1、1Translation of the Public Signs in Guiyangand the Strategies of Their TranslationAbstract:The translation of public signs is very significant during the international exchange. It is the guidance for foreign friends who study, work and live in China. It embodies a citys cultural environment. It has
2、 a long research history in western countries while in China it is a brand-new research field. Thanks to the efforts of many experts, scholars and translators, the research of the translation of public signs has made great achievements. But there are still some problems existing in the translation o
3、f public signs, therefore it is urgent to further the research of the translation of public signs. This thesis will mainly analyze the current situation of the translation of public signs in Guiyang from the perspective of Functional Equivalence. In addition, this thesis will also explore some strat
4、egies of the translation of public signs after that analysis. Thus it will, to some degree, improve the quality of the translation of public signs in Guiyang as well as the citys image. Key words: public signs; current situation; strategies; functional equivalence2贵阳公示语翻译现状及其翻译策略摘 要：在对外交流中，公示语的翻译及其重
5、要。公示语对于在中国学习、工作和生活的外国友人具有非常重要的指导作用并且体现了一个城市的文化氛围。尽管国外对公示语翻译的研究具有很长的历史，但是国内公示语翻译的研究却几乎是一个全新的领域。如今，由于许多国内专家、学者和翻译家的努力，我国公示语翻译的研究取得了一系列令人可喜的成就。但是，国内公示语的翻译还存在着许多问题，因此对公示语翻译的研究就显得尤为迫切。本文将主要分析贵阳公示语翻译的现状并以此探索公示语翻译的策略，从而在一定程度上提高贵阳公示语翻译的质量以及贵阳的城市形象。关键词：公示语；现状；策略；功能对等3Contents1 Introduction .41.1 Literature R
6、eview.41.2 Significance of the Thesis51.3 Layout 52 Public Signs .62.1 The Definition and Features of Public Signs .62.2 The Classifications of Public Signs .62.3 The Functions of Public Signs .63 Current Situations of the Translation of Public Signs in Guiyang and the Principles and Strategies of T
7、heir Translation.63.1 The Examples of Problems Existing in Public Signs in Guiyang63.2 The Analysis of the Reasons Causing Those Problems from the Perspective of Functional Equivalence73.3 The Principles of the Translation of Public Signs Based on the Functional Equivalence.113.3.1 Consistency.113.3
8、.2 Be Brief.123.3.3 Appropriate Use of Rhetorical Devices 123.4 The Strategies of the Translation of Public Signs Based on the Functional Equivalence . 143.4.1 Semantic Translation 143.4.2 Communicative Translation153.4.3 Combination of the Two Strategies 154 Conclusion.16Bibliography .1741 Introduc
9、tion1.1 Literature ReviewNowadays, with the deepening of Chinas opening up and reform policy, more and more foreigners are coming to China to work, study and live here. To better facilitate foreigners life in China, most of Chinas cities begin to notice the importance of English public signs. They t
10、ake great effort to improve the English public signs. However, the study on public signs, which has a long history in foreign countries, is almost a new field for Chinese scholars. Due to the late start, there are many problems existing in the translation of public signs in Chinas cities.As we have
11、mentioned, the research of public signs in foreign countries has a long history. But it was not until 1980s that Chinas scholars began to pay attention to this kind research. Actually the real start of study on public signs was in 21st century. In 2002, Beijing International Studies University set u
12、p the Research Center of English and Chinese Public Signs, which marked the real beginning of research of public signs in China. In 2005, the First Symposium on Chinese and English Signs co-hosted by Translators Association of China, China Daily and China National Institute of Standardization was he
13、ld in Beijing International Studies University. The symposium discussed many issues such as translation theory, the translation of public signs, translation Criteria for public signs and so on. Besides Chinas scholars such as Wang Yinquan, Jinlong and He Xuegeng also put forward some principles and
14、strategies of translation of public signs. Those efforts made by Chinas research institutions and scholars have improved the translation of public signs significantly in China, nevertheless, there are still some problems which need to be solved so that China will give foreign friends a good impressi
15、on. This thesis will take Guiyang as an example to analyze problems that exist in English public signs. Based on the analysis of those problems and Eugene A. Nidas Functional Equivalence, the thesis will discuss the principles and strategies of 5translation of public signs so that it will help Guiya
16、ng and other cities in China to improve the English public signs. 1.2 Significance of the ThesisAs the provincial city, Guiyang, the economic, political and cultural center of Guizhou Province, is attracting more and more foreign friends to study, work and live in here. The accurate translation of p
17、ublic signs plays an essential role in guiding the foreign friends, however, the problems existing in the translation often misguide them. Thus it is necessary to improve the translation of public signs. And this thesis aims to analyze the mistakes existing in the translation of public signs in Guiy
18、ang so that it will help to improve the quality of the translation of public signs, which, of course, will better guide the foreigners living in Guiyang. Through the analysis of the mistakes and problems, this thesis will also provide some strategies for the translation of public signs in Guiyang ev
19、en in China.1.3 LayoutThis thesis consists of four parts. The first part, which includes the brief narration of the current research situation of this subject, is a general introduction to this thesis. The second part is the knowledge that is related to the public signs. The third part which is the
20、main part of this thesis is the analysis of the problems of translation of public signs in Guiyang and it also explores the strategies of their translation. The last part gives a conclusion to this thesis. 62 Public Signs2.1 The Definition and Features of Public SignsPublic signs, whose main aim is
21、to inform, remind and warn the public in public signs, is a kind of letters and images which are closely related to peoples daily lives As to the features of public signs, it has three main features which are the flexibility of using words, the brevity of description and the accuracy of express.2.2
22、The Classifications of Public SignsThere are many types of public signs. It mainly includes the shopping signs, travelling signs, traffic signs and institution names, names of places and public slogans and so on. For instance, “Shopping Plaza”, Duty Free Shop” and “Discount Store” (Lv HefaShang Lipi
23、ng, 2009:159) are the shopping signs. “Train Attendant”, Mail and Luggage Van” and “International Arrivals” (Lv HefaShang Liping,2009:39-49) are the travelling signs. As to the other public signs, we can see them at many places such as highways, airports, shops, streets and so on. 2.3 The Functions
24、of Public SignsAs an important part of social lives and a communication tool to provide imperative and useful information to the public, public signs have four main functions which are the directing, prompting, restricting and compelling functions. For instance, the public sign “Construction AheadDe
25、tour” is used to inform people that the road is closed because of construction. As to the restricting functions, we often see the sign “No Smoking”, “No Parking” and “No Talking” and so on in many public places. 73 Current Situations of the Translation of Public Signs in Guiyang and the Principles a
26、nd Strategies of Their Translation3.1 The Examples of Problems Existing in Public Signs in GuiyangIn order to provide better service for the foreigners living in Guiyang, the government is trying their best to improve the quality of the translation of public signs. And it has improved indeed due to
27、the governments efforts. But after collecting the English version of public signs in Guiyang, we find that there are still some mistranslations which need to be corrected immediately so that it wont misguide the foreigners. After analyzing the materials we collected, we think there exists mainly thr
28、ee problems in the English version of public signs. The first one is that there is no unified standard of the terms. For example, there are at least four versions of the translation of “可回收和不可回收”. The first version is “Recyclable other cities public signs also have the same problem. For instance, in
29、 Changzhou the sign of “国际动漫艺术节 ” held in 2007 also have two different translations2007 China Changzhou International Animation Arts Week Expo and 2007 Changzhou China International Animation and Digital Arts Week Expo. This kind of translation will misguide the foreigners instead of providing them
30、with accurate information.The second one is that there are some wrong spellings of some words. For 8example, “toilet” is wrongly spelled as “toilot” and “construction” as “constriction”. Another example is that the sign “吸烟室” is translated as “Smorking Room” (He Xueyun, 2006: 3). Besides, the sign “
31、工作重地”in CSC is translated as “Stuff Only” instead of “Staff Only”. The wrong spelling will undoubtedly make the foreigners confused, which will cause great inconvenience to their lives.The last one is the mixed use of Pinyin and English words. For example, “往西南环线”is translated as “To Xinan Ring Rd”
32、and “为了你的安全、乘坐1、2、17、20、24、203、74、65、29、夜间 K29 路的旅客请往地下通道走”is translated as “For your safety , ride 1, 2, 17, 20, 24, 203, 74, 65, 29 night K29 road Passengers Wang Dexia (Dixia) aisle”. Frankly speaking, if we Chinese just read the English version we cannot understand what the public sign is trying
33、 to tell not to mention the foreigners. 3.2 The Analysis of the Reasons Causing Those Problems from the Perspective of Functional EquivalenceIn 1969, Nida gave an explicit definition of Dynamic equivalence: Dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to which the receptors
34、of the message in the receptor language respond to it in substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language (Nida, 2004; 24). But the expression, dynamic, is often misinterpreted only as the influential things, which causes many people to believe that if a translation is influenti
35、al, it must be the example of the Dynamic equivalence. In order to avoid this kind of misinterpretation, Nida used “Functional Equivalence” to replace “Dynamic Equivalence” in 1993. The functional equivalence consists of four aspects which are equivalence at word, equivalence at syntax, equivalence
36、at text and equivalence at style.According to the functional equivalence, we will analyze the reasons that cause the mistranslation of public signs in Guiyang. There are three main requirements of 9Functional Equivalence. The first one is the equivalence of cultural message of source language and ta
37、rget language. The second one is the equivalence of stylistic message of source language into target language. The last one is the equivalence of semantic message of source language and target language. Some problems existing in the translation of public signs in Guiyang are caused by the failure to
38、 adhere to the above three requirements. Firstly, the English version of public signs aims to serve the foreigners, which needs us to take foreign culture and custom into consideration when translating the public signs. If we fail to do that, we may probably cause offence to the foreigners. For inst
39、ance, the public signs “闲人免进” in Walmart is translated into “Strangers are forbidden”. Other English versions of “闲人免进” are “Guest go no further” and “Guest stop here” and so on. However, in America and European countries they rarely use this kind of public sign. They prefer to use “Employees/Staff
40、only”. This public sign conveys the real meaning that this place is only open to their employees in a way that will not cause offence to anyone. The above example indicates that we should take the cultural differences between two countries into consideration when we translate some informatory signs
41、so that we wont make the foreigners feel uncomfortable. Another example is that the sign “以患者为中心” in a hospital in Guiyang is translated into “Treat the Patient as God”. The Chinese version conveys the public services principle XX is the God. That is really considerable. However, in the western cult
42、ure God is sacred and is a deity that people worship. In westerners mind, god is holly and people cannot be compared with him. Seeing this public sign, foreigners may think that the hospital worships the patient as they worship the god instead of thinking that it takes good care of the patient. Ther
43、efore, they cannot understand the humanistic connotation contained in the Chinese version. It may be much better if we translate it into “The Patient is Our First Priority”. It is not difficult for us to find that the translators who translated the above two public signs didnt take the cultural diff
44、erences into consideration. There are still 10quite a lot of the similar examples such as the translation of “不要践踏草坪”-“Dont Tread on Grass”. But in America people often use “Please give me a chance to grow”.Secondly, the public sign is also a kind of text which has different styles, too. That requir
45、es us to pay attention to the stylistic features of different public signs. For example, we should use the imperatives or phrases when translating the warning signs such as “当心碰头” 、 “当心踏空”and “小心台阶”. The above three signs can be translated into “Mind Your Head”, “Watch Your Step” and “Mind the Step”
46、. Besides we should use the following sentence patterns such as “Dont”, “No” or “Forbidden”, “prohibited” when translating the signs which carry the connotation of prohibition. However, there are still some mistakes existing in Guiyangs public signs which express the meaning of prohibition. For exam
47、ple, the sign “烟头切勿投入” on a garbage can in Guiyang is translated into “The Cigarette Butt Throws In Absolutely Not To”. This translation is really confusing. The foreigners cannot understand what meaning the sign wants to tell. If translated into “Dont Put Cigarette into It”, its meaning may be clea
48、rer. Thirdly, the main purpose of public signs is to express information. Therefore to keep the foreigners be well informed, we must guarantee the accuracy of the public signs. But the mistranslations in Guiyang often make the foreigners confused. For instance, the public sign “警风监督电话”is translated
49、into Police breeze the hurl tell a telephone and the sign “请您带好随身物品”in a bus is translated into “Please take good personal luggage”. Another example is the translation of “严禁向窗外抛扔物品”on a train in Guiyang Railway Station. It is translated into “Strictly forbid toward window to throw to throw a product”. The above public signs will cause the foreigners confused instead of telling them the clear meaning. Nidas functional equivalence thinks the meaning is the most important aspect that should be considered seriously when we translate a text. The abov
