公示语英译错误分析及翻译策略【lunwen+开题+综述】

BI YE LUN WEN（20_ _届）英语公示语英译错误分析及翻译策略Mistranslation Analysis of Chinese Public Signs and English TranslationStrategies摘要公示语是一种给特定人群观看、有宣传性和服务性的广告文体。

随着中国国际化的脚步不断加快，大批外国人到中国旅游、投资、考察、求学等。

公示语英译也在其中起到了桥梁和纽带作用。

为了使国外友人准确地理解公示语表达的意思，减少存在于宾馆饭店、旅游景点等公共场所错误的、不规范的英文公示语,研究公示语具有很大的现实意义。

本文从跨文化意识的角度和语言层面探讨和分析了汉语公示语英译中存在的问题及其产生的原因，并提出了翻译原则和策略，旨在提高公示语汉英翻译质量。

关键词：公示语；错误分析；翻译策略AbstractPublic Signs, which are for a specific group of people, are propagandistic and service advertising style. With the development of Chinese economic,China’s position in the world is increasing gradually. As a large number of foreigners come to China for traveling, investing, investigating, studying, etc, English public signs play an more and more important role in communicatin. In order to make foreign friends understand more accurately what the public signs mean，decrease the wrong and non-standard English public signs in the public places of hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, museums and so on, it is significant to make a research on public sign translation from English into Chinese. This paper focuses on the aspects of cross-cultural awareness and languages to analyse the existing problems and causes in Chinese-English translation of public signs. The paper also puts forward some translation principles and strategies to improve the quality of public sings translation. Key Words: public signs; mistranslation analysis; translation strategiesContentsAbstract (3)1. Introduction (1)1.1 Different Definitions (1)1.2 Practical Functions (1)1.3 Current Studies (2)2. Exist Problems in Translating Chinese Public Sings into English (2)2.1 Absence of Cultural Consciousness (3)2.1.1 Popular Chinglish (3)2.2.2 Unnecessary Translation (4)2.1.3 Ignorance of Cultural Differences (4)2.2 Language Mistakes (5)2.2.1 Inappropriate Expression (5)2.2.2 Wrong Grammar (6)2.2.3 Improper Spelling (6)3. Translation Principles (7)3.1 Focusing on Cross-Cultural Awareness (7)3.1.1 Focusing on Cultural Differences (7)3.1.2 Focusing on Reader's Thinking Model (8)3.2 Being Concise and Precise (8)3.2.1 Conciseness (8)3.2.2 Precision (9)4. Translation Approaches (9)4.1 Adapting (9)4.2 Borrowing (10)4.3 Creating (10)5. Conclusion (11)Bibliography (12)Acknowledgement (13)一、Introduction"Public sign" is the language of instruction in public places and widely used in all aspects of our lives. "With the promotion of China's international influence and economic strength, and the increase in technical writing, cultural exchange, the rise of sports activities, the phenomenon of bilingual public signs has become a beautiful language of style in China." (Yang Yongling, Liu Chunxia, 2008:47)From Beijing Olympic Games to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games held in 2010, more and more foreign tourists and investors come to China. Public signs are just like a country's business card and a city's face. But in the process of translation, more and more errors appear in public sign. The translation of public signs has great significance, which should be paid enough attention to. But English translation of public signs has many errors, it will not only directly affect the traveling and living of overseas friends, but in the long run, it will affect China's future political, economic, social and cultural development.1.1 Different DefinitionsIn Oxford English Dictionary, a sign refers to a characteristic device attached to or placed in the front of an inn or shop, as a means of distinguishing it from others or directing attention to it. According to the Webster's Third New International Dictionary, it is defined as a lettered board or other public display placed on or before a building, room, shop or office to advertise business there transacted or the name of person or firm conducting it. "Sign is a broad term, widely used in public facilities, ranging from travelling, catering, accommodation, recreation, shopping to medical service, educational institution and financial service. It includes words of caution, public notices, bills, posters, slogans, outdoor advertisements, traffic notices and so on." (Bei zhu, Ge Aiming2002, 26) Specifically speaking, it covers street signs, road signs, road markers, parking signs, school signs, construction signs, non-smoking signs, signs at scenic spots, slogans etc.1.2 Practical FunctionsPractical functions of the public signs include the following : indicating, promoting, restricting and compelling. Indicating, as its meaning suggests, is to indicate or guide readers. Signs as such are also calledinstructive/directive/guiding notices which give readers detailed information with no prohibition or restriction. Indicating is the most basic function performed of public sign. Indicating signs generally give readers relevant information about what it is and what services it provides. Prompting has no striking difference from indicating except that the former carries the tone of warning. It aims at reminding readers of paying considerable attention to signs. Restricting unlike the two functions mentioned above, signs that perform restricting function put restrictions and constraints to readers, who are expected to abide by certain rules in the interest of public. Restricting signs are to keep or confine within limits. Compelling , put it simple, compelling signs have great power and potency to induce action or brief. With its tough tone, negative words and comparatively uniform sentence structures, there is slight possibility of any alternatives.1.3 Current StudiesIn the West, the first study of public signs was beginning from Vinay & Darbelnet. They began to study public signs in 1959，form the book Comparative Stylistics of French and English. However, in China, although public signs have long been used for directing, warning, explaining in public places, the study of the Chinese-English translation started rather late, lacking systematization and standardization. Until the 1980s, some Chinese scholars began to study English translation of public signs; the" public signs" have been used in China. At the present century, translation of public signs gradually become the focus of attention of the translation area. With the 2002 Beijing International Studies University on the "English Translation of Public Signs" project received project funding and the establishment of publicity Translation Research Center, "public language" of the name was formally used. Strictly speaking, the attention we pay to the English translation of public signs is not enough, and research is not enough, which has resulted many problems in our country now. At present, there is little research on public signs. Therefore, to enhance the translation of public signs and take practical and effective measures to improve the quality of translation are very important and urgent.二、Exist Problems in Translating Chinese Public Sings into EnglishAlthough public signs have been used widely in our daily life, the nonstandard or inappropriate translation of public signs can be seen almost everywhere, in the street, in the hotel, in the restaurant or even in some museums.2.1 Absence of Cultural ConsciousnessNida once pointed that "To be bilingual, one has tube bicultural."（Nida,1969:52）There is a close relationship between cross-cultural awareness and the translation of public signs.If the translator lacks of adequate cross-cultural consciousness, the translation of public signs may not be recognized by the target audience. Over the year many distinguished scholars have observed this awareness and given some different definitions to cross-cultural awareness. Absence of cultural consciousness in translating Chinese public sings into English occurs more frequently. Next is to discuss it in detail.2.1.1 Popular ChinglishChinglish refers to a variety of spoken or written English that is influenced by Chinese . The term "Chinglish" is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts, and may have pejorative or deprecating connotations. Li Wenzhong gives the definition of Chinglish. He pointed that , "Chinglish (literally 'Chinese-style English') refers to non-standard English, or malformed English which does not adhere to English cultural habits that appear in the course of English communication as a result of Chinese students/users of English suffering from the interference of their mother tongue, or arbitrary application of the rules and speaking habits of Mandarin."(Li Wenzhong, 1993, 32)The translation of public signs in China often has the same mistakes, which result in English readers suffering from the interference of their mother tongue, or arbitrary application of the rules and speaking habits of Mandarin. The examples of Chinglish are found on numerous translations of public signs.二、“关爱生命，请勿嬉水”is sign for tourists in Sichuan, has been translated into "Life is serious, do not fun."The true meaning of the sign is that it's dangerous to play water. However, the meaning of the translation is that life is serious, please do not joke. Therefore, it's complete departure from the original warning, and confuses foreign readers.2.2.2 Unnecessary TranslationInterlingua translation is possible because the similarities between languages are much more than the differences. The improper translation caused by cultural differences exists in many signs and the "unique" Chinese trademark. The reasons of mainly improper translation are not concerned about the target language culture in the extended sense, and regardless of different cultural backgrounds and feelings of foreign visitors. Some common public signs in the China can not find any trace in the English-speaking countries. Some public signs are completely against their local needs and behaviors. Translating between any two languages builds the theoretical basis of translation. This, however, does not mean that no differences exist between languages. Therefore, the translators should not firstly think about how to translate these signs exactly, but take"Is it necessary to translate them" into account.(2)“五讲四美二热爱”The sign has ever been translated into "Five Stresses, Four Beauties, Three Loves". This expression with a strong representation of Chinese culture, should be taken based on free translation; otherwise, it will not be accepted by the target culture, and will not achieve its purposes. Foreigners can barely accept this English translation. About such a situation, translators should know weather the translation is necessary or not.2.1.3 Ignorance of Cultural DifferencesLanguage is the integral part and the carrier of culture. Different languages have ethnic and cultural differences, which cause difficulties of translation. In order to achieve the best exchange effects, we should respect different cultural practices and cultural traditions. There are some differences between China and other countries in the use of public signs.Firstly, Chinese signs are more direct and straight forward；while，English signs often display the allowable aspect instead of aiming at the prohibited audience. Secondly, English signs generally use passive voice; Chinese signs, however, are more of active voice. Hence, translators should take into account the target reader’s acceptability and identification. If transistors ignorance of cultural differences will lead to many problems in translation.On the one hand, translation mistakes on the cultural level may make foreigners feel offended in terms of customs, beliefs, and faiths. On the other hand, there are lots of signs just belonging to Chinese culture but are translated word-for-word without taking account of the culturaldifferences which may cause misunderstanding. There are also public signs that exist in both cultures. However, the English versions are not so sound as well as Chinese ones which impress people firmly and vividly. They are not wrongly interpreted if they are translated in accordance with English customs or cultures. These translations can only express the superficial meaning without transmitting the spirit or the beauty of the sign to foreigners. Therefore, it is very important to understand the difference of the China culture and English-speaking countires culture. But there are a large number of modesl of this kind which can be found in our daily life.(3) “请给老幼妇残让座”has been translated into"Please give a seat to the old, weak, sick,disabled and pregnant women." In China, the sentence can be received; however, in English-speaking countries, old people are often reluctant to be called old, especially others use the "old" to describe them. They prefer to adapt a euphemistic way to express. It is better to be translated as "Please offer priority seats to those in need," which is more acceptable by foreigners.2.2 Language MistakesNow there are lots of public signs translation which is not correct or not accurate. These non-standard language translation errors can mainly be summarized in the following categories:2.2.1 Inappropriate ExpressionThe purpose of translation is to make readers get the correct information. Public translation largely needs concisenes to let the readers know the real meaning hidden in the text. Translators should transform language according to the characteristics of different languages rather than impose the structural features of a language on another. But there are lots of inappropriate expression in public sings translation. Rigid translation and hard translating are two common mistakes of public language translation.Both of them are direct translation according to the original words, contents, structures or sequences, which make others misunderstand the true meaning of public signs. The result may cause articles lose their original meaning, not only readers can not understand the message, but also cause readers’ misunderstanding of foreign culture. The reasons of rigid translation or hard translation aremost likely to ignore the true meanings of original signs, and lack of understanding in translation.(4) “小心碰头”has been translated as "Take care of your head". This is a typical mistake because of inappropriate expression. The true meaning of the sentence is hopes that readers be careful not to bump their head, but this translation is misunderstood by foreign friends. The best to translate it is "Watch Your Head" or "Mind Your Head".2.2.2 Wrong GrammarThere are very big difference between Chinese and English. But the translators often ignore the Sino-British differences between the syntactic; therefore they often make some basic mistakes when translating of public signs.(Wangying Lvhefa, 2007:14-15）This kind of translation shows the poor quality of C-E translation of public signs. Theoretically, wrong grammar can be avoided easily if the translator has the responsibility for his own interpretation. However, such mistakes can be seen everywhere. The wrong grammar signposts not only deface the city but also leave a poor impression to those foreigners about our Chinese culture.(5)“禁止攀爬”has been translated into " Please Do not Climbing". The use "Climbing" is not right here, it should be changed into" Plea se Don’t Climb" or "N o Climbing".2.2.3 Improper SpellingSpelling errors of translating public signs are the most common and most easily overlooked mistakes. But in fact, this kind of mistakes almost exists everywhere. About spelling errors, the following two types of errors should be paid more attention to: with distinction of the capital letters and wrong spellings. These errors reflect that translators are not careful in the process of translation, or lack of the basic capabilities to translate. Vocabulary or spelling mistakes are mostly because translators have not use a right attitude toward their work.(6)“宾馆预订服务”, which has been translated as "Hotel reservation servce" .The "servce” is significantly less letters "i".三、Translation PrinciplesAs public signs play a significant part in public and tourists, any ambiguity, misunderstanding, abuse of public signs will result in negative consequences. The public sign plays a very important role in the process of city internationalization. We should study the functional meaning and language style of public signs in English carefully."Therefore, to improve and enhance the quality of translation of public signs is imperative and important task." (Huang Youyi, Huang Changqi, 2005:8-9)Here are some translation skills.3.1 Focusing on Cross-Cultural AwarenessThe translation of public signs is to convert the source language into target language. In this process, it is necessary to remain the information in the source language, but also take cultural differences into account, so that the target readers can correctly understand the information.3.1.1 Focusing on Cultural DifferencesLanguage is the carrier of culture. Every nation has its profound cultural heritage. In different societies, the cultural background, national habits, thinking modes are different as well as the expression of their language. Different languages have ethnic and cultural differences, which cause difficulties in translation. In order to achieve the best exchange effects, translators should respect different cultural practices and cultural traditions. There are some differences between China and English-speaking countries in public signs, so we can’t use some words that can only be understood by ourselves.(7) “红旗手”once was translated into “a red flagger”. Our translation is to allow foreigners to read and understand our culture, ideology, but not a foreigner will know the real meaning of "a red flagger". In fact, it contains implied meaning "an advanced worker''. Thus we can just translate “红旗手”into "a model worker" or "an advanced worker". As for something that is uncertain even in the source text, translators can just leave it out.3.1.2 Focusing on Reader's Thinking ModelsThe translation of public signs is written for foreigners, so we should consider the target readers' thinking models and feeling. Public signs are a kind of application style with rich forms, which are being used in a wide range. But not all of the public signs can be translated into foreign language directly. Sometimes, in order to respect the feeling and expectations of readers, we may consider neglecting or replacing the impolite expression toward a reader.(8)“请勿践踏草坪”should not be rigidly translated into "do not tread on the meadow ", for the reason that target readers are more accustomed to expressions "please keep off the grass". These examples account for the necessity of considering the values and andthinking modes, which is not an isolated phenomenon but an integral part of culture. Hence, translators should adopt the “reader-centre” principle to enable the foreigners to fully understand the meaning of the signs.3.2 Being concise and precisePublic language translation should make foreign friends understand, and it should follow principles of conciseness and precision. Semantic translation and communicative translation can be realized in a precise and concise way. (Newmark, Peter, 1988:47).3.2.1 ConciseThe translator should know the language style of both Chinese and English pubic signs well. "There are five important features about English public signs: firstly, most of the public signs are written in capitals without full stop; secondly, the public signs are always short even with only one word; thirdly, the public signs are written in simple writing style, such as using lots of nouns, verbal nouns or phrases; fourthly, imperative sentences are used sometimes; fifthly, formal writing style is used sometimes". (Hu Wenzhong, 1987:78). As for Chinese public signs, the main feature is to use simple words to show simple meaning, that is to say, to be brief and concise. If a public sign is too long, it would be difficult for people to catch the main meaning of the contents.（9）“随地吐痰乞人恨罚款一千有可能传播肺病因此起卫生法例要遵行” .Obviously, this sign is written in a ragged verse in order to warn citizens not to spit everywhere. If it is translated into English word-for-word, the original meaning may have no effects on foreigners, who may take it as a joke. The proper translation can be "No spitting. Maximum penalty $1000".3.2.2 PreciseIt is very important to make readers understand the true meaning of the translation. Some experts considered the translation as a process of re-creation. If you don't make research deeply between the source language and target language, it is hard to master them. We establish precise as a basic principle for the public language. Chinese-English translation is based on the consideration of public language’s characteristic. If the translation is too obscure, it would not achieve the role of public signs that should be.(10)“注意安全,请勿攀爬单边墙”If we only translate it according to literal translation, foreigners may feel very odd, and difficult to understand. In fact, as long as we obey understandable principle and correspondingly translate as" Keep a safe ", it will let foreigners will feel intelligible and kind.四、Translation ApproachesThere are many ways to translate the English public signs. The translation approaches and translation strategies should be determined by the intended purpose or functions of a translation. According to the above principles, such translation approaches are to be discussed as adapting, borrowing and creating.4.1 AdaptingAdapting means a translator makes the slight change based on the similar expressions in English. It can guide the translator to make flexible target language choices when rendering culture-specific expression.The translator makes linguistic choices and employs translation strategies, especially when he is transplanting cultural images. In sign translation, someestablished signs in English can be adapted.(11)“桂林山水甲天下”is translated to “East or West, Guilin Landscape is best!”, which imitates the well-known English proverbs “East or west, home is best”. In this way, it arouses the amiableness on the part of readers, achieves the persuasiveness of the public sign and justifies the translator’s choice of a particular purpose in a given translational situation.4.2 BorrowingBorrowing is way which is highly practical and realistic in sign translation. Based on the approach, the conventional expressions of English signs could be borrowed so that they sound familiar and acceptable to the foreigners. Different individuals from different cultures would differ to a greater or lesser extent, but they would be culturally equivalent when they perform the same function in their respective specific setting culture. Just as Nida puts it, for truly successful translation, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the cultures in which they function.(12) “限时停车”has been translated into"Time Limit Parking". This translation is based on "parking".If we translate it without using borrowing approach,the translation may not be familiar by readers. Through using the approach, it can not only makes the task of translation simple, but also can make foreign friends feel comfortable.4.3 CreatingWhen performing the translation of signs with Chinese characteristics, we tend to adopt the method of creating. That is, translators should do the creative work when there are no conventional expressions to borrow or similar expressions to adapt from English signs. Therefore, the translator should have the abilities to create the translation not only understandable but also meet the expressing style of those English-speaking countries. It requires translators' linguistic choices and pragmatic translation strategies and translators must focus on conveying the author’s intentions and make readers get the true information. Otherwise, the appellative function of sign language will be absent.(13)“宁停三分，不抢一秒”can be translated as "It is far better to arrive late in this world than early in the next. " From this example, we can see that if it is difficult to translate public signs which have no conventional expressions to borrow or similar expressions to adapt, translators should do some creative work to translate it more consistent with English expressions.五、ConclusionNowadays, China is striving to improve the standard of opening to the outside world. Therefore, it is urgent to standardize various C-E translations of public signs. Since public signs have always been “the face of the city”, every citizen has the duty to point out the errors in signposts around us in our city.This paper discusses several aspects of the Chinese-English translation problems of public signs, especially the cultural phenomena in translations. According to the problems, the author offers some suggestions to establish standard translation of public signs. The author makes a conclusion that an accurate translation of public signs should always take account of the cultural factors in both languages. Let’s introduce our country to all over the world in the best way.Bibliography[1] Hatim, Basil. Communication across Cultures. Shanghai: Shanghai ForeignLanguage Education Press, 2001:89.[2] Nida, Eugene A. Language and Culture: Contexts in Translating [M]. Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2001:52.[3] Newmark, Peter．A textbook of translation[M]．London：Prentice HallInternational(UK)Ltd，1988:47.[4] 北竹,革爱民. 谈英语公示用语的语言特点与汉英翻译[J]. 北京第二外国语学院学报, 2002,(5):26-29．[5] 胡文仲. 现代实用英语例解[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社, 1987:78.[6] 黄友义,黄长奇．翻译质量与翻译协会的责任[J]. 中国翻译, 2005,(5):8-9．[7] 罗选民, 黎土旺. 关于公示语翻译的几点思考[J]. 中国翻译，2006,(4):67.[8] 刘法公,徐蓓佳. 公示语汉英翻译原则探索[J]. 外语与外语教学,2008,(2):54.[9] 李文忠. 中国英语与中国式英语[J]. 外国教学与研究. 1993,(3):32.[10] 王颖，吕和发. 公示语汉英翻译[M]. 中国出版集团,中国对外翻译出版公司, 2007:14-15.[11] 杨永林，刘春霞. 双语公共标识的文本性研究[J]. 外语学刊, 1998,(2):47.AcknowledgementI would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis.My deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to Mr. Liu, my supervisor. From deciding the title to finishing this paper, I have gained lots of benefits from the enlightenment of Mr. Liu, whose inspiring insights, generous encouragements, and enthusiastic instructions have facilitated me much. He has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. Without his consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form. Then I owe much to my friends and classmates for their valuable suggestions and critiques which are of help and importance in making the thesis a reality.开题报告英语公示语翻译中常见错误分析及策略选择六、论文选题的背景、意义（所选课题的历史背景、国内外研究现状和发展趋势）目的：随着我国经济的发展和对外开放步伐的加快，国际间的友好往来及经济合作日益增多，对外联系和国际交流日益频繁。