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I. Introduction Along with the fast development of international communication and China's opening-up to the outside world since 1978, Chinese-English signs have been found almost everywhere in public places in the middle and big cities, for the convenience of foreign tourists and businessmen in China on the one hand, for the building an environment for China's opening-up on the other hand. Nowadays more and more foreigners will come to visit China, especially after the year 2008 when China hosted the Olympic Games. The Chinese Government and other departments in China have been more aware of the importance of the C-E translation of public signs. At present, the signs for public information, drafting, manifestation and operation are indispensable to our life and have become an important media to communicate vital information in the public. 1n most cities, bilingual public signs are provided in order to bring convenience to increasing foreigners. Therefore, whether the English version is suitable has great significance. The reasons that I choose this topic as my bachelor degree thesis are just based on the significance and necessity of public sign translation. We should know what the pubic signs are first. Then clarify them. They include a large variety such as Traffic and Road Sign, Signs in Scenic Places and Names and Services of Institutions and Shops. Those written materials which are printed in our school will be included in this thesis. Besides generalizing the features and functions of public signs, this thesis tries to analyze the culture influence, and try to find out solutions to them under the guide of functionalism following the principles which are pointed out in this thesis. All in all, public sign translation is far from easy and should be paid more attention. We still have a long way to go to make public sign translation perfect. II. Introduction to Public Signs 2.1 The Definition of Public Signs At the very beginning, it is necessary for us to define and analyze the basic characteristics of signs. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (Extended Fourth Edition) (2002: 1406), it is defined as "board, notice, etc. that directs sb. towards sth, give a warning, advertise a business, etc." But we know,“公示语”is not the whole meaning of the English word "sign", so professor Lv Hefa defined it in his book---《汉英公示语词典》(2004), public signs are terse and elicit words, sentences, even photographs that are closely related to daily life, production, ecology and professions so as to direct, prompt, restrict, warn, or even compel the public. And according to Prof. Ding Hengqi (2006), public signs refer to the language used in public places to transfer information to the public. They include road signs, traffic signs, public notices, slogans, indicators, cautions, signs in scenic places and services of institutions. Obviously, "signs" in English originally mainly refer to way-finding signs/directional signs, shop signs or notices, but with its increasing use in society, the coverage of "signs" has greatly expanded. Nowadays, signs are widely used in society and they play an indispensable role in our daily life. They are used in public utilities (e.g. metro, airports, gas stations etc,), in public transports (e.g. terminals, taxi stands, piers, ticket offices, highways, public vehicles, etc)，in scenic areas (e.g. museums, historic relics, parks, amusement centers), in travel services, in streets and communities, in business establishments (e.g. stores, supermarkets, cafeterias, banks, photographer's, etc), in hospitalities (e.g. restaurants, airlines, resorts), in sports establishments (e.g. stadiums, golf courts, gyms, etc), in cultural amusements, and so on. From the definitions of public signs in various ways, it can be pointed out that there are usually two parts on a public sign, words and drawings. Public signs are common ones with both words and drawings. In a word, Public signs are practical texts. They are not literature works, but with literary characteristics because public signs are often used to attract travelers' interest and promote the quality of traveling. 2.2 Functions of Public Signs Since public signs are commonly used in our daily life. They makes our life much more convenience, they share some basic functions. According to Professors Wang yin and Lu Hefa, these basic functions are indicating functions and pragmatic functions 王颖、吕和发，2005) shared by both Chinese and English public signs. 2.2.1 Indicating functions It has been commonly regarded that public signs perform four basic indicating functions: directing, prompting, restricting and compelling. 2.2.1.1 Directing Directing function serves to indicate directions or the service information. It doesn't urge the public to take action or whatsoever. It is the very basic function of public signs. Directing public signs provide good information of service without any confining or compelling meaning. Therefore, they do not necessarily ask people to take any actions since their function is to direct the service. This kind of public signs here means to indicate people instead of requiring people to do something. This type of public signs does not give orders, so people should not take them as rules or compulsory information, instead, people each takes what she/he needs and makes clear his/her location, behavior and purpose from the information provided. Public signs in this function are often used in service industry and in scenic spots,. For example, the signs in train station “Information(问询处)” is tell the passengers who need information exactly what they require. The sign“金顿大酒店”(Jindun Hotel) is only of directing function to customers who need to go into this hotel,. So both of these situation are thus of no significance to anyone else than tell the exactly information. Buy One Get One Free(买一送一)，which is a very common notice in the market, induces the customers to buy the goods. Let’s look more examples of directing functional public signs: Underground(地铁) Public Toilet/WC(公共厕所) Ticket(售票处) Emergency Exit(紧急出口) 2.2.2.2 Prompting While a sign of directing function compels audience to obey its direction, a sign of prompting function allows audience to decide whether to follow it or not. Prompting function serves to arouse the public's attention to their immediate surrounding. This function of public notices and signs gives the readers precautions and make the readers take proper actions in public. The prompt of this kind of signs is not compulsory; instead, it is open to the audience's options whether to implement it or not according to specific situations. Signs of this function are characteristic of polite and simple words and various sentence patterns. For instant, 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. The sign “Mind the step”(注意台阶) advise the people to be careful of the step which is not easy to pay attention to. There are also some more examples of this function of public signs: Caution: Wet Floor (小心地滑)， Danger (危险) Mind Your Head(小心碰头) Recycled(回收利用) Authorized Personnel Only(未经许可，不得擅入) 2.2.2.3 Restricting Public signs with restrict functions which is different from the above two, ask the audience to restrict their behavior for the sake of public order, safety, or social morality. The languages are usually simple and straightforward but not tough, they don't make people feel rude or impolite. Unlike the pubic notices and signs with promoting function, the ones with restricting function are rather forceful. If the readers do not abide, they will break some rules or laws and impair the public interest. This category of public signs uses straightforward language, but don't make readers feel offensive or rude. The purpose of public signs in this category is to confine the activities or actions of the related public with their specifically chosen words, but do not imply impolite, rough and unreasonable attitude. For example: Slow Out (减速慢行)is commonly seen on streets, roads, highways, etc. Car drivers should always keep slow when they see this signs for it is a rule to abide by. If anyone breaks the rule, something miserable may happen. "Ticket Only"(凭票入场)indicates that entrance can only be permitted when you have tickets. Follow are some more examples: Staff Only (闲人免进)， Keep Silence(保持安静) 2.2.2.4 Compelling Public signs with compelling functions which is different from the above three, public signs still perform the compelling functions which oblige the related public to take or not to take certain forbidden actions. They give out warnings, usually warning the readers of danger or prohibition of certain behavior in the interests of the public or of the individuals /organizations who place them. At times, the violation of warning signs may incur some fine/penalty or punishment or prosecution to the offenders. Compelling signs is usually straightforward and uncompromising. They carry harsh mood. In such context, people have no alterative, but to obey. With a tough, forceful and direct tone, there is no possibility to make comprise. No Overtaking On Bridge (桥上严禁超车) No Littering(不要乱扔杂物) No Photography (严禁拍照)#p#分页标题#e# 2.2.2 Pragmatic Functions For the public signs is a widely used social diction, different person has different opinions about its category. Based on the study of all the professors, such as Professor Lv Hefa and Professor Chen Xinren, the author gets some suggestion and raises the pragmatic functions from another point of view. The author pointed out that, the public signs should divided into five kinds, they are providing information, promotion, caution, arousing attention, serving society . 2.2.2.1 Providing information Informative public signs are designed to provide information or describe a situation. It is the most basic function of public signs. Informative public signs are the static public sign in professor Lu Hefa’s studies. The information is static because a traveler is not required to do or not to do something according to the information. They are widely used in scenic spots. For example, 客满(Full Booked),售完(Sold Out),etc. 2.2.2.2 Promotion The main aim of promoting public signs is to persuade the customers to buy things and realize the economic profit for the company, as is shown in 今日特价((Today's Special), Crazy Price(疯狂大杀价) and 八折优惠(20% Off ),. So this kind of public signs are commonly used in serves industry. 2.2.2.3 Caut ion Cautionary public signs put restrictions and constraints on readers. The readers of this kind of signs are expected to abide by certain rules, usually for public interests. The language is usually simple and direct, yet does not bring readers the feeling of rudeness, toughness or impoliteness. They are divided into two kinds: restrictions (e.g.站队等候(Stand in Line))and constraints(e.g.禁酒区(Alcohol Free Zone)、严禁拍照(No Photography)). 2.2.2.4 Arousing attention Just like the public signs with promoting function, this kind of public signs are always be used at/on the windows or outside stores. They are aimed at attracting customers' attention, arouse their interest and stimulate their desire, such as It is now or never(莫失良机)，Last day for sale(最后一天),etc. And in the institution, some public signs are also used as aphorism to arouse readers’ confident or desire. The strongest examples in our campus as follows: This kind of public signs present information with a particular perspective, and involve a non-linguistic result. Triggering this result is the most important aspect: a clear appeal to receptors of the text, they are responsible for promoting social benefits. Some public signs used organizations can serve such a purpose. The use of language to make the receiver feel or do something, corresponding to operative in. For example: 拯救自然，拯救世界(Save the wildness and save the world) 新北京，新奥运(New Beijing, Great Olympics) 同一个世界，同一个梦想(One World, One Dream) All this public signs encourages readers to work together for a harmonious society and a better life. If these functional features are given much attention, the translators could work more effectively on the translations of the signs. In the following part, we will discuss the types of the public signs, which will give more hints to the translators. 2.3 Types of Public Signs With the intense connection with the whole world, more and more public signs are put forward and written everywhere in China. When a person arrives at a new city they navigate from signs and maps. He/she can benefit from information provided by signs. In this thesis, the author intends to discuss just three main types of signs according to the usages and the places where they appear. 2.3.1 Traffic and Road Signs Traffic and road signs can be seen around the city, telling us names of a certain place, providing us with some traffic information, or giving us some warning of traffic security. A good traffic sign is of great benefit to the traffic management and the service to the people. They provide more convenience for drivers and pedestrians, such as the red or green light. Of course, there are many written signs on both sides of the street as well. There are some examples about the traffic and road signs: Speed Limit, 15 km/h(限速;每小时15公里) LIULIQIAO Bridge(六里桥)， Single Lane(单行车道) Do Not Pass(禁止超车) Express Way(高速公路) South(南) Curve Ahead(前方弯道) No Parking(禁止停车) 2.3.2 Signs in Scenic Places For appreciating the fantastic scenery, more and more foreigners come to china and tour. Public signs of this type not only remind visitors to abide the rules but also can help them to have a further understanding about the attractions' history and origin. Here public signs at scenic places mainly refer to some brief introduction on the board to the scenic spots and tourist literature. Usually public signs at scenic spots have a color of Chinese culture. Culture is everywhere. 长春欢迎您(Welcome to Changchun) 相约美丽长春，牵手冰雪亚运 (Meet in Beautiful Changchun and Appreciate Unique Appeal of Winter Games) 中山公园(ZHONGSHAN Park) 北厅出口(Exit of North Hall) 大观园(Grand View Garden) 颐和园(Summer Palace) 华侨博物馆(Overseas Chinese Museum) 2.3.3 Names and Services of Institutions and Shops Signs for names of institutions, commodities, services and persons are most frequently seen and also most useful when we are shopping or enjoying services. Institution names refer to the names of organizations, especially the names of education, public service and culture institutions. These public signs mainly exist in our campus for the reader to find exact place. For example: 华桥外国语学院 (Jilin Huaqiao Foreign Language Institute) 东北师范大学 (Northeast Normal University) As we know, signs as an advertising medium were used to help identify the place of business. Today signs still identify a business or similar entity, and attract customers, which serve as a means of communication between a business and customer. Commercial businesses depend on signs to attract attention, highlight their products and service offerings and assist suppliers and customers in locating their business. Let's look at some examples: 畅销书/热卖(Best Sellers) 小吃店 (Snack Bar) 饮水处(Drinking Water) 风味小吃(Local Delicacies) 退换货(Refund and Exchange) 开发票处(Invoice Counter) 咖啡店/咖啡厅(Coffee Shop/Café) 新书推荐/新品上市(New Arrivals) 导购员(Shopping Guide) 值班经理(Shift Manage) 大堂值班经理(Guest Service Manager) III. The Principles of Public Signs Translation The three-character theory--- “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance”, which derived from the translator's own translation experience instead of being proved by some theoretical evidence, were put forth in 1896 in the Qing Dynasty and have influenced the development of translation practice and theory in China for almost half a century. As a matter of fact, in the following decades, seldom any translation principles have truly broken away from this framework, and "new" principles have often been a mere adaptation of the three characters. Even today the triple principles are still mentioned whenever the translation principle is under discussion. The author insists that the translation of public signs should also take this theory as principles. Though considered “faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance” as a unity, faithfulness and expressiveness are more important than elegance; and faithfulness is more significant than expressiveness. 3.1 Faithfulness According to Yan Fu, faithfulness requires that the meaning in the target language should be faithful to that of the original. Lu Xun, one of the great writers of China, and also a significant translator, translated more than 200 literary works from 14 countries. He gave particular importance to faithfulness. He thought that translation is a kind of creative work, but that it differs from literary creation. The value of a translation lies in its faithfulness to the original text. In the translation of pubic signs, faithfulness is considered as the first principle for a translator to follow, that is, the translated text should strictly depend on the source text. However, the final conclusion is that faithfulness to the original text must be the first consideration. 3.2 Expressiveness Expressiveness is the requirement of intelligibility of the target language text. It in a more formal way, points out that the style and manner of writing should be of the same character as that of the original. Due to the formality of public signs, the style and manner is essential to express the same of the original. This typical expression in the public signs shows that every task that a translator performs requires the use of languages, not only the original language but the target language. In most situations, the translators of public signs are legal professionals or background. The best preparation for the translation of public signs is to acquire the ability to write the language accurately and effectively. 3.3 Elegance As elegancy are widely accepted in English, has a qualification must be added. Elegance requires a translation to be esthetically pleasing in refined words.#p#分页标题#e# Most words in public signs are formal ones, which equals to elegant words somehow. Many fixed terms are mainly used in public signs only. On the other hand, some grammar rules inherited from ancient English makes contemporary English public signs sound like Shakespeare's poems sometimes. The author insist that translators have refused to let their readers simply give something to someone if they can give, devise and bequeath all their wants and interest in it.. With the implementations of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance, your public signs will be the most professional one without any doubt. However, it is also known to all that sanctified formulas apart, the best writing is the simplest and the good public signs translator expresses himself with clarity, simplicity and directness. To find the critical point of these principles may be the ultimate task of a translator to pursue. IV. Cultural Differences between English and Chinese Public Signs “For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the cultures in which they function." (Nida, 2001:82) "Language is not seen as an isolated phenomenon suspended in a vacuum but as an integral part of cultures."(Hornby, 2001:39) 4.1 Language, Culture and Translation Due to the indissoluble connection between language and culture, the same word may have different connotative meanings in the source language and the target language. Language, in some extend, is the carrier of culture, and it can reflect the culture its speech community has. Chinese and English people have formed their own unique cultures, each displaying the particular features. For instant, 教师休息室The teacher's restroom. This is an incorrect English version that I found in a school. In order to establish a good international image and bring convenience to the foreign teachers, there are bilingual signs in this school. But because the translator lacked knowledge, the translation became the laughing stock among the foreign teachers. In American English, rest room is the euphemistic phrase for the bathroom in the public places such as the theatre, market, airport, etc. In English, there are several expressions of 休息室，like lounge, lobby and so on. So the rest room and休息室seem to be the same concepts to the Chinese, but these terms refer to different things in the two cultures. Translation involves the transfer of two cultures as well as that of two languages and that translation is regarded as a cultural communication to transplant the source culture. Besides transferring one language to another, translation also carries the responsibility to promote culture exchanges. .Nord puts forward that "Translating means comparing culture. Translators interpret source-culture phenomena in the light of their culture-specific knowledge of that culture, from either inside or the outside, depending on whether the translation is from or into the translator's native language-and-culture. The concepts of out own culture will thus be the touchstone for the perception of otherness. Further, our attention tends to focus on phenomena that are either different from our own culture or similar to our own culture." In a word, culture works as potential director for the behavior of a people. All of these can be reflected in language. Therefore, translation is not merely an interpretation of verbal signs, but also a cultural interpretation. Translating is intended to break down the cultural barriers. If the translator doesn't deal with cultural elements well, the translation is by no means a good one, let alone be accepted and used among addresses. 4.2 Cultural Differences and Public Signs Translation China is a richly historian country. The unique oriental culture has been attracting foreign tourists to visit places of interests all over China. However, in our daily life, a lot of public signs expressions are loaded with distinctive Chinese cultural background information which is beyond the foreign tourists' cultural background knowledge. The translation of Chinese public signs into English demands the translator's profound knowledge of Chinese culture's specificities since Chinese public signs, e.g. scenic-spot introductions, influenced by all these cultural factors in tourist activity, usually contain an abundance of culture-specific elements such as historic events, names of famous historical figures, names of dynasties, Chinese custom, Chinese festivals, poems, literary quotations and anecdotes, etc. These cultural elements, which can not be quite easily understood by Chinese people, if translated rigidly into English, will certainly arouse difficulties in understanding among foreign tourists due to the lack of bridge over cultural gaps. However, the Chinese cultural elements seem not to be well treated in the English translation of Chinese scenic-spot introductions. 秦始皇统一中国后，将北方各段城墙连接起来，筑成了一条万里长城。 “…and had them extended into a "ten-thousand-li long wall”. The里"(li) is a unit of length in ancient China. The Chinese used a different measurement system in old times. Target readers who are more familiar with the metric system may not understand ho}u long the Great Wall is. In target text it is necessary to change "li" into a unit that belongs to the metric system. A suggested translation reads as follows, “…and had them extended into a "ten-thousand-li long wall”. (About 5,000 kilometers) We can clearly know from this example that, if we were not learn the traditional Chinese culture about “li”, this public signs would be fault. Translation involves language as well as culture. Many theorists hold that the best translation should be the cultural translation instead of mere linguistic translation. Translation is intercultural communication. So, the western culture is as well as important. Example: 网吧 (Internet Bar) As we have discussed above, words always have cultural connotations which are different in different cultures. Here, the translator just takes account of the language itself but doesn't consider the cultural connotation of the word "bar". In fact, "bar" originally means a place where alcoholic drinks are served, or a long, high table in such a place along which people stand or sit while drinking. Obviously,“网吧”doesn't mean this. So "Internet Cafe' is the better choice. Influenced by our own culture, we would like to understand other cultures based on ours when reading sometimes and this may cause misunderstanding. If the translator does not bear this in mind, the translation will lead the foreign readers to misunderstand the notice or the sign. To sum up, translation between Chinese and English is not an easy task because the two languages belong to entirely different cultural traditions and serves as vehicles for the transmission of western and Chinese cultures. So translation is the intercultural communication between the western and Chinese cultures. Since translation is an activity of the exchange of the two cultures, the translator should know the difference between western and Chinese cultures; otherwise it will make mistakes in the translation. V. The Method of Public Sign Translation Translation methods are proposed to keep accord with translation principles. As stated Translation in chapter four, our principles for public sign translation are reader-centered; the following methods are selected according to these principles. On the one hand, we should bear in mind that the translating of public signs is an activity full of purpose. English public signs are used to serve foreigners, besides, as "the face of the city” the translations of public signs also stand for the image of a city. On the other hand, when translating public signs with specific Chinese culture, we should strive for retaining Chinese cultural information as much as possible under the cultural context. 5.1 Following Established Translation Sign is addressed to a vaster, more stratified public. It receives great popularity among the public. The feeling and reaction of the target language receptors are of primary importance. The emphasis during the communicative process is put on whether the addressee can feel and react in the intended way. So the language used in public signs has to be easily accepted to attract the largest possible audience and bring convenience to them. Established translation here means that the translation expressions have been acknowledged or followed as the standard. They can be used directly without any changes or too many changes. As for English public sign translation, if the Chinese public signs and English ones are under the same circumstances, Chinese-English replacement is to be employed in the following types of public sign translation. Because signs appear on the public occasions with the object to be noticed by the passersby at a short time, it must be something most familiar to them. For example, since foreigners use” No Smoking” to refer to the same thing as“请勿吸烟”，“严禁吸烟” in China, we should not translate these signs into Please do not smoke or something like that. Signs translations without the agreement of target readers are totally in failure. So, the contents of some public signs in many countries are similar and the expressions of them tend to be fixed. So, the translation of this kind of public signs can adopt the fixed pattern. Take the following as an example: “禁止做某事”，can be translated as "No plus noun/-ing form”. Like‘禁止车辆通行，，is "No Vehicle";“禁止掉头”，is "No U Turn";“禁止停车”is "No Parking".#p#分页标题#e# For example,“XX专用”can be translated as "Noun plus Only". Like“员工专用”is "Staff Only";“会员专用”is "Members Only";“公交车专用”is ” Buses Only ”. Prof. Lv Hefa has ever pointed out that English signs have their own standard and those that already exist in English-speaking countries can be followed. If Chinese signs and English signs are under the same circumstance, we can substitute the existing English signs for those with the same functions. The following examples are widely used structures in sign translation. 打八折(20% off) 办理入住/离开(Check In / Check Out) 买一送一(Buy one get one free) 今日特价(Daily Special) 5.2 Adding and Omitting We can see frequently that scenic-spot introductions are always informative and attractive so as to arouse foreign tourists' reading interests and then make them take action that is to visit the scenic spot, otherwise the tourisms will find the translation requiring so much effort to understand that they are likely to stop reading, unless they are very highly motivated." In order to make more foreigners know Chinese culture, addition is necessary in translation by means of footnotes or paraphrases. This addition adds the scenic-port mystery and newness as well as brings foreigners convenience. This point is proved by the translation of traditional Chinese food: “炸酱面”is a traditional Beijing food. If we only translate it to “Zhajiang Noodle”, foreigner may feel dizzy. So we should add some expiations, translate it as follows, “Noodles with Soybean Sauce” Given different language conventions, the Chinese is always in a rhythmical prose style, with parallel structures, four-letter adjective, flowery expressions, quotations from literal classics, rhetoric devices widely employed to achieve harmony in rhythm and aesthetic effect. By contrast, English stresses realism and rationalism. Language in English is characterized by precise sentence structure, plain expression, logic and rational writing, concise and natural diction, and direct perception of its description. Therefore, in the English version, the translator deleted the poetry without influencing the information transmission. For example: Despite of numbers of spelling and grammatical mistakes, such as "the Reserve has obtained steady development" instead of "the Reserve obtained steady development", this passage conveys no useful information to the foreign tourists who are not interested in the government work report at all. 5.3 Pinyin Combined with Free Translation There are several ancient dynasties and Chinese famous persons' names that may cause confusion for foreign tourists because they have no or little knowledge about Chinese history. Thus, it is essential to provide the concrete years for each dynasty. As for famous persons' names, pinyin combined with a brief introduction to the person's identity is obviously better than only listing their names without explanation. Signs of this type are also mainly found in street names and place names in tourist attractions. Xi’an Bridge(西安桥) JIEFANG Avenue（解放大路） 5.4 Mutual Transformation Translation never stops at simply putting a language into another. It is a complex and involved process which demands systematic insight into relevant translation theories, a good command of both the source and the target language, a remarkable quality of translation competence and language awareness, etc. The entire requirement often results in mutual transformation in C-E sign translation. Actually, on many occasions, the decision-making in sign translation involves more than one translation strategy employed rather than the best among the accepted. Under this circumstance, a strategy of Mutual Transformation should be used to achieve this goal. It is difficult to identify, but it is the most useful one. For example: In April, 2004, Guilin Municipality and the China Translators Association held a press conference for collecting the best English translation of“桂林山水甲天下”. “Guilin Boasts the Most Beautiful Scenery in the World”. In this translation, what does the word “天下” mean in English? This must cause a misunderstanding. According to a well-known English proverb "East or West, home is best", Wu Weixiong changed it a little and made his version, starting from the target culture and target audience. His translation was awarded the first prize. That is: “East or West, Guilin Landscape is best”. Mr. Wu successfully employs mutual transformation to show us a wonderful translation, which not only transmits the original information, but also caters to the cultural habits of the target reader. In a word we can employ mutual transformation to deal with the translation of some public signs which contain Chinese characteristics. VI. Conclusion Public signs may appear everywhere around, and constitute an important part in our daily life, and their English versions provide convenience to foreigners visiting or staying in China. Therefore, the translation of Chinese public signs into English is an important and urgent task facing translators, and the current situation of public sign translation is not satisfactory. With a large number of examples cited, this thesis discusses the features and functions of public signs, the problems existing in public sign translation, and provides some strategies as well. Up to now, the present author who has attempted a careful study of public signs and C-E translation of public signs has finished the main body of this thesis. As the thesis unfolds we have gone through five parts. After identifying the objective we would study, then analyze the functions of public signs and simply clarified the public signs in the Introduction. After taking a brief view of public signs, the author proposed the three principles about the public translation. We can conclude that linguistically oriented translation approaches are adequate to provide guidelines for the C-E translation of signs; they are faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance. Translation is not only a trans-coding act between two languages, but also taking culture into account. However, in reality there is no exact one-to-one correspondence all the time between the source language and the language because cultures differ greatly among nations. So the author takes the culture influence into considering in Chapter four. And finally the author explored the methods of C-E translation of public sign. In a word, though public signs may only contain just a few words, they are by no means easy to translate. To keep a good image of China and better communicate with the outside world, the quality of public sign translation must be given considerable attention. Translating public signs from Chinese to English is a rather complicated problem, and the author calls on an earlier establishment of standardization for the translation in this field. Due to the limitation of knowledge and the lack of relevant materials, the discussion in this thesis is not fully developed which needs to be improved in many aspects. |
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