer them a comfortable, pleasant and convenient journey in china. undoubtedly, conspicuous and intelligible english public signs are the first step to serve the purpose. 2. demonstration2.1 an overview of public signs2.1.1 definition of public signswhen it matters to the public signs, we should first know what the real meaning the public signs is, what can be included in the category so that we could more effectively study the proper methods of translating the public signs. according to lv hefa, one of the experts in chinese translation association, “public signs are words, expressions and pictures with special information, which caution, inform and publicize the related information of peoples daily life, such as in agriculture, industry and service industry. it is regarded as one special language, just like “标识语或标志语或标示语”in chinese, to convey useful information to the public, involving every aspects of the life.” many researches were carried out in the name of “标示语, ( bian zhengdong2005) 标志语, 标识语 or 揭示语. (wang ying & lv hefa, 2007: 13) ”, which as the counterpart for “public signs” just in recent years. to meet the development of economy and society, many cities in china try their best to adopt c-e translation of public signs to make them convenient and understandable to foreign tourists who are visiting china. 2.1.2 functions of public signs2.1.2.1 informative functionfirstly, informative function is the major function of language. public signs with informative function are to provide people with information service they need. with the help of the informative function, we can get the right details to adjust our behaviors. for example: at the sight of such a public sign: information (问询服务), people are informed that the counter is where people can inquire and get information immediately. business hours(营业时间) is a public sign in a shop or a bank to tell customers that during this time they are able to go shopping or business. similar signs includes: airport security(机场安检), baby change(婴儿换巾处), internet caf(网吧), etc.2.1.2.2 persuasive functionpersuasive public signs tend to regulate the behaviors of the public, which not only inform people, but also lead people to pay attention to their behavior. different from the informative public signs, it is characterized by a persuasive tone in the signs without expressing in a very direct way. and it is best exemplified by the following public signs. fully booked(客满) shows that there is no more room or seat, so the intended audience will leave to look for some other hotels. also, ticket only(凭票入场) indicates that entry can only be permitted when you have tickets. other examples are: seat by number(对号入座), buses only(只准公交车通过), etc. due to such kind of public signs, the influence upon readers is obviously to be sensed. in a word, many public signs have such a function.2.1.2.3 prohibitive functionthere are also some public signs with restrictive message to draw everybodys attention. public signs are supposed to engage for the safety of all the people. those public signs mostly begin with “no” or “don”t, which are the negative words with a strong force. just like these public signs: do not touch(请勿触摸), no picture(请勿照相), do not touch(请勿触摸), dogs not allowed(禁止带狗入内), etc. these signs are compulsory; otherwise some penalty will follow in the end to warn some people who always dont comply with the principles. 2.2 principles of c-e translation of public signsas we all know, public signs can be found everywhere, although some of them have a few defects. how we can translate the public signs well and how to deal with the problems in the translation. these two questions are the elements of translating the public signs. 2.2.1 fulfillment of intended functionsit is known that public signs are characterized by informative, persuasive and prohibitive types. the good translations, to a great degree, must reflect one of these functions that the chinese version intends to fulfill. so translators should put the fulfillment of the intended functions to the first place. to understand what is the intended function of the public signs is a precondition to translating public sign.2.2.2 naturalness of expressionstranslating in a normative way is also another criterion for a perfect version. the language used in the translation is apt to not only follow the normative expressions of english language, but also comply with the idioms or related collocations in english-speaking countries. those expressions, natural to foreign tourists, are to be accepted successfully by the average tl audience. with the help of these natural expressions or idioms, foreign visitors will have a better understanding of the meanings of the public signs in china. 2.2.3 cultural appropriatenessappropriateness needs to be applied into the translation of public signs as well. that is to say, the translations of public signs in english tend to be in keeping with the foreign tourists acceptances to a great extent. on one hand, the correctness of words and expressions in the translation of public signs are very necessary. on the other hand, it is significant for the translators to translate public signs to correspond with english-speaking countries culture. 2.3 the current problems in the c-e translation of public signs in chinaas we have discussed above, the current situation of translating the public signs do not adapt to the current development of china. although we put c-e translation of public signs into practice, there are a lot of serious problems in the english-versions of public signs in many areas in china. the current problems are divided as follows:2.3.1 spelling mistakesthe first problem easily found is the mistakes of spelling. it can be seen in the public signs that there are some missing alphabets or other mistakes of spelling. it is obviously ascribed to the negligence and irresponsibility of translators without proofreading. they often take it for granted that they could finish the translation in time without making mistakes. due to this attitude, this kind of such mistakes are often made as to be regarded as ridiculous ones. as the following example:e.g. environmenfriendly it is written on the surface of a dustbin. as we all know, it is apparent that the correct version is “environmentfriendly” because of the wrongly spelling word“”. at the sight of this sign, in fact, most will realize the real meaning, while such error in the translation of public signs seem so ridiculous to the foreign tourists.2.3.2 erroneous word-for-word translationanother problem is to translate word-for-word from the chinese versions, which is called erroneous word-for-word translation. some translators neglect the purpose of translating public signs, so they just think that translating public signs is simply translating chinese into english literally, which is different from metaphrase. as a result, the english versions are hard to be understood by foreigners; such public signs will even mislead foreign tourists.e.g. 休息室the chinese version is, while we chinese translate it as “restroom” into english, which is because that “rest” means “休息” and “room” means “室” in chinese. but the real meaning of the word-“restroom” is “洗手间” in chinese, it is the defect of such translation. the translators simply regard “restroom”is the equivalent of “休息室”. they dont understand the real meaning of “restroom”in english.2.3.3 misuse of words and expressionsthe translation of public signs should comply with the english collocations or expressions. in fact, there are many collocations and idioms in english we can make full use of and we dont need to use chinglish, which can easily cause mistakes in translations. so we should take the cultural consciousness into consideration at the same time in order to avoid translating wrongly. because of the differences in the cross-cultural consciousness, we may misunderstand the real meaning that public signs convey. hence, we should avoid misusing words and expressions. just like this phrase-“游客止步”-which is often seen in the public. the incorrect translation of this sign is “strangers are forbidden.” or“tourists please stop.” at the sight of this version, foreigners will do what this public sign requires so that they actually stop in front of the public signs due to the word “stop”. as to the translation of this public sign, wed better reword it as “employees/staff only” or “lounge/lobby”, which are the idiomatic expressions used commonly in english-speaking countries. the real meaning of this public signs is to call attention to the tourists that the location is the working place for the staffs instead of an area to be visited by tourists.2.3.4 culture inappropriatenesssome translators are not used to translating the public signs in a normative way. such problem manifests two aspects in the translation of public signs. first, the translators easily mix up chinese words with english words at will. as we glimpse that “黄山” is translated into “huangshan mountain”. it can be pointed out as the typical example to this problem. in a strict way, it is better to be translated into “huangshan” to cater to the third principlecultural appropriateness.second, because of different customs, foreigners are willing to be persuaded by the indirect and implicit expressions. when we translate the sign “不许践踏草坪”in chinese, we had better translate it into “thank you for keeping off the grass” instead of “dont tread on grass”. here is another example: at the sight of this sign“文明行为，带来健康人生”in chinese version, we may translate it into “civilized behavior brings us healthy life”. however, it is not logic in the english-speaking context. we can revise it as “good manners make a good mind” or “good mental health is ageless” so that it caters to foreigners acceptances.2.3.5 misunderstanding of the source textslast but not least, the misunderstanding of the chinese version leads to the wrong translations of public signs. therefore, it all depends on the comprehension of the translators to improve the english versions. the most significant point in translating the public signs lies on the precise understanding of the source texts, just as the following example shows:e.g. 花草宜人，请多关照。take good care of the flowers and plantswe all know that the real meaning of the sentence is “不要践踏、采摘” in chinese. it does not really acquire us to take a good care of the flowers and plants. if we adopt the english version in the above example, foreigners will be confused, thinking that they will be asked for caring about the flowers, which should be the duties of gardeners. therefore, it is proper to translate it into “keep off the grass and flower-beds.” instead of “take good care of the flowers and plants.” 2.4 strategies for translating public signsafter we have discussed the current problems on the translation above, we should realize that the current situation of c-e translation of public signs is not satisfactory to the foreign visitor now. it is time for us to look for some effective methods to solve such problems in order to make public signs conform to the standards of translation of public signs. it is hoped that these appropriate methods can improve and perfect the quality of the english-versions without making more mistakes to misguide foreign tourists in china.2.4.1 correct attitude of the translatorwe must give a rigorous attitude a priority consideration. as a translator, it is a chief request to study the c-e translation of public sign. a good attitude is to know the key to the task. when the translation versions have been produced, we need to proofread them attentively to confirm that the english versions are correct on the whole. therefore, it is necessary for the translators to have a correct attitude to deal with the c-e translation of public signs.2.4.2 make flexible use of both metaphrase and paraphrasesas mao dun(茅盾) once said, “我以为所谓的直译者也，倒并非一定是字对字，一个不多，一个不少。直译的意义就是不要歪曲了原作的面目，要表达原作的精神。”(i think that the so-called literal translation is by no means the word-for-word translation, exactly judging by the words and phrases of the original. it should mean to express the original spirit without distorting the original features.) (何三宁、唐国跃、范勇：实用英汉翻译教程2005:262) according to this remark, on one hand, we should confirm that translating public signs should reflect the information of signs in chinese versions in a clear way. on the other hand, translators must be armed with professional knowledge needed so that they are able to translate in a normative and proper way. 2.4.3 using idiomatic english collections and set phrasesbecause english is widely used in the world with a long and rich history, there are lots of set phrases and collocations to express the right meanings. as to some public signs, we can make full use of the set phrases and collocations in english-speaking countries instead of rigid word-for-word translation. most of these set phrases and collocations are so precise that they can be used conveniently and neatly in the public places. here are some examples that can be often seen and accepted by all foreign readers:e.g. 1.（办事处、商店）开放：open2.（办事处、商店）休息：closed 3.茶楼：tea bar 4.当心碰到头：mind your head/lower your head 5.超值享受：best value 6.免费入场：admission free2.4.4 translating in accordance with standard public signs of equivalent function in english-speaking countriesit is hoped to use normative expressions to avoid awkward translations. influenced by the thought of chinese, some translators are unable to free themselves from the native language environment. in addition, they must consider the appropriate translations in english at the same time, so thats the possible reason that they make mistakes when translating the public signs. the transformation of the thought between chinese and english is specially considered in translating the public signs. the suggestion is to put chinese pinyin（拼音） and english versions in public signs together at the same time. it will seem clear and brief to both chinese and foreigners. just like the following examples, these two translations are all correct:八一七中路ba yiqi zhonglu middle 817 road 南后街nan hou jiesouth back street 江滨大道jiangbin dadao riverside avenue/water front promenade2.4.5 adding pictogra