A Study on the English Translation of Public Signs in Xian西安城市公示語英語翻譯

PAGEPAGE23AStudyontheEnglishTranslationofPublicSignsinXi’anAbstract：Publicsignsusesuccinctsentenceorphotographsthatarecloselyrelatedtodailylife,production,soastodirect,restrict,warmandcompelthepublic.Publicsignshasgreatsignificanceinrestrainingbehavior,regulatingrelationship,enhancingefficiency.Publicsignsasameansnotonlyshowourhumanizationtoforeignfriends,butalsoremovethemisunderstandingwiththeworldandenhancinginternationalrelationship.Therefore,it’simportanttopayattentiontoC-Etranslationofpublicsigns.Xi’an,hasalonghistoryandtraditionalinheritage,isoneoftheworld’sfourfamousancientcapitalsofcivilization.ItplaysanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofChina.PublicsignsinEnglisharenecessaryfortheforeignerstohaveaconvenientenvironmenttoknowaboutXi’andeeply.But,infact,wecanfindsomemistakesappearinginpublicsigns,whichcomefromperiodicals,booksandtranslationwebsites.Bycomparisonandanalysisofpublicsigns,theauthortriestofindouttheerrorsinC-Etranslationpublicsignsandputforwardsomeusefulstrategiesforreference.KeyWords:publicsigns;C-Etranslation;Xi’an西安城市公示語英語翻譯摘要：公示語是告示、限制、警示、標示等，與其生活、生產(chǎn)、生命、生態(tài)、生業(yè)休戚相關(guān)的文字及圖形信息，在規(guī)范人的行為，協(xié)調(diào)人們的關(guān)系，提高效率方面起著重要作用。近些年來，隨著經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展和市場的開放，中國與其他國家有了更深更廣的交流。公示語作為一種工具，不僅顯示我國公共場合的人性化服務，而且還消除了與其他國家的隔閡，增進與其他國家之間的友誼。因此，公示語的英譯應該受到關(guān)注。西安作為世界聞名的四大古都之一，歷史悠久，文化沉積非常厚重，在中國的發(fā)展中扮演著重要的角色。為了讓外國友人更好的了解西安，公示語的英譯是非常重要的。但事實上，我們在期刊，書本，翻譯網(wǎng)站中發(fā)現(xiàn)公示語中存在很多問題。本文通過大量例證對西安公示語進行對比和分析，分析其中出現(xiàn)的問題，并針對這些問題找出了一些翻譯方法作為參考。關(guān)鍵詞：公示語；英漢翻譯；西安IntroductionPublicsignisthegeneraltermforsignsofindication,reminder,instructionsandwarninginpublic.Asaspecialpartinpracticalwritingandsocio-linguistic,publicsignshasawidelyusedinallaspectsofourdailylife,roadsigns,advertising,descriptiveliterature,guidebookandbulletinbelongtothecategoryofpublicsigns.Withtheaccelerationofeconomicglobalization,Chinahasbeenawideanddeepexchangewithothercountriesandachievemoredevelopmentopportunities.Asoneofthefourfamousancientcapitalsoftheworld-famous,Xi’anhasalonghistoryandrichculture.ItgraduallyplaysanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofChina.In2009,StateDepartmentproposethatXi’anshouldbebuiltastechnicalcenter,logisticsandconventioncenter,regionalfinancialcenter,atopinternationaltourismdestination,consequentlybeinganinternationalmetropolis.TheWorldHorticulturalExposition2011successfullyheldinXi’an,whichenhancerecognitionathomeandabroad.Recently,MoreandmorepeoplecometoXi’antowork,travelandlive,so,forpeoplefromdifferentcountryandarea,C-Epublicsignstranslationisveryimportantforthemtoknewlocalcultureandcustom.AccordingtoBarryGray,theChairmanofInternationalGraphicalSymbolsCommittee,“Signingaffectseverybody——travelers,shoppers,visitors,drivers,etc.,whetherinthecourseofbusinessorpleasure.Badsigningisatbestirritatingandatworstcanbelifethreateninganddangerous.”ThepropertranslationofpublicsignswillworkasawindowfortheshowofXi’ancultureandthetradition.TheEnglishtranslationofsignsnotonlyaffectthedevelopmentoftourismandtherelevanceofindustry,butalsohascloserelationshipwiththeimageofChinaintheworld.Hence,toanalyzetranslationofpublicsignsandsolutionerrorsareagreatnecessity.Thepurposeofthisthesisistoidentifyandanalyzeerrorsinpublicsigns.Onlywhenweknowwhyerrorhasbeengeneratedcanweavoidorcorrectit.Nowadays,therehavebeenmanyscholarsandtranslatorsstudyingonEnglishtranslationofpublicsigns.Since2000,alargenumberofarticlesandbooksaboutithadbeenissued,suchasLvHefaconsiderthepublicsignstobeaspeciallanguagestyle.BeiZhuandShanAiminholdthestandpointthatpublicsignshavefourmajorfunctions:directing,prompting,restrictingandcompelling.ZhaoXiangthroughthedifferentculturesonsignsbetweenChineseandEnglishtotalkabouttheimpactofcommunicationresultedin.Therefore,theauthorenumerateanumberofcaseanddata,throughperiodicals,books,thesisandtranslatorsitetoanalysethetranslationmethodandconcludeerrorcategories.Onlythencanwerealizetheactualityofpublicsigntranslation,thusprovidingabettertranslationmethod.Publicsigns2.1DefinitionofPublicSignsBeforewestudytranslationofpublicsigns,itisnecessarytoknownthedefinitionofpublicsigns.AccordingtoOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,itisdefinedas“board,notice,etc.Thatdirectssomebodytowardssomething,giveawarning,advertiseabusiness,etc.”Butweallknow,publicsignsisnotthewholemeaningofEnglishword“sign”.So,thereisadefinitionwhichhasbeenacceptedandacknowledged:publicsigns——openandfacedbythepublic,arethewordsorpicturesshowntothepublicforannouncing,instructing,reminding,displaying,warningormarking.Allofthesegohandinhandwithpeople’slife,production,zoologyprofession.——LvHefa.Thepublicsignscoversawiderangeandinvolvesallaspectsofpeople’slife.Asatoolofcommunication,ithasawidelyuse.Alsoisakindofpracticalwriting,whichthroughconcisetextandicontoconveyusefulinformationtotheaudience.Thepublicsigns,likeamirror,reflectacityoraculturalenvironmentofacountryandthelevelofexternalcommunication.Thepublicsignsprovideainformationserviceandtransmitinformationforreader.TheauthorlearnsthatmostofresearchesofC-Etranslationjustshowtheerrorsfromthesemanticlevelthenproposestandardsfortheaspectofpublicsignsofcity;afteranalyzingtheroleofpublicsignsandtheirexpressionfeatures,sometranslatorsproposefourcharactersofpublicsigns—indicative,suggestive,limitingmandatory;sometranslatorstalkaboutculturaldifferencesfromtheperspectiveofpublicsignstranslation;whilesometranslatorstalkaboutthetranslationfromteleologicalpointofview...Thistopicdiscussesthepublicsignstranslationfromlanguageandculturepointofviewandanalysistheerrorinpublicsignsandsummarizethestrategyoftranslationofpublicsigns.2.2ClassificationofPublicSignsinXi’anTherearemanydifferentkindsofpublicsignsinXi’an,sotheclassificationisnecessary.Itcanbedividedintodifferenttypesaccordingtoadifferentoccasion.ThescholarstendtodoconsideronpublicsignsbyanalyzingitsfunctionandlinguisticstylesanddiscussingtheroleorskillofC-Etranslationofpublicsignsinthepreviousperiod.BeiZhuandShanAimindiscussedtherangeofapplication,informationstatusandfourfunctions,andtheyalsodidsomeresearchandsummarizedsometranslationmethods.HeXueyunresearchthepresentstatusoftranslationofpublicsigns,includingtheproblemsintranslationandthetranslationstrategyofpublicsigns.Scholarstendtodoconsiderontranslationofpublicsignsatthetheoreticallevel.Thisarticlefocusesonthekindofpublicityfromthefouraspectsoflanguage:thedirectivepublicsigns,theinformationpublicsigns,restrictivepublicsignsandmandatoryPublicSigns.2.2.1DirectivePublicSignsWhenyouarriveatXi’an,youwillseethesign“WelcometoXi’an”intheairport,railwaystationandETCandsoon.Thiskindofsignsisdirectivepublicsigns.Directionisthemostimportantandbasicfunctionofpublicsigns.Usually,itproviderelevantinformationandserviceforpublicwithoutanyintentionofwarningorprohibiting.Directivepublicsignsoftenareusedinpublicplaceofservingandoftenaremadeupofnoneornonephrase.Suchasmeetingguidance,trafficsigns,shops,medicineinstructionsandorganizations,etc.Forinstance,“push”and“pull”onthedooroftherestaurant,“Underground”insubwaystation.“Exit”,mostlyseeninindoorplaces.Itdoesnotnecessarilyrequirethepublictodosomething,butonlyinstructsthecontentoftheservice.Forinstance,“Fittingroom”wasseeninclothesshop,“Waitingroom”intherailwaystation.InXi’ancertainshoppingplaza,thereareallkindsofdirectivepublicsigns,like“JEWELRY”,“LADIESBEAUTYSALON”,“LEISUREWEAR”.Therearesomesigns,like“TheMonumenttothePeople’sHeroes”,“HuaqingPool”,“BellTower”and“DrumTower”invacationareas.Orlikethesign“Ticket&TravelCenter”inscenicspots.Therearemoreexamples:BeautyProducts美容化妝品FashionAccessories服飾Out-PatientDepartment門診部CatRental租車服務2.2.2InformationalPublicSignsTheinformationalpublicsignsaimtopromptcertainthingsthatpeopledo.ItalsohaswideapplicationinXi’an.Themainfunctionofthesignisconveyinginformationtohelppublicknowtheirsituation.Thedirectivepublicsignstransmitthesamefunctionastheinformationalpublicsigns.But,unlikethedirecting,informationalpublicsignhasthetoneofcaution.Youwilloftenseetheinformationpublicsigns,especiallysomeplacewhichhaveunderlyingdanger,Suchas,“Pleaseweartheseatbeltprovided”isusuallyappearincoach.“Danger!HighVoltage!”,ifyoutakenoticeonthissign,youshouldkeepawayfromthisplace.Andifyouseenthissigns“RoadClosed”,youshouldfindotherwaytogo.ManypeopleinXi’anpresumablyknowthissign“BeWareofPickpocket”,duetothespecialsituationthattherearetoomanythievesofXi’an.Forexample:Outofservice暫停服務ClosingHours閉園/閉館時間RestrictedHeight4.5M限高4.5米CCTVinOperation閉路電視監(jiān)控區(qū)Sterilized已消毒2.2.3RestrictivePublicSignsRestrictivepublicsign’saimistorestrict,restrainandrequirepeople’sbehavior.Itusuallyuseastraightwaytoexpressed.Thesametime,itwouldnotmakepeoplefeelrudeandunreasonable.UsingtheRestrictivepublicsignsinordertoprivilegetoacertaingroupofpeople.Forexample,“HandicappedOnly”,thissignisgiveaprivilegesforhandicapped.“Passengersonly”,itsmeansthatnoonecangetinexceptpassengers.Itisusedaappropriatewaytowarnthepeoplewhohavenoticketcannotcomeinstation.Inafactory,thesign“Danger,Evacuation”onthewall.Thereisasignsaying“keepoffthegrass”inXi’anXingQingpark.Moreexamplesarepresentedasfollows:ConstructionSiteKeepOut施工現(xiàn)場禁止入內(nèi)FreeforChildrenunder1212歲以下兒童免費Childrenunder1MeterMustBeAccompaniedbyanAdult1米以下兒童需家長陪同2.2.4MandatoryPublicSignsTheexpressionofthispublicsignisstraightforward,compellingandpowerful.Thissignrequiretherelatedpersontoobserveinstruction.So,themandatorypublicsignsoftenusenegativewordslike“NO”,“DON’T”,“KEEP”.Thiskindofpublicsignsinordertokeepsocietynormalandcivilizedbyforcingbehavior.Withastrongtone,givesomewarningstopeople.Forexample,“Nosmoking”useabriefandclearpresentationtoattainthisobjective,ifapersonseeit,heorshewillknowsmokingisnotpermittedinthisplace.Youcanseethesign“NoMinorsAllowed”incybercafe.Like“Don’tDrinkandDrive”,“NoPedestrianAccess”,“NoPhotographs”wasnotstrangetous.Moreexamplesarepresentedasfollows:NoSwimmingHere此處嚴禁游泳PostnoBills禁止張貼PleaseDon’tLeaveRubbishWithinThisArea請勿將垃圾置留區(qū)內(nèi)NoPetsAllowed禁止攜帶寵物TheErrorsintheC-ETranslationofPublicSignsinXi’anThissectionwilldiscusstheerrorsinXi’an.Recently,therearemanypublicsignserrorsthataffecttherealizationoffunctionofsigns,theauthoranalyzedanumberoffrequentlymistakesfromthecultureandlanguageinthecityofXi’an.JustasMr.Luo’sword:WithChina’seconomicdevelopmentandpromotionofinternationalstatus,moreandmoreforeignerstoinvestinChinaortravel,sothepublicsignsasforeigner’swindowthatcanbemoreunderstandingtheChineseculture.2008BeijingOlympicGamestheworld’sfirsttestofChina’simage,however,thedomesticenvironment,publicsignsandeven“dirty,chaotic,andpoor”torepresent(Luo25).3.1LinguisticErrorsTheauthorsurveyedthebilingualguidecard,suchassupermarket,station,streetnameplateandsoon,thereupon,foundalotoflinguisticerrorsintranslationofpublicsigns.Thepublicsignscanbeclassifiedasmisspelling,grammaticalErrors,lexicalerrorsaccordingtolinguistics.3.1.1MisspellingAccordingtotheHuashangDailyreported,Xi’anisaninternationaltouristcityandalsoisacitywhichhasalonghistoryanddeepculturalheritage.However,themisspellingofpublicsignscanbefoundeverywhere.TherearemanymistakesinmallofscenicspotwhenaChinese-AmericanvisitthemuseumoftheQinTerra-cottaWarriorsandHorses.Suchas“jade”istranslatedinto“gade”,“agency”istranslatedinto“anency”.Thisbusinessstreetisclosetotheparkofthemuseum,andthetouristsmustgothroughthisstreet.ThemisspellingisthemostcommonandeasilyoverlookedmistakeintranslationofpublicsignsinXi’an.Thiserrormaynotleadtoaseriousresults,butitwillbringabadexpressiontoforeigners.Theauthorhasasummarythatmisspellingisduetothethoughtlessnessofthetranslators.Likethissign“ThanksForShoping”inasmallsupermarketorlikethissign“WestcityBusterminal”,actually,therighttranslationwere“ThanksForShopping”and“WestInter-cityBusStation”.Suchspellingmistakes,wrongcapitalizationandpunctuationcanusuallybeseeninpublicsignstranslation,besidestranslatingChineseintoEnglishwordsbywordsisalsoverycommon.Likethissign“Don’ttreadongrass”.Absolutely,thistranslationiswrong.Inthebotanicalgardeninst.Louis,Missouriintheunitedstates,thissentenceistranslatedinto“pleasegivemeachancetogrow”,thelatterisbettertranslationbycontrast.Theincorrectpunctuationlikebothofsigns“洗滌劑、洗衣粉”hasbeentranslationinto“detergent、laundrypowder”and“牙膏、牙刷、潔護用品”hasbeentranslationinto“toothpaste、toothbrush、skincarething”。ThisattributetonegativetransferofChinese,thecorrectexpressionischangethepausetocomma.Ifthetranslatorignoretheproblemofcaseduringpublicsignstranslation,itmayresultinadifficultyreading.Ontheonehand,standardcasehelptoreducetheburdenofreading.Ontheotherhand,thecapitalletterscanoftenmakethetextlooksmoreserious.Like“ToavoidDAMAGE”，thistranslationtextlookneatandbeautiful,neithergrammarandlogic.3.1.2GrammaticalErrorsThewrongexpression,theerrorsofarticleandverbformarealsooftenappearedinpublicsigns.1.Tousesingularnounsandpluralnounswrongly:untilnowwearestilllearningEnglishgrammar,Butsomeerrorsstilloccuraboutpluralformofnouns.like“TworingN.RD”,forpeoplewholearnedEnglishiseasilyfoundthismistakethatthe“ring”shouldbetranslatedinto“rings”,itsrighttranslationis“Northsecondring”refertothetranslationofBeijing.Thesignshouldchangedfrom“man’scasual”to“men’scasual”.Inafoodshop,therearethetranslationslike“餅干Biscuit”,“休閑食品Leisurefood”,infact,thecorrecttranslationshouldbe“Biscuits”and“LeisureFoods”.2.Themisuseofarticle:articlesareoneofthemostdifficultaspectofEnglishfornon-nativespeakers.Likethissigns“featuringanornamentalart,displayinganuniquestyleofeleganceandmagnificence”appearonabuildingposterboard,butthemistakesareeasilyobservable,thecorrectexpressionshouldputthisarticlebeforetheword“an”to“a”.3.Usingthewrongverbforms:LuomashiinXi’an,ajewelrystorehasapublicsigns“AllFixedPrices.NoBargain.”,where,“NoBargain”shouldbechangedto“NoBargaining”.4.Speechabuse:mostparkinglotappeared“park”signs,parkingshouldbewellknownas“parking”.Thefollowingerror“Herbeautifulmadethebrightworlddim”appearsonbillboardsphotography,learnedEnglishpeopleknowthat“Herbeautiful”shouldbe“Herbeauty”.3.1.3LexicalErrorsAwell-knowntranslatorsaid“Theproperwordsshouldbeintheproperplacesinthetranslation.Ifnot,errorsmightfoundyou.”Theso-calledmisnomerrefersthatnotunderstandingtheoriginaltranslatorbecauseoftheabsenceofdiscretionunintelligiblewordsliterallyonrandomchoiceofwords,sothetranslationisoftenvariedandironic.Awordpoorlychosenmayleadtomisunderstandingandconfuseamongforeigners.Thisexamplecanbeseeneverywhere.RespectingfortheoldandlovingfortheyoungisatraditionalvirtueoftheChinese.Therearenursinghomesineverycity,andthesignsontheirgatessaythat“OldMen’sHouse”.Actually,peopledonotliketobecalledoldinwesternculture.InCalifornia,onthebustherewasthesentence:“Itislaw:Frontseatsmustbevacatedforseniorsandpersonwithdisabilities”andclevertoavoidthewordof“old”,sowecanchangethatsignsonthegateofnursinghomesinto“SeniorCitizens’House”.Thesign“PassengersStopHere!”iseasilyfoundattouristattractionsinthecityofXi’an.Thistranslationmaybringoutmisunderstandingamongforeigners.InChinese,itmeansthatpersonswereforbiddenfromenteringthisplaceanditiseasytounderstandbyChinese.ButforEnglishspeakers,“PassengersStopHere”means“passengersshouldwaithere”.Tomakeiteasierforforeignerstounderstand,“StaffOnly”maybebetter.Englishhasextremelyvastvocabularyanditssynonymsisalsoextremelyrich.Therefore,whatkindofwordusedtheoccasionofgreatstress.Forexample,afamoustouristattractioninXi’an,Englishpublicsigntranslationis“wayin”attheentranceandnotthecommonlyused.SomemarketsinXi’anthereisasentence“為保護您的合法權(quán)益”translatedinto“ToProtectYourLegalInterest”.“合法權(quán)益”meanslegalrightsandinterestsnotonlyinterests,sothissentenceshouldbetranslatedinto“ToProtectYourLegalRightsandInterests”.3.2CulturalTranslationErrorsTheEnglishtranslationofChinesepublicsignsputsupacommunicationbridgebetweenChinaandothercountries,whichwillinfluenceChina’simageintheworld.However,Cultureplaysanimportantroleinthepublicsignstranslation,anditiselusiveanddifficulttohandle.Indirectingsigns,warningsignsorshoppingguidebrandtranslationcannotignoretheroleofculture.Duetothesignshaveconcisetranslationfeaturesanditisverydifficulttotakecultureintoaccount,cultureisonetranslationofpublicsignsinthemostdifficultissues.TheEnglishtranslationofpublicsignshasstrictnormsandstandards,sotheEnglishtranslationofChinesepublicsignsmusthavethesamefunctioninthesameoccasioninEnglishandChinesetwocultureswithoneononeChinese-Englishtranslation(Lv26).Publicsignsindailylifeasanin-depthculturalinformationcanbebetweendifferentbetweenethnic,culturalexchange,isinitselfaculturalbehavior.Cultureisthesameasthebasisforthepurposeofabsorbingdifference.Thatfilteroutculturaldifferences,transparenttranslationofpublicsigns,doesnotseemtoservethepurposeofculturalcommunicationandexchange.Totranslatethatpublicsignswhichhavespecificculturalconnotationsisnoneedtoforcetheuseoftransparenttranslation.3.2.1UnidiomaticExpressionsThetranslationofPSsshouldn’tbeconstrainedbysourcetexts.Translatorsaimisn’ttobeabsolutelyfaithfultosourcetexts,buttoachievefunctionalequivalence,adoptingtoreaders’culturalhabitsandabilities,soastomakecommunicationmuchmoresimpleandeasytobeunderstood(Zhao64).ChineseandEnglishbelongtodifferentlanguagesystems,so,theyhavebigdifferences.TheEnglishlanguagelaysemphasisonhypotaxisandtheChineselanguageonparataxis,andtheunificationofmeaningfulandthinkingcoherencecanbeachievedbyconceivingmentallyinalongChinesesentence.TheEnglishtranslationofpublicsignsfocusesonsemanticandinformationtransferandshouldconformwithspecificationandusageofthereaderoftargetlanguage.However,indailylife,againsttheoriginal,mechanicallydirectlytotheChinesetranslationintoEnglishofsucherrorsiseverywhere.Forexample,aspeopleloved“comic”,itisnotnecessarytoputittransparentforcrosstalk,butcanbeusedwithChineseculturalcharacteristicscomicdialogue,oruse“Xiangsheng”toshowtheirdifferences.Chinesepeopletranslatedthe“魚米之鄉(xiāng)”into“l(fā)andoffishandrice”,andthereisnoneedtohavetocopytheEnglishexpression“l(fā)andofmilkandhoney“.Ifthetranslationcanpreservetheuniquecultureofsomeitems,withoutaffectingtheexchange,whynotthis?3.2.2PoorReadabilityBilingualsignsinpublicplaces,mainlyadoptinternationallyacceptedgraphicsigns,andlanguageissecondarysign.MostbilingualsignsmainlyusethemodeofChinese-Englishandthebilingualrarelyusegraphic.Thegraphicalsymbolshavedifferentcharacters:intuitive,concise,understandableandefficient.Throughspecificvisualimagestransmittheinformationandacrosslanguageandculturebarriers,sographicsymbolsaremoreconciseandefficientthanwordswhenpassingpublicinformation.Forexample,thereisasigninapark:“足下蔭,綠草情(Greenshape,Greengrassfeeling)”.Thiskindoftranslationistooconcise,sothattheinformationisincompleteandpeoplealsocannotunderstandit.Inahotelelevator,thereisaprompt“Pleaseleaveyourvaluesatthefrontdesk(請把貴重物品留在前臺)”,thissentencecouldeasilybeinterpretedas“Leaveyouvaluesoryourlife”.Moreexample,“售票處”istranslatedinto“T.O.”(Luo30),whenforeignersseethisabbreviation,theyhavedifficultyinunderstandingwhatthesignmeans.Inaddition,theword“ticket”ismoreappropriateinthistext.Ifitisintherailwaystation,we’dbetteruse“TicketOffice”.Therefore,somesignslike“三八紅旗手”,itappearstheChinesecharacteristic.Wecannottranslatewordbyword,becauseitwillmakeforeignersfeeldifficulttounderstand.So,wecantranslateinto“Modelpostofwomen”.3.2.3ImproperToneTranslationofpublicsignsemphasizesreaders’psychologicalandphysical.Itspurposeistohelpandguidethetargetlanguagereaderstocomprehensionthepublicsignssothattheycandobetterindifferentlanguagesandculturesintheirwork,study,liveandtraveling.SotranslationshouldabidebycommunicativetranslationruleswhenrenderingsuchtextlikePS,anddoitforreaders’good.Iftranslatorsdonotgivefullconsiderationtothereader’slivingenvironment,culturalbackgroundandlanguagehabitsandnotletreaderfeelrespectedinaforeigncountry,theirimperfecttranslationworkwillabsolutelyleadtoillcommunication.Forexample,weusuallytranslatedthecheckoutoflargeshoppingmallsinto“cashier”.Thiskindoftranslationhasnoexpressionerror.However,inU.S.,thesignofcheckoutis“PleasePayHere”.Theword“please”fullreflectsthepeople-orientedservicetenet,whichnotonlymakestheinformationwelltransferredbutalsobetterservespeople.Thereisanotherexample,playgroundticketwindownoticesthat“allthechildrenshouldbuytheticket”,butitisinablunttoneandindifferenceattitude.Butifweadd“forallages”or“adultsandchildren”behindtheticketprices,itwillmakethereadersfeelgood.Inthepark,maysoundinflexiblesignslike“Ifyouwouldliketojoinus,rubbishwillneverbehomeless.”duetoitsover-faithfultranslation.Accordingtothestandardoftranslationabroad,theauthorsuggeststhattheabovesentencecanbetranslatedinto“nolittering”or“Thankyoufornotlittering.”TranslationStrategyofPublicSignsTranslationofPublicSignsinthisinterlingualcommunication,inordertoavoidthetranslationofpragmaticfault,notonlytopayattentiontotheconversionoflanguage,butalsoconcernedabouttheconversionofintent,cultural,psychologicalandsocialfactors.ThisrequiresthetranslatormustknowtheChinesePublicsimilaritiesanddifferencesinthestructureandexpressionwell,andtobefamiliarwithusingcharacteristicsandsocio-culturalnormsfeaturesofpublicsignsinthelanguageofChineseandEnglish,soastoproperlyunderstandtheoriginalintentoftheinformationandsubjecttothecultureofthetargetlanguageaudienceexpectationsandcognitiveconditions,theoriginalintentofaccurateinformationtopassoutthroughthetranslation.4.1Back-TranslationChinesepeoplecanunderstandthiskindofpublicsignswhichclearlyprohibited.However,translatedthisChinesepublicsignsintoEnglish,thetranslatorsshouldcarefortheexperienceandresponseofthetargetreaders.BecauseofthedifferenceoflanguageandculturebetweenChineseandEnglish,translatorcan’tjustusethesewordslike“NO,DON’T,FORBIDENG”.ForsomepublicsignswithChinesecharacteristics,inthecase,thetranslatorstemporarilyunabletofindthecorrespondingtranslation,theycanbebasedontheprinciplesofpragmaticpeerandconnecttheactualfunctionofthispublicsignstoselecttheappropriatelanguageexpressiontodoatrialtranslation,thenletsomeoverseasvisitorsforeignersworkinginChinatocheckthesepublicsignsandinterpretthetranslation.Thetranslationactivitiesisfailureiftheresultoftranslatebyforeignersisquitedifferentfromoriginaltext,conversely,thetranslationtextcanbeused.Inaddition,translatorshouldpayattentiontocomparethewordsofthepragmaticsandfindoutthedistinctionofsemanticwithindifferentcultures,onlyinthisway,thesignscantakecareofreader’smindandemotion.Thepublicsignstranslationhavealongwaytogo.Intheprocessoftranslation,translatorsshouldusemultiplemethodswhichchooseawordfromthemeaningtoconnotationandunitecontextwithrecognitionofreaders.Thenthethinkingcontentoforiginaltextcanexpressexactly.Forexample,ifthesign“遵守游覽秩序,堅持五講四美”istranslatedinto“Observethetouristorderandinsistonthefiveparticularsandfourbeauties”,itwillmakeforeignersfeelbaffle.So,weshouldgivefullconsiderationtotheculturaldifferencesbetweendifferentcountry,andwecantranslatethissigninto“keepgoodmanners”.Althoughthistranslationlosetheculturalinformationoforiginaltext,itisrealizethecommunicativeintentionofthetext.4.2BorrowingThecoreoftranslationis“torestorethingsastheyare”.Theycanacceptoriginalmassageifthetranslationwiththereaderidiomaticexpressionsandthesametime,rea