Error Analysis Of The C-E Translation Of Public Signs In China And The Strategies For Improvement

With the rapid development of the economy and intensification of the reform and opening-up, China has developed good relationship with the outside world. Various measures have been taken to make the connection closer and closer, which can be shown by the fact that public signs in both Chinese and English constitute an indispensable part in our communication materials and therefore the translation of public signs is of great significance.Public signs consist of a vital part of communication and play a key role in our daily life, so considerable attention has been paid to the translation of public signs. Bilingual public signs, especially Chinese-English public signs, are provided in order to bring convenience to the increasing foreigners. Signs in English are essential to the foreigners and concern about our international image. This thesis, focusing on public signs, aims at drawing more attention to the translation of public signs, therefore facilitating Sino-foreign communications.Functionalism emerged in 1970s in Germany after a longtime development. Functionalists believe that any form of translation, including translation itself, may be conceived as a kind of action, just as the name implies. Every action has an aim, a purpose, or Skopos, which is also the guiding principle of functionalist translation and determines the translation strategies. And one of the most important factors that determine a translation purpose is the addressee -- the intended receiver or audience in the target language, with expectations and communicative needs. Therefore, in the translation of public signs we must first make clear their functions and intended addressees.Focused on the public signs, this thesis is composed of six parts: Firstly, short presentation is briefly given for the background, necessity, present status, significance, sample collection and methodology of this research. Secondly, following the definition of public signs, the characteristics, categorization, and function of public signs are analyzed in great detail. Thirdly, the theoretical basis and the development of the functionalism are put forward, and then the Skopostheorie. Fourthly, errors in the translation of public signs are set forth from the linguistic, pragmatic and cultural perspectives. Fifthly, some C-E translation strategies are proposed in connection with different types and different information states of public signs. Finally, a brief summary of the thesis is made, and the findings, implication as well as limitation are also revealed from the writing process. In addition, it is suggested to make a further study.All in all, the present status of the translation of public signs is far from being perfect and more attention should be paid to it. Only when translation of public signs achieves the intended purpose can we say our translation is successful.