Study of C-E Translation of Public Signs in China: Review and Reflection

In the last decade,Chinese scholars have made great achievements in the study of public sign translation.Their re-search findings are analyzed from the following perspectives:definition,functions and features of public signs;differences betweenChinese and English public signs;and related academic research.Reflection on the previous studies suggests that more empiricalstudies should be conducted under the guidance of translation theories in the future.

On C-E Translation of Tourism Public Signs in the Light of Skopostheorie

Public signs have the functions of prompting,directing,restricting and compelling people's behaviors in public.Thoughexperts and government have done a lot to improve and regulate tourism public signs translation,there still exist many problems re-flecting in linguistic translation errors,pragmatic translation errors and cultural translation errors.In the light of Skopostheorie,thetranslation purpose justifies the translation process and translation methods according to its purpose and function.So translatorscan flexibly adopt some methods such as literal translation,liberal translation,additional translation,omission and analogy to guidetourism public signs translation.

C-E Translation of Public Signs in Xi'an under the Guidance of Skopostheorie

Public signs are widely used in our lives, and increasingly play a significant role with the boom of international tourism. Xi'an, as a major tour destination of China, needs more accurate public signs. Skopostheorie offers a new perspective for translation and translating. In Skopostheorie, translation is seen as translational action with purposes. The TT which doesn't achieve the function and purpose is not an adequate translation. In this thesis, C-E translation of public signs under the guidance of Skopostheorie in Xi'an is discussed.

On the C-E Translation of Public Signs from the Functional Perspective

With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have been attracted to China to invest, work, study and travel. To help the foreigners better understand China and facilitate cross-cultural communication, bilingual or even trilingual public signs spring up in every part of China. As is known that public signs, usually in the form of a few words, a picture or words accompanied with a picture, function not only as a " face" of a city and a nation, but also as a first calling card given to the foreigners. Moreover, public signs have definite functions-informing, warning or directing. However, to our disappointment, mistranslations of the public signs are present everywhere.

The Exploration for Cultural Differences of Chinese and English Public Signs and Their Pragmatic Translation

With China’s accession to WTO,public signs are frequently seen in cities.However,there are lots of pragmatic errors and many improper translation,which we can find everywhere.In addition,this situation exerts serious side effects on our international image in foreign exchange.In order to regulate translation and application of public signs and even with an aim to bring about the realization of globalization,this paper discusses and analyzes some translating strategies and principles from the perspective of cultural differences and pragmatics.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Public Signs in Chinese-English Translation——Based on the Example of Shaoguan National Forest Park

With the rapid development of economy and close international exchanges, the English translation of public signs is in-creasingly important and cannot be ignored. This paper takes Shaoguan National Forest Park as an example to analyze its publicsigns translation and points out some pragmatic failures from two aspects:pragmatic language failures and social pragmatic failures.Also, the paper puts forward some suggestions based on the translation error analysis.

An Eco-translatological Perspective on Shenzhen's International City Image Construction:Public Signs Translation as an Example

After the 26th Universiade,Shenzhen has been striving to build a balanced and harmonious translational eco-environment,and make Public Signs translation play a positive role in the construction of international city image.Meanwhile,Shenzhen has formed relative completed systems in beforehand prevention and subsequent punishment in public signs translation.However,there is also a long way to go to perfect the translation eco-environment construction.

On the Status quo and Countermeasures of English-Chinese Public Signs Translation: A Case Study of Tianjin

Bilingual public signs are extensively used in Chinese-speaking regions such as China's Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. This article concentrates on issues relating to English-Chinese public signs in Tianjin and their translation countermeasures. Based on examples collected from public places, it can be found that English-Chinese public signs in these places constitute a special genre and tend to use a descriptive and/or figurative language style to convey a simple message, which creates challenges for translation. The paper mainly discusses the status quo of public signs in Tianjin, the Skopos theory and its application in public signs translation. It is found that under the guidance of the Skopos theory the translation may be well conducted. The paper concludes that the unique nature of public signs in public places suggests a need for further investigation of the language styles used in such signs in both languages and the most appropriate strategies for their translation.

On Errors in Chinese-English Translation of Public Signs

With more attentions being paid to the research of the Chinese-English translation of public signs,errors and mistakes can be frequently observed in some places and occasions due to different cultural backgrounds as well as diversified function of public signs.For that reason,the author venture to analyses the problems existing in Chinese-English translation of public signs on the level of linguistic and culture such as spelling errors,harsh tones and so on.Meanwhile the author offer some strategies and principles of translation based on the communicative translation method and as well as the quality of translators perspectives,including the methods of functional priority,of utilization of Pin Yin and so on,hoping to optimize the quality of the public signs translation so as to publicize China and promote the image of China and arose the attention and awareness of the translators.

Functionalist Approach to the Translation Strategies of Public Signs

Public sign is an important window of the city to the outside. The quality of public signs translation is of great signifi?cance for the image of a city. Considering the severe situation of public signs translation of most of cities in our country, this pa?per aims to propose the translation strategies of public signs based on Functionalist Theory.

An Analysis of the Cultural Phenomena in Translation of Public Signs

This research focuses on several aspects of the translation of public signs from the perspective of cross-cultural communication.It discusses the existing problems and possible causes for Chinese-English translation of public signs and offers some suggestions to establish standard translation of public signs.

On the Translation of Public Signs From the Functional Perspective

With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have been attracted to China to invest, work, study, and travel. To help the foreigners better understand China and facilitate cross-cultural communication, bilingual or even trilingual public signs spring up in every part of China. As is known that public signs, usually in the form of a few words, pictures, or words accompanied with a picture, function not only as a＂face＂ of a city and a nation, but also as a first calling card given to the foreigners. Moreover, public signs have definite functions--informing, warning, or directing. However, to our disappointment, mistranslations of the public signs are often presented in some places. As a special text whose function is strong and communicative purpose is quite clear, the translation of public signs should be based on the text＇s functions and the translator＇s purpose. This paper classifies public signs, compares Chinese signs with English ones, and comes up with the principle for its Chinese-English translation, namely, an A-B-C approach （Adapt-Borrow-Create approach） which is based on the Skopostheorie.

Research on Translation of Campus Public Signs in Wuhan University of Technology

Based on Eugene Nida's "dynamic equivalence" translation theory as well as current situations for the translation of campus public signs in Wuhan University of Technology, this paper aimed at investigating and researching the standard translation methods for campus public signs. Moreover, through the collection and analysis of the current situation about the public signs in the University, this paper also intended to provide an internationally recognized version of translation for campus public signs. Finally, the paper suggests practical ways for the promotion of the translated version in order to realize its application in other universities of China.

A Study on the Translation of Public Signs in Fuzhou

Public signs, as a city's "name card", have attracted wide attention. However,inappropriate translation of public signs are ubiquitous with some even cause misunderstandings for international visitors. In this paper, we first introduce the function of public signs, then through case analysis many problems are exposed and those errors bring a lot of inconvenience for foreigners who live and work in China.What's worse, to some extent, China's image and reputation will also be undermined.Finally, an appeal is made for a standardized translation of public signs and more research should be done and effective measures should be taken to improve the quality of the language environment and public signs translation.

A Survey and Research on the Translation of Public Signs in 5A Scenic Spots in Jiangxi Province——taking Mt.Lushan as an example

The picturesque scenery of Mount Lushan scenic area,as one of the world's cultural heritage, enjoys a high reputation in the world. Lushan tourist attractions introduction translation directly influence the quality of tourists' cross- cultural understanding. This paper analyses deficiencies of C-E translation and proposes measures to improve translation quality so as to promote understanding of cultural connotation of Mount

An Analysis of Problematic C-E Translations of Signs in Light of Nida's Functional Equivalence Theory

Based on Nida’s Functional Equivalence theory,this article makes an analysis of the problems in C-E translations ofsigns in China.The author will discuss respectively the problematic C-E translations from two respects:1)not being equivalent tosource-language message,and 2)not being natural for target language.If translators work hard with the help of Nida’s functionalequivalence theory,the defects and imperfections will be discovered,and standard signs in English will be read more and more inpublic places.

On Translation of Chinese City Public Signs from the Perspective of Relevance Theory——A Case Study of Guangzhou City Public Signs

This thesis analyzes Guangzhou city public sign language translations from the standpoint of Sperber and Wilson’s Relevance Theory and Gutt’s translation approach.In the case study,authentic examples are transcribed and examined according to principle or viewpoints of Relevance Theoretical Translation Approach—"optimal relevance","implicature and explicature","to make intention and expectation meet".Tentative suggestions are made to discuss a possible better translation.

A Probe into C-E Translation of Publicity Materials of Red Tourism in Hu.nan Province

Hunan Province is rich in red tourism resources, and many scenic spots in the region proudly echo the glory of China's revolutionary history. Publicity materials of red tourism in Hunan Province play the role of publicizing and promoting historical sites and places linked with China's revolutionary history. However, at present the C-E translation of publicity materials of red tourism in Hunan province is far from satisfaction. Reasonable application of eco-translatology in C-E translation of publicity materials of red tourism in Hunan Province will allow the translator to enjoy a much greater degree of flexibility in translating and produce appropriate translation which produce functionally the same effect on the target readers as the original on the readers.

Contrastive Study of Public Sign Translation and Linguistic Landscape from the National Strategy Perspective

Study on public sign translation and linguistic landscape has become the most practical way of serving the national strategy of language service by the Chinese linguistic scholars.Contrasts of their definitions,functions,research scope and perspectives,and research content are made and approaches to coordinating the two research fields are proposed.It is pointed out that the two concepts are neither the same nor contradictive.Linguistic landscape study can only be enriched and better serve the national strategy if the research fruits of public sign translation are absorbed.

On the C-E Translation of Cultural Information in Tourist Publicity Materials

Chinese scholar Qiu Maoru points out that the aim of translation is,partly,to establish cultural equivalence between the source text and the target text.He also argues that whether or how to establish cultural equivalence depends on the following four factors:1) the type of source text;2) the significance of cultural flavor in the source text;3) the purpose of translation;4) the type of readers of the target text.This theory provides a good perspective for the C-E translation of cultural information in Tourist Publicity Materials.Under the guidance of this theory,this paper attempts to explore the methods of establishing cultural equivalence in translation of Tourist Publicity Materials.