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1、On C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs论提示性公示语的英译CONTENTSAbstract.1Introduction.2Chapter 1 Literature Review .5 1.1 Definition of Prompting Public Signs.51.2 Prior Studies of C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs.6Chapter 2 Language Features of Prompting Public Signs.102.1 Conciseness.102.2
2、 Common Vocabulary112.3 Attractiveness and Markedness112.4 Conventional Expressions122.5 Euphemistic Representation.12Chapter 3 Principles of C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs.143.1 Readability.14 3.2 Economical Word Employment.16 3.3 Functional Equivalence.17 3.4 Situational Coherence.19 3.
3、5 Conformity in Emotional Evocation.20 Chapter 4 Strategies for C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs. .224.1 Borrowing.22 4.2 Negation.24 4.3 Omission.25 4.4 Substituting .26 4.5 Zero Translation. 28Conclusion.30Notes.32Bibliography.33Acknowledgements.34 On C-E Translation of Prompting Public S
4、igns Abstract: As a specific text form, the application of public signs has a long history and is in close attach with all aspects of our life. Acting as the face of a city, public signs are a showplace for our natives as well as the foreigners to get a better understanding of the spiritual appearan
5、ce and all fields of China. Thus they affect a foreigners first impression of China when he visits this country. Then it is natural that the prompting public signs, an important part of public signs, are a crucial component of a nations external publicity. Their translation standard would directly i
6、nfluence the accuracy and quality of the information conveyance and cultural transmission, and further impact the foreign exchange and human environmental construction of a country. For the above reasons, this paper aims at conducting a concrete analysis and study on the translation of Chinese promp
7、ting public signs to explore the translation principles and improve the translation strategies. Key Words: prompting public signs; translation principles; translation strategies摘要:公示语作为一种特定功能的文本形式，应用历史悠久，其运用范围之广泛几乎涉及到我们生活的方方面面。充当“城市面孔”的公示语是国人以及世界了解中国各个方面的情况及精神风貌的窗户，是给来中国的外国人士留下第一印象的中国名片。而作为公示语一份子的提示
8、性公示语，是国家对外宣传翻译不可忽视的一部分，其翻译水平直接影响到信息的准确传达和文明传播，进而影响中国对外交流水平和人文环境建设。基于以上原因，本文旨在对提示性公示语的英译进行细致的分析和研究,探究其翻译原则，改善其翻译策略。关键词:提示性公示语；翻译原则；翻译策略IntroductionNowadays, globalization is the main trend of the evolution of our world, and the international economic activities have become more and more frequent. Und
9、er such a circumstance, a countrys economic and political development increasingly depends on the international communication and cooperation. Thus, for a better cross-cultural understanding, it becomes crucial for a nation to improve its language environment. As an essential part of foreign-advocat
10、ing media, public signs have made a great contribution to a countrys language and cultural environment construction. According to the different functions, public signs are classified into four categories, with prompting public signs as one kind. Since public signs act as the face of a city, reflecti
11、ng the spiritual and cultural condition of it, they affect the foreigners first impressions of a city, and further influence their attitudes towards this country. As a result, the accuracy and quality of the public signs translation is a showplace of a nations foreign exchange level. As an important
12、 component of public signs, prompting public signs are mainly designed to send some warm messages to the public and remind the target readers of the correct conducts for their own sake. For the above reasons, the translation of prompting public signs also plays a fairly significant role in our daily
13、 life and any misunderstanding arising from it may cause some serious social problems. For the above-mentioned reasons, great efforts should be made to explore and improve the translation of prompting public signs and make this kind of text play its full role in serving the public.However, many prob
14、lems regarding the translation of public signs still exist in a common way. Moreover, though many scholars have made enormous previous researches on the translation of public signs, a systematic and comprehensive research of the prompting public signs translation still remains as an unfinished task.
15、 Thus, it is quite necessary and urgent to make a specific study on this subject. Chapter 1Literature ReviewPublic signs are frequently used in our daily life and influence every aspect of our life. Prompting public signs, as one type of public signs, play great social functions. The part of prompti
16、ng public signs cant be replaced by other things, for they are mainly designed to provide the suggestive information to guide the correct conducts of the citizens and warn the potential danger in public. Therefore, it is fairly necessary to carry out a study on prompting public signs for a better un
17、derstanding of such a kind of text form. To start with this research, it first comes to us that what prompting public signs are and what prior studies on their translation have been done. 1.1 Definition of Prompting Public SignsWhen we look up the term “prompting public sign” in English dictionaries
18、, we may find no clear definition for it. But through its literal level, we can get the first impression that it is a kind of signs. Then what are the signs? There are many versions about the definition of“sign”. In New oxford Dictionary of English (2001), “sign” is defined as a notice that is publi
19、cly displayed giving information or instruction in a written or symbolic form. According to professor Dai Zongxian (戴宗显) and L Hefa (吕和发) in their paper “On C-E Translation of Public Signs” (2005), public signs refer to “the characters and symbols which are closely related to all aspects of peoples
20、life and displayed in public.”1 When mentioning the definition of a sign, the “public” place where it is found is always emphasized. Public signs have four main functions, which are “directing, prompting, restricting and compelling”. Thus, prompting public signs are signs that play the role of promp
21、ting the public, giving the target readers some related suggestive information or reminding the audience of the potential danger nearby, with a view to guiding the proper and correct behaviors of the target readers. In Chinese, the term “prompting public signs” is equal to “提示性公示语”,“提示语”. Within pro
22、mpting public signs, there exist descriptive public signs and warning public signs. The former ones are signs that indicate the messages which are relevant to the surrounding places or organizations, while the latter ones point out the hidden danger to arouse the attention of the target readers and
23、ensure their safety.1.2 Prior Studies of C-E Translation of Prompting Public Signs With Chinas rapid economic globalization, English is becoming more and more important in our daily life. To facilitate the international communication, many things need to be translated into English. “The twentieth ce
24、ntury is sometimes called the age of translation or reproduction.” 2 Till now，there have widely appeared bilingual expressions of Public signs. So the research on public signs and their translation into English is becoming a hot topic, and is drawing attention from academic field and even from the g
25、overnment. As a result, the translation of prompting public signs has benefited a lot from these changes.In 1992,Yu Genyuan(于根元) expressed his viewpoint on Chinese signs in his bookFour Hundred cases of Advertisements, Slogans and Posters Analysis (广告，标语，招贴用语评析400例)and Gong Qianyan also analyzed pub
26、lic signs in his article“Studies on social application of languages”(社会用语研究诌议). As early as in 1998，in He Zirans edited book papers on socio-pragmatics(社会语用建设论文集), scholars began to pay attention to the sign translation and pragmatic failures in terms of pragmatics. Later, many academic writings reg
27、arding this area appear in an enormous way. The following is a list of some relevant important works. In 2002, “public signs” was first systematically studied by Bei Zhu and Shan Aimin (北竹、单爱民，2002) in their paper “On the language feature and C-E translation of public signs” ( “谈英语公示用语的语言特点与汉英翻译”).
28、In the next year, Li Changjiang (栗长江), published an article in Chinese Translators Journal, “English Translation of Signs and Words of Caution in Public Places” (“公安标示语和警示语的特点”)，in which the author discussed the necessity and characteristics of warning signs translation as well as came up with some
29、practical translation strategies. In 2003, the first special dictionary on standardization of C-E and E-C sign translation edited by Yu Fulin(余富林) was published. C-E Translation of Public Signs (公示语汉英翻译) edited by professor L Hefa(吕和发) and Wang Ying (王颖) was published by China Translation & Publishi
30、ng Corporation. It contains many photos of public signs and covers a wide range of various signs. This book has made a specific and comprehensive collection of C-E public signs translation and has been considered as a micropaedia for the translation of public signs of different functions.The above m
31、entioned are some major theoretical achievements. In the ordinary life, many efforts have also been made to improve the standard of C-E translation of prompting public signs. In some universities, many professors organized students to identify translation errors and then compiled articles to correct
32、 them. In Beijing International Studies University, professors Dai Zongxian and L Hefa defined public signs and classified their functions. They founded the research center of public signs and collected the original texts from London, and set up the websites to identify errors of public signs and di
33、scuss their correct translations with the cyber citizens on line. The media also played a crucial and active role to arouse the public awareness of this issue and better the language environment. Also, many symposia were held to discuss and study the improvement of the public signs translation.Due t
34、o the enduring efforts on every side, the 21st century has witnessed gratifying accomplishment in public signs translation. As a consequence, the translation of prompting public signs has made great progress and achievements.However, though researches on the translation of public signs have a long h
35、istory of development at abroad, and the researching system has become relatively mature and standardized, while in China, the study in this field began rather late, with a lack of intensive researches and systematic analyses. Moreover, with the passage of time, though many books and articles concer
36、ning public signs come into being, there still exist seldom specific researches on prompting public signs translation. Thus, it is urgent to make a specific and detailed research on prompting public signs.To sum up, this part has mainly discussed the definition of prompting public signs and the prio
37、r studies of C-E translation of this type of text. For a further understanding of prompting public signs, the following chapter will analyze their language features.Chapter 2Language Features of Prompting Public SignsAs a particular style of public signs, prompting public signs share some common fea
38、tures of signs, and meanwhile they have their own unique characteristics. The following is a list of these.2.1 ConcisenessA prompting public sign is usually placed on a board or on a wall, so there is little room for it. And it is also an undoubted fact that people in public tend to be in a hurry an
39、d are eager to absorb the most direct information in the shortest time. Therefore, conciseness is the most important and obvious feature of prompting public signs. Here “conciseness” means that prompting public signs should apply brief words and simple sentence structures and try to obtain the best
40、feedbacks in the simplest forms.In the vocabulary level, “conciseness” emphasizes reducing complicated vocabulary and employing the single verb tense as much as possible. For instance, Closed (停止营业), Smoke-free (无烟区), Reserved (预留席位), and Emergency Exit (紧急疏散出口). In sentence structure, prompting pub
41、lic signs in English usually appear in simple sentence forms instead of complex sentences so as to avoid unnecessary ambiguity, with the frequent application of imperative sentences. Some of them only use the key words which have clear meanings or core vocabulary. Function words such as articles, pr
42、onouns, conjunctions and auxiliaries can be omitted. The following are some typical examples: Please ring for assistance (如需帮助,请按铃); Caution: Mind the step (注意:小心台阶); City busses only (市内公共汽车专用).2.2 Common Vocabulary Since prompting public signs are designed for and open to the public, it is quite n
43、ecessary to use the common vocabulary for a common good understanding of them. English prompting public signs are in a relatively formal style, and vocabulary choice is in favor of those popular vocabulary and familiar expressions. Unfrequently-used words may cause the obstruction of correct and acc
44、urate understanding, and thus damage the informative function of prompting signs. Therefore, in order to make the public to grasp the main information quickly and effectively, uncommon and strange vocabulary must be avoided. 2.3 Attractiveness and Markedness Although prompting public signs have no s
45、pecific language form, but their common similarities are quite clear: they are always in simple and concise language presented to the readers. In order to make fast and smart tips, their wording and forms are well-designed, selected and arranged. Prompting public signs often employ words with corresponding photographs, for the combination of graphics and words can effectively attr