我国外语使用政策的重要探索与实践——《公共服务领域英文译写规范》介评

Important Explorations and Practice of the Policy on the Use of Foreign Language in China——A Review of Guidelines for the Use of English in Public Service Areas

《公共服务领域英文译写规范》是教育部语言文字信息管理司提出并归口的关于公共服务领域各类服务信息用语英文翻译和书写的国家标准。该规范体量庞大、内容丰富,其目的是解决公示语英文译写不规范的突出问题,其制定原则体现了我国社会有关公共服务领域英语使用的多种不同的语言意识。作为一项对境内外语使用的语言管理行为,它在我国外语使用政策实践与理论发展方面具有标杆性意义。但它也存在一定的局限性,其推广应用更需要加强策略研究。

This paper presents a brief introduction as well as an in-depth discussion on China’s first professional standard for the use of English in public sectors,namely Guidelines for the Use of English in Public Service Areas(hereinafter referred to as Guidelines).Drafted under the leadership of the Ministry of Education and the National Language Committee of China,the Guidelinesincludes selective and thoughtful guidelines for both C-E translation and printing of service information in major public service areas.The purpose of the Guidelines is to solve C-E translation problems in public signs which are found serious in China.Based on the above introduction,the author argues that the Guidelines’drafting principle contains many different language philosophies about the use of English language in Chinese public sectors.Then,in the light of its being an administrative practice on foreign language use in China,the author highlights the Guidelines’remarkable significance in language policy studies.The author concludes with a calling for more researches on the popularization and application of the Guidelines after a brief analysis of its limitations.