On C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs论提示性公示语的英译

On C-E Translation of PromptingPublic Signs论提示性公示语的英译CONTENTSAbstract (1)Introduction (2)Chapter 1Literature Review (5)1.1Definition of Prompting Public Signs (5)1.2 Prior Studies of C-E Translation of Prompting PublicSigns (6)Chapter 2Language Features of Prompting Public Signs..102.1 Conciseness (10)2.2 Common V ocabulary (11)2.3 Attractiveness and Markedness (11)2.4 Conventional Expressions (12)2.5 Euphemistic Representation (12)Chapter 3 Principles of C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs (14)3.1 Readability (14)3.2 Economical Word Employment (16)3.3 Functional Equivalence (17)3.4Situational Coherence (19)3.5 Conformity in Emotional Evocation (20)Chapter 4 Strategies for C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs............... .. (22)4.1 Borrowing (22)4.2 Negation (24)4.3 Omission (25)4.4 Substituting (26)4.5 Zero Translation (28)Conclusion (30)Notes (32)Bibliography (33)Acknowledgements (34)On C-E Translation of Prompting PublicSignsAbstract:As a specific text form, the application of public signs has a long history and is in close attach with all aspects of our life. Acting as the face of a city, public signs are a showplace for our natives as well as the foreigners to get a better understanding of the spiritual appearance and all fields of China. Thus they affect a foreigner‟s first impression of China when he visits this country. Then it is natural that the prompting public signs, an important part of public signs, are a crucial component of a nation‟s external publicity. Their translation standard would directly influence the accuracy and quality of the information conveyance and cultural transmission, and further impact the foreign exchange and human environmental construction of a country. For the above reasons, this paper aims at conducting a concrete analysis and study on the translation of Chinese prompting public signs to explore the translation principles and improve the translation strategies.Key Words:prompting public signs; translation principles; translation strategies摘要:公示语作为一种特定功能的文本形式，应用历史悠久，其运用范围之广泛几乎涉及到我们生活的方方面面。

充当“城市面孔”的公示语是国人以及世界了解中国各个方面的情况及精神风貌的窗户，是给来中国的外国人士留下第一印象的中国名片。

而作为公示语一份子的提示性公示语，是国家对外宣传翻译不可忽视的一部分，其翻译水平直接影响到信息的准确传达和文明传播，进而影响中国对外交流水平和人文环境建设。

基于以上原因，本文旨在对提示性公示语的英译进行细致的分析和研究,探究其翻译原则，改善其翻译策略。

关键词:提示性公示语；翻译原则；翻译策略IntroductionNowadays, globalization is the main trend of the evolution of ourworld, and the international economic activities have become more and more frequent. Under such a circumstance, a country‟s economic and political development increasingly depends on the international communication and cooperation. Thus, for a better cross-cultural understanding, it becomes crucial for a nation to improve its language environment.As an essential part of foreign-advocating media, public signs have made a great contribution to a country‟s language and cultural environment construction. According to the different functions, public signs are classified into four categories, with prompting public signs as one kind. Since public signs act as the face of a city, reflecting the spiritual and cultural condition of it, they affect the foreigners‟first impressions of a city, and further influence their attitudes towards this country. As a result, the accuracy and quality of the public signs translation is a showplace of a nation‟s foreign exchange level. As an important component of public signs, prompting public signs are mainly designed to send some warm messages to the public and remind the target readers of the correct conducts for their own sake. For the above reasons, the translation of prompting public signs also plays a fairly significant role in our daily life and any misunderstanding arising from it may cause some serious social problems. For the above-mentioned reasons, great efforts should be made to explore and improve the translation ofprompting public signs and make this kind of text play its full role in serving the public.However, many problems regarding the translation of public signs still exist in a common way. Moreover, though many scholars have made enormous previous researches on the translation of public signs, a systematic and comprehensive research of the prompting public signs translation still remains as an unfinished task. Thus, it is quite necessary and urgent to make a specific study on this subject.Chapter 1Literature ReviewPublic signs are frequently used in our daily life and influence every aspect of our life. Prompting public signs, as one type of public signs, play great social functions. The part of prompting public signs can‟t be replaced by other things, for they are mainly designed to provide the suggestive information to guide the correct conducts of the citizens and warn the potential danger in public. Therefore, it is fairly necessary to carry out a study on prompting public signs for a better understanding of such a kind of text form. To start with this research, it first comes to us that what prompting public signs are and what prior studies on their translation have been done.1.1Definition of Prompting Public SignsWhen we look up the term “prompting public sign”in English dictionaries, we may find no clear definition for it. But through its literal level, we can get the first impression that it is a kind of signs.Then what are the signs? There are many versions about the definition of“sign”.In New oxford Dictionary of English (2001), “sign” is definedasanoticethat is publiclydisplayedgivinginformationorinstructionina written or symbolic form. According to professor Dai Zongxian (戴宗显) and LüHefa (吕和发) in their paper “On C-E Translation of Public Signs” (2005), public signs refer to “the characters and symbols which are closely related to allaspects of people‟s life and displayed in public.”[1] When mentioning the definition of a sign, the “public”place where it is found is always emphasized.Public signs have four main functions, which are “directing, prompting, restricting and compelling”. Thus, prompting public signs are signs that play the role of prompting the public, giving the target readers some related suggestive information or reminding the audience of the potential danger nearby, with a view to guiding the proper and correct behaviors of the target readers. In Chinese, the term “prompting public signs” is equal to “提示性公示语”,“提示语”.Within prompting public signs, there exist descriptive public signs and warning public signs. The former ones are signs that indicate the messages which are relevant to thesurroundingplaces or organizations, while the latter ones point out the hidden danger to arouse the attention of the target readers and ensure their safety.1.2 Prior Studies of C-E Translation of Prompting Public SignsWith China‟s rapid economic globalization, English is becoming more and more important in our daily life. To facilitate the international communication, many things need to be translated into English.“The twentieth century is sometimes called the …age of translation‟ or …reproduction‟.”[2] Till now，there have widelyappeared bilingualexpressionsofPublic signs.So the research on public signsandtheir translation into English is becoming a hot topic,and is drawingattention from academic field and even from the government. As a result, the translation of prompting public signs has benefited a lot from these changes.In 1992,Y u Genyuan(于根元) expressed his viewpoint on Chinese signs in his book—Four Hundred cases of Advertisements, Slogans and Posters Analysis (《广告，标语，招贴用语评析400例》)and Gong Qianyan also analyzed public signs in his article—“Studies on social application of languages”(《社会用语研究诌议》). Asearlyasin1998，inHeZiran‟s editedbook papers on socio-pragmatics(《社会语用建设论文集》), scholarsbeganto pay attentiontothe sign translationandpragmatic failures intermsofpragmatics. Later, many academic writings regarding this area appear in an enormous way. The following is a list of some relevant important works.In 2002, “public signs” was first systematically studied by Bei Zhu and Shan Aimin (北竹、单爱民，2002) in their paper “On the language feature and C-E translation of public signs”(“谈英语公示用语的语言特点与汉英翻译”). In the next year, Li Changjiang (栗长江), published an article in Chinese Translators Journal, “English Translation of Signs and Words of Caution in Public Places”(“公安标示语和警示语的特点”)，in which the author discussed the necessity and characteristics of warning signs translation as well as came up with some practical translationstrategies. In 2003, the first special dictionary on standardization of C-E and E-C sign translation edited by Yu Fulin(余富林)was published. C-E Translation of Public Signs (《公示语汉英翻译》) edited by professor LüHefa(吕和发) and Wang Ying (王颖)was published by China Translation & Publishing Corporation. It contains many photos of public signs and covers a wide range of various signs. This book has made a specific and comprehensive collection of C-E public signs translation and has been considered as a micropaedia for the translation of public signs of different functions.The above mentioned are some major theoretical achievements. In the ordinary life, many efforts have also been made to improve the standard of C-E translation of prompting public signs. In some universities, many professors organized students to identifytranslation errors and then compiled articles to correct them. In Beijing International Studies University, professors DaiZongxian and LüHefa defined public signs and classified their functions.They founded the research center of public signs and collected the originaltexts from London,and set up the websites to identify errors of public signsand discuss their correct translations with the cyber citizens on line. The media also played a crucial and active role to arouse the public awareness of this issue and better the language environment. Also, many symposia were held to discuss and study the improvement of the public signs translation.Due to the enduring efforts on every side, the 21st century has witnessed gratifying accomplishment in public signs translation. As a consequence, the translation of prompting public signs has made great progress and achievements.However, though researches on the translation of public signs have a long history of development at abroad, and the researching system has become relatively mature and standardized, while in China, the study in this field began rather late, with a lack of intensive researches and systematic analyses. Moreover, with the passage of time, though many books and articles concerning public signs come into being, there still exist seldom specific researches on prompting public signs translation. Thus, it is urgent to make a specific and detailed research on prompting public signs.To sum up, this part has mainly discussed the definition of prompting public signs and the prior studies of C-E translation of this type of text. For a further understanding of prompting public signs, the following chapter will analyze their language features.Chapter2Language Features of Prompting Public SignsAs a particular style of public signs, prompting public signs share some common features of signs, and meanwhile they have their own unique characteristics. The following is a list of these.2.1 ConcisenessA prompting public sign is usually placed on a board or on a wall, so there is little room for it. And it is also an undoubted fact that people in public tend to be in a hurry and are eager to absorb the most directinformation in the shortest time. Therefore, conciseness is the most important and obvious feature of prompting public signs. Here“conciseness”means that prompting public signs should apply brief words andsimple sentence structures and try to obtain the best feedbacks in the simplestforms.In the vocabulary level,“conciseness”emphasizes reducing complicated vocabulary and employing the single verbtense as much as possible. For instance, Closed (停止营业), Smoke-free (无烟区), Reserved (预留席位), and Emergency Exit (紧急疏散出口). In sentence structure, prompting public signs in English usually appear in simple sentence forms instead of complex sentences so as to avoid unnecessary ambiguity, with the frequent application of imperative sentences. Some of them only use the key words which have clear meanings or corevocabulary. Function words such as articles, pronouns, conjunctions and auxiliaries can be omitted. The following are some typical examples: Please ring for assistance (如需帮助,请按铃); Caution: Mind the step (注意:小心台阶); City busses only (市内公共汽车专用).2.2 Common VocabularySince prompting public signs are designed for and open to the public, it is quite necessary to use the common vocabulary for a common good understanding of them. English prompting public signs are in a relatively formal style, and vocabulary choice is in favor of those popular vocabulary and familiar expressions. Unfrequently-used words may cause the obstruction of correct and accurate understanding, and thus damage the informative function of prompting signs. Therefore, in order to make the public to grasp the main information quickly and effectively, uncommon and strange vocabulary must be avoided.2.3 Attractiveness and MarkednessAlthough prompting public signs haveno specific language form, but their common similarities are quite clear: they are always in simple and concise language presented to the readers. In order to make fast and smart tips, their wording and formsare well-designed, selected and arranged. Prompting public signs often employ words with corresponding photographs, for the combination of graphics and words can effectively attract the public‟s attention and make the expression s vivid. What‟s more,this kind of signs is often in capital letters to attract the close attention of the target readers. Here are two examples: PLEASE V ACATE THIS SEATE FOR A DISABLED PERSON IF REQUIRED (请为残疾人让开此座);CUSTOMERS PLEASE REFRAIN FROM ENTERING THIS AREA (顾客止步).2.4 Conventional ExpressionsDue to somehistorical factors or the convention of language and culture,many prompting public signshave fixed expressions.That is to say,to casually change those signs whichare conventional willlead to ambiguity and even cause misinterpretation sometimes.“Conventional”especially involves thetranslation of those prompting public signs in particularcontexts and places. For instance, we usually translate “非公莫入”into “staff only”. In the above mentioned prompting public sign, the structure “…+ only”is a typically conventional one, for we can apply it to any occasions that limit the admittance and regulate the exclusive right. Some other examples of this translation model are as follows:BUSES ONLY (公交专用道); ARROW ONLY (请绕行此路);PASSENGERS ONLY(送客止步).2.5 EuphemisticRepresentationAs we have discussed above, prompting publicsigns are designed to provide some information to guide or remind people in order toachieve some goals. Since this kind of signs mainly aims at sending some friendlyand considerate messages to the public, for a better informative and interpersonal effect, the application of word and tone should be as euphemistic as possible.The following is an example of a warning public sign. Once on a deep slope of the west bank of Nu River, there existed a traffic warning sign “Here bus once overturned, seven people lost their lives”(此处客车翻车,曾死亡七人).The very sight of this warning may easily give the readers a thrilling and creepy feeling. Though it fulfills the role of warning, the way of its expression can hardly be pleasantly accepted by the audience. Actually, there is no need to directly tell peoplewhat once happened there, since the purpose of the sign is just to remind the terrain feature of that area. Instead, it can be changed into the following mild hint: Accident-prone locations, pay attention to traffic safety(事故多发地带,注意交通安全).Therefore, when designing prompting public signs, the interpersonal function must be emphasized as intensely as the informative function. The conclusion goes that euphemism is an essential element of the features of prompting public signs.In a word, this chapter has analyzed five main features of prompting public signs. With a better knowledge of their language features, it becomes much easier for us to explore their translation principles.Chapter 3Principles of C-E Translation of Prompting Public SignsTranslationis a kind of complicated thinking activity exchanging information between two different social cultures by means of linguistic forms. The processoftranslation is a processofinteractionwhich is onthebasis ofthesourcetext. Due to its unique language features, the translation of prompting public signs should adhere to some certain principles. Inthefollowing part, some principles will be discussed respectively.3.1 ReadabilityThe aim of English prompting public signs in China is to enable English readers to learn, live, work or travel more conveniently within this country. Thus translation of this text type asks the translators to give top priority to consider the readability of the versions and the receptivity of the target readers. So the translation should be an accurate flow of information. Prompting public signs translation is quite different from the translation of literary works, which put a great emphasis on theaesthetic feeling and elegance. On the contrary, the main features of prompting public signs are readable, explicit and terse.Thus according to the above-mentioned discussion, during the translation, those uncommon, ambiguous and unnatural words andexpressions must be avoided. Meanwhile, the translators should ensure the correct spelling of words and the right structures of expressions. Here are some instances to illustrate this principle.E.g.1.行人、自行车横过天河路、请走过街隧道Please Use the Walking Suabway for Crossing the Tianhe RoadHere, “suabway”is the misspelling of “subway”, moreover, “subway” means “地铁”, and in the above example, “过街隧道” must be translated into “pedestrian tunnel”.E.g.2.垃圾在此投放，烟头切勿投入Faulty Translation: The garbage throws in here. The cigarette buttthrows in absolutely not to.Revised Version: Garbage only, no for cigarette buttThe original translation has the obvious grammar error that is resulted from the disordered sentence structure. This kind of errors would certainly weaken the readability of the prompting signs.E.g.3.小心碰头Faulty Translation: Take Care of Your HeadRevised Version: Watch Your Head/Mind Your HeadThe above-mentioned example is a typical one of semanticambiguity. Seeing the original translation, a foreigner may be bewildered that why he is asked to look after his head since there is nothing wrong with it. The cause of this problem is the improper wording and ambiguous expression. Prompting public signs with the similar problems may cause misunderstandings and confusions.3.2 Economical Word EmploymentDue to the space limitation, conciseness is the characteristic of both Chinese and English prompting public signs. Moreover, as a specific type of public signs, the main function of prompting public signs is to provide warm suggestive information to the public and guide their correct conducts. Thus, this kind of signs must be attractive to get the close notice of the target readers. The redundancyof words may distract the attention of the audience and weaken their reading interest. What‟s more, English originally has a terse style in both lexical and syntactical level.Now that “conciseness” is the most prominent feature of prompting public signs and redundancy will strongly weaken the effect of them, it requires the use of concise language and precise wording during the C-E translation of prompting public signs. In most cases, English prompting public signs only use the content words, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, while some function words such as articles, pronouns and auxiliaries can be omitted. Thus, prompting signs translation requires simple, clear, concise and natural expressions as long as the meanings ofthe source textsare not distorted. The following cases of translation can prove the feasibility and correctness of this principle.E.g.4.保持地方清洁Original version: Keep area clean.Revised version:Keep cleanE.g.5.售票时间Original Version: Time of Selling TicketRevised Version: Opening HourThe above-mentioned original translation of prompting public signs contains a lot of unnecessary words, and the sentence patterns are not simple. The revised vers ions under the principle of “economical word employment” avoid lengthy translation of basic expressions, so that they become more effective.3.3 Functional EquivalenceTo set a transformational principle between the source language and the target language and reduce their discrepancy, Eugene A · Nida from a linguistic point of view, according to the nature of translation, put forward the famous“dynamic equivalence”translation theory, namely “functional equivalence”. In this theory, he pointed out that translation was the representation of the information in the source language from the semantic meaning to the style in the most appropriate, natural and equal way.Nida‟s definition of translation indicated that translation not only included equivalence in word meaning, but also contained equivalence in semantics, style and literary form. Translation conveys both superficial lexical information and deep cultural information. According to Nida,The readers of a translated text shouldbeabletounderstandandappreciateitinessentiallythesamemannerastheoriginalreadersdid. [3]“Functional equivalence”covers four aspects: lexical equivalence, syntactic equivalence, textual equivalence and stylistic equivalence. In these four aspects, Nida put meaning in the first place, and form the second, as the form is likely to hide the cultural meaning in the source language and impede cultural communication. To this point, Nida once indicated as follows:Thetranslatormuststriveforequivalenceratherthanidentity.In a sense this is justanotherwayofemphasizingthereproducingof the messagerather than theconservation of the form of the utterance. [4]E.g.6.请勿践踏草地Please keep off the grassE.g.7.向右急转弯Abrupt Turn RightE.g.8.注意安全DangerThe examples above are exact interpretation of this principle. Thus,according to Nida's theory, translation should be based on the four aspects offunctional equivalence principle to accurately reproduce the cultural connotation of the source language.3.4 Situational CoherenceThe research of discourse must be connected to their context, because in real life, discourse usually comes after context. Context and discourse are interdependent; aspecific context requires a specific text, and a specific discoursecan create a specific context.Inthe courseoftranslation, thetranslators trytheirbesttoproducethe target texts exactly asmeaningfulasthesourcetexts.However, thetargettexts shouldbe acceptableinthetargetlanguagesituation.That is tosay, thetargettexts mustbemeaningfulandbeunderstoodbythetargetreaders.Inthisway, thetargettexts meetthestandardof“intratextual coherenc e”.A communicativeinteractionmaybeseenassatisfactoryonlyifthe targetreaders consideritasbeingvery coherentwiththetargetlanguageenvironment. So in the field of prompting public signs translation, only whenthe translation versions are wellunderstandable can thetargetreaders reach the expected intentions and effect of the prompting public signs.E.g.9.非紧急情况止步Original Version: No Entry on PeacetimeRevised Version: EMERGENCY EXIT ONLYActually, the intention of the above source text is to indicate that “this is an exit, and you can go to the outside through it only when you are in emergency”. And the revised version is more accordance with the English habitual expression. It not only points out that the exit can be used in emergency, but also hints that on peacetime no exit is admitted through it. Thus, we may conclude that on some specific occasions, it is better to use the conventional form of the target language during translation.3.5 Conformity in Emotional EvocationDifferent language rules govern the way of expression on different occasions. Just like Chinese, the same meaning in English can have a variety of expressions.The distinctionamong different modes of expressions often depends on the tone and emotion, while the choice of tone and emotion in turn relieson the specific environment.So the correct translation is only the first step and the translation of prompting signs must consider the given situations and audience, the psychological and emotional state of the target readers. Only when the prompting public signs meet the social and psychological need of the public, can they be popularly accepted.These non-linguistic factors play a very important role in translation.In china, the sign “闲人免进”is common to be seen on the door of many offices. The literal translation of the above sign is “Admittance denied to idlers”. For our natives, “闲人”is acceptable and regarded as a neutral word in the sign. However, its equal expression “idlers” may be received as a negative and impolite word by the foreigners. They may feel the Chinese people are bossy and unfriendly. In fact, “staff only”is a universally accepted version of this prompting public sign, for it attaches no personal prejudice and subjective color. Here is another example.E.g.10.请当心不要让热饮烫着手Caution! Please take care with hot drinks!This is quite a humanizing instance of prompting public sign translation. It does not follow the typical suit of the objective and impersonal model “Caution: Hot drinks!”The use of the gentle phrase “please take care” enables the audience to feel the caring and kind concern for them. Thus, this version has a better interpersonal and communicative effect on the readers.Generallyspeaking,translation is a flexible process of conveying thesource information in a target language.The five principles mentionedabove are some general guidelines for correct and appropriate Englishversions of prompting public signs.Chapter 4Strategies for C-E Translation of Prompting Public SignsWhether a work of translation is good or bad,readable or not hasnothing to do with translation itself;rather,it depends on the artistic leveland strategies of the translator. Strategies of translation are usually proposed to accord with the demands of principlesof translation.The following strategies are more communicative thansemantic according to the above-mentioned principles.In the practice of translation,various concrete techniques can beemployed,such as borrowing translation, negation translation,and omission translation,etc.It depends on the different contexts to adopt different strategies,so the authorwill put forward some basic techniques for translating prompting public signs.4.1 BorrowingThe translation of prompting public signs should adhere to the principle of “borrowing” as much as possible. Dai Zongxian once pointed that signs that identical at home and abroad could absolutely be absorbed as the versions.In fact, many Chinese prompting public signs have their exactly fixed versions in English. Under such a condition, the translation of this kind of prompting signs should apply the conventional forms of theidentical expressions. It is a wrong concept that the more innovative the versions are, the better they will be. Actually, using the familiar expressions and structures can give an amicable and intimate feeling to the audience, and on the other hand, it can be easily understood and accepted by the target readers. Many conventional forms of English prompting signs can be found in public. The followings are some specific examples using borrowing translation.E.g.11.注意：栅栏上涂有防攀爬涂料Warning Anti climb paintE.g.12.呼救限紧急情况使用Help—Emergency use onlyIn warning public signs, it is common to see the structure: Caution/ Warning/ Danger/ Beware/ Emergency+ noun phrase/ Imperative sentence. And in descriptive public signs, the sentence pattern “…+ only”is frequently used.E.g.13.高高兴兴上班去，平平安安回家来Faulty Translation: Go to work happily, and come back safely!Revised Version: Drive carefully! / Safety first in drivingE.g.14.祝您一路平安Faulty Translation:Happy TrailRevised Version: Bon V oyage。