Analysis of Improper Translation ofPublic Signs and the Strategies of Their Translation.doc

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1、Analysis of Improper Translation of Public Signs and the Strategies of Their Translation Abstract: The fact that more and more foreigners come to China on business or for a tour makes the translation of public signs important and necessary. However, it is not an easy job for a translator to translat

2、e the signs correctly. As a result, erroneous translations can be seen everywhere. Therefore, the study of public signs and their translation becomes an urgent and significant task. This thesis aims at making an overall study of Chinese public signs and their translation on the basis of error analys

3、is. In the thesis, some of theories and linguistic rules are applied for the purpose of identifying translation errors and providing possible solutions. At last, the thesis gave a summary that the translators should cultivate a sense of language, improve language ability and analyse context by logic

4、al thinking.Key Words: public signs, translation principle, error analysis, translation strategy 摘要：随着中国经济的发展及其国际地位的提高，越来越多的外国人来华投资或旅游，公示语成为他们了解中国的窗口，。然而，国内的公示语环境甚至可以用“脏、乱、差”来表示，所以，加强公示语翻译的研究和采取切实有力的措施去改善公示语翻译的质量，是我们刻不容缓的任务。本文旨在分析公示语翻译错误的基础上，对公示语进行全面的介绍，并提出具体的翻译策略。最后，对全文进行了概括总结，并对译者提出建议。译者应该培养语感，提高语

5、言能力，以逻辑思维来进行语境分析。关键词： 公示语；翻译原则；错误分析；翻译策略 Introduction The fact that more and more foreigners come to China on business or for a tour makes public signs “the window” access to Chinese culture.However, we do not pay adequate attention to the translation of public signs.Whats more, it is not an easy jo

6、b for a translator to translate the signs correctly. As a result, erroneous translations may be seen everywhere. Therefore, the study of public signs and their translation becomes an urgent and significant task. Public signs use terse and explicit words, sentences,and so on.As a particular variety o

7、f English, public signs have their stylistic characteristics. It is directing, prompting, restricting and compelling in terms of function; it is terse, conventional and intertextual from the perspective of style; They also use abbreviations and photographs to attract the readers. In fact, many error

8、s are made in the translation of public signs. Thisthesis sheds light on the linguistic theories in this field such as error analysis,language transfer. The thesis begins the analysis of different types of errors from the perspective of language and culture by extensive examples. Linguistic errors a

9、re made on the level of misspelling, grammar, semantic,such as Wrong Preposition, Obscure Meaning ,whereas cultural errors tend to be made due to the lack of the cultural background knowledge, such as misused words, inharmonious tone, and pragmatic failure. And then, the thesis says , in order to ac

10、hieve the evocative effect and perlocutionary force, a translator can employ various techniques to polish his version on the basis of faithfulness to the original, such as literal translation, free translation, Obscure Meaning, Analogy. Finally, I reaffirms the significance of the translation of pub

11、lic signs and provides suggestions for translators. A conscientious translator should develop various abilities, such as language sensibility, contextualanalysis and logical thinking.Chapter One Generalization on Public Signs 1.1 DefinitionPublic signs are widely applied in various fields of life,es

12、pecially in tourism. They are seen everywhere by the tourists in the places which are involved in accommodation, travel, entertainment and shopping, such as hotels, subways, hospitals, parks, supermarkets, museum, etc. We know, public signs are terse and explicit words, sentences, even photographs t

13、hat are closely related to daily life, production, ecology and professions so as to direct, prompt, restrict, warn, or even compel the public.Public signs are of significance in regulating social behaviour, adjusting individual relationship, enhancing productivity and some other social aspects. So t

14、o speak, they keep it possible for foreign friends to make a better understanding of Chinese culture and civilization in many perspectives. Thus, countries and organizations attach great importance to their regulation and application.Public signs have a unique and convincing structure as well as att

15、ractive and compelling tone. They can be formal or informal. Some of them are composed of words, phrases or sentences, such as:注意：Attention 警告: Warning紧急出口：Emergency Exit 请用现金：Cash Only Please严禁穿行：No Trespassing ! 报警按铃：Alarm Will Sound高温！勿触！ Hot ! Avoid Contact !利用，不滥用 Use it, Nont waste it1.2 Funct

16、ions of Public Signs Public signs are widely applied in every aspect of life and influencepeoples daily life directly in turn. By providing the service of information, signs satisfy the social, behavioral and psychological demand of the tourist and the public.So public signs have four functions in p

17、ractical application, i.e. “directing, prompting, restricting and compelling”. They will be discussed one by one in this thesis.1.2.1 Directing “Language serves an informative function when it is used to tell what the speaker believes, to give information about facts, or to reason things out.” (Hu Z

18、huanglin, 2000) The directive public signs only present the information of guiding services without any intention of warning or prohibiting. Therefore, they mean directing the content of the service rather than requiring the public to do something. For example, the sign “汽车租赁”(Car Rental) means that

19、 a car can be rented from this company or organization. If you need no car, you dont have to know or do something. So the sign aims at offering some reference information to the public, and people may selectively accept them to know their location, direction and purpose of action. Another example, t

20、he sign “观众安检通道”(Security Check Gate)(The 6th Asian Winter Games) informs the audience who come to the Winter Games that they have to be checked for the sake of their safety here and this is the only way to get in and out, while the sign means nothing to the passer-bys. More examples:地铁 Underground

21、行人（绕行） Pedestrians商务中心 Business Center 问询服务 Information化妆品部 Cosmetics 收费站 Toll Gate新鲜果蔬 Fresh Produce 外卖服务 Take Away夜总会 Night Club 行李提取处 Baggage Claim门诊部 Out-Patient Department 综合医院 General Hospital1.2.2 Prompting The prompting signs aim to call peoples attention without any otherconnotation but are

22、 widely used during public occasions. This kind of sign often adopts brief and euphemistic words and multiform sentence structures. With the signs, people know how to fulfill the task to conform to the regulation. It is up to the public to decide whether to carry out the task or not according to the

23、 specific situations. For example, “遗失物品 店方概不负责”(Management not Responsible for Articles Lost or Stolen). This sign reminds customers that they have to take care of their own property, and that the store will not be responsible for the loss. Since the possible consequence is told, how to deal with i

24、t is the duty of the customers. Another example, the sign“预留座位”(Reserved) on the table in the restaurant means that others have booked the table in advance, and that you have to find some other seats.More examples:油漆未干 Wet Paint 客满 Full Booked易爆物品 Explosive 已消毒 Sterilized回收利用 Recycled 献血处 Blood Dona

25、tion此处发现鲨鱼 Shark Sighted 限高 Maximum Height前面修路 Road under Repair1.2.3 Restricting The restricting signs confined activities or actions of the related public with their chosen words, but do not imply impolite, rough and unreasonable attitude. This kind of public sign exclusively is applied to a certa

26、in group of people. In other words, once restrictive public signs are used, only the related people share the privilege to perform some actions. For example, you may find the sign“施工现场 禁止入内” (Construction Site Keep out) outside the construction field. This sign tells people not to enter for the sake

27、 of their safety, but the “people” here do not include the workers in the construction site.More examples:慢速驶出 Slow out 凭票入场 Ticket only让路 Give Way 右侧行使 Keep Right残疾人通道 Handicapped only导盲犬不限(厕所) Except Guide Dogs勿靠两侧(电动扶梯) Keep Clear of the Edges私家路段，禁止通行 This is a Private Path No Admittance1.2.4 Co

28、mpelling The compelling signs oblige the related public not to take certainimpermissible actions with forceful, tough language. Its language is briefand compelling without any compromise. The sentences are often imperative with negative words like “No”, “Forbidden”. In some contexts, people tend to

29、observe the regulation without other choices. For instance,the sign“严禁吸烟”(No Smoking) indicates briefly that smoking is forbidden here; Otherwise, a bad consequence will happen, such as fire or an explosion.More examples:禁止鸣笛 No Honking 严禁赌博 No Gambling禁止倒垃圾 No Dumping 禁止拍照 No Photography不准随地吐痰 No S

30、pitting 恕不赊账 No Credit儿童严禁入内 No Minors Allowed 此处严禁钓鱼 No Fishing Here桥上严禁超车 No Overtaking on Bridge红线区内 严禁停车 Red Route No Stopping at Any Time非指定地点严禁吸烟 No Smoking Except in Designated Areas1.3 The Language Features of Public SignsAfter Clarifying the functional features and the inform states of publ

31、ic signs,we are going to analyze the stylistic features as well as the selection of words, expressions or the issue in question is always necessary when we work on it.1.3.1 Phrases and ExpressionsPhrase, a short musical passage two to four measures long, is an Expression forming a grammatical consti

32、tuent of a sentence but not containing a finite verb, whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up. Phrases and expressions are often used in public signs. Most of them are simple in structure and diverse in combination. For example， 售完 Sold Out， 入住登记 Check In， 因故

33、停用Out Of Order，车载监视器在工作Cameras In Operation 注意:正在维修Caution Maintenance In Progress. From the above illustration, we can say that we may not necessarily translate all the signs into a complete sentence; a phrase or an expression will do, sometimes. This is one of the distinctive language features of

34、public signs English we should bear in mind.1.3.2. Abbreviation The most commonly used signs for public facilities and service are often exhibited in abbreviations-A shortened form of a word or phrase used chiefly in writing to represent the complete form- so that the public and the tourists can eas

35、ily spot them. For example, IDD 国内直播， DDD 国际直播，WC 厕所，i 旅游咨询，P 停车场，F&B 餐饮服务，YHA 青年旅舍，SQ 广场，CNTR 中心，GDNS 花园，VIP SUITE 贵宾候机室，ENT DEPARTMENT 耳鼻喉科，etc.1.3.3. Simple Words In the selection of the vocabulary of public signs, we should take into consideration the educational level of the public and the tour

36、ists, and thus try to avoid using such obscure words and expressions as old sayings, slang and jargons. For example, (厕所)有人Occupied，小心易碎Fragile, (航班)延误 Delayed，行李提取处Baggage Claim，失物招领Lost & Found，全自动门Automatic Door. In the above examples, all the English versions are very simple and easy to understa

37、nd. versions of the sign“市内公共汽车专用”, but three words “City Busses Only” are enough to deliver the meaning well. It is the same as the signs“切勿回返” (No Re-entry), “庭院摊市”(Yard Sale), “过街天桥”(Overpass).1.3.4 Present TenseAs mentioned above, one of the language functions of public signs English is to deliv

38、er information. Since the information delivered is mostly told as the fact or truth, present tense is often used in public signs English. For example，保持干燥 Keep Dry, 小心障碍 Beware Obstruction.公交优先Give Way To Buses，严禁疲劳驾驶Dont Drive When Tired，怕热 Protect Against Heat， 系好安全带 Fasten Your Seat Belt， Past te

39、nse, future tense, or perfect tense are rarely used in public sings English. Not an example have been found up to now.1.3.5. Imperative sentencesThe public going out or taking a trip are always in a hurry to set out and the target readerships of public signs are clear, so in public signs English imp

40、erative sentences are often used to make direction and orders in place of stylized polite formulas. For example，勿踏草坪 Keep Off the Grass，小心轻放 Handle with Care, 紧握扶手 Hold the Hand Rail,坐妥后请扣安全带 Fasten Seat Belt While Seated,请勿与司机攀谈 Do Not Speak to the Driver.From the above examples, we find that imper

41、ative sentences are widely used in public signs English. While some people contend that public signs should be rendered in a polite manner, we should also take this language feature into consideration when we are doing translation.Chapter Two The Principles of Public Signs Translation Having made cl

42、ear the definition of public signs as well as its functions and discussed the language features of public signs language, I intend to put forward, in the light of Newmarks communicative method, three principles for the C-E translation of public signs, namely conciseness, consistency and comprehensib

43、ility.2.1 Conciseness By conciseness I mean that the translated version should be pithy, without unnecessary words and also easy, with simple words and sentence structures. Obviously, the concept of conciseness principle has two aspects of meanings. First, the translation of public signs should be b

44、rief, giving a lot of information in few words. Newmark, when commenting on semantic and communicative translations, also pointed out that these two methods fulfill the two main aims of translation, which are first, accuracy, and second, economy (2001 b: 47). According to Newmark, terseness and econ

45、omy of the translated version is one of the aims of translation. An effective sentence should not contain unnecessary words, that is, there should not be any word in the sentence that does not add something to the information. These redundant words can only cover up the real meaning and confuse your

46、 readers. Careful writers say what they mean in as few words as possible. Second, since the educational levels of readers vary greatly, it is advisable to use simple words and sentence structures instead of difficult terms and complicated sentences, which also agrees with the language feature of pub

47、lic signs English.2.2 Consistency By consistency, I suggest to mean that the translated public signs should be standardized and uniformed. The concept of consistency covers the following three aspects. Firstly, if there is an English expression addressing the same meaning and is commonly used worldw

48、ide, we simply adopt borrowism，一take it and use it. The so-called borrowism includes the borrowing of idiomatic expression and native expressions. For example, the sign“旅客止步”(“游客止步”or“宾客止步”)has been translated quite differently, such as Stop, Passengers, Stop Here!, Tourists Stop the Steps!, Guests Go No Fur