Errors In The Chinese-english Translation Of Public Signs In Jinan Scenic Spots

With the development of China’s tourism industry,the Chinese-English(C-E)translation of public signs in the scenic spots in Jinan,the capital city of China’s Shandong Province with a long history and abundant tourist attractions,is playing an increasingly significant role in intercultural communication.However,errors in the translation often arise due to certain causes,reducing its quality and producing certain undesired effects.Naturally,many studies of the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots and its errors have been conducted,with remarkable achievements.However,previous studies often lack a systemic philosophical guidance for viewing translation,an integrated theoretical basis for viewing errors,or a comprehensive research method and procedure for analyzing errors.Targeted to the problems in the practice of the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots and in the relevant studies,therefore,the present study attempts to make a systemic analysis of errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots,with the C-E translations of public signs and relevant materials in Jinan scenic spots as data,in the light of Jia Zhengchuan’s Dialectical Systemic Views of Translation,on the basis of German Functionalism and Interlanguage Theory in fields of translation and second language acquisition,via a method combining both rational and empirical,deductive and inductive,qualitative and quantitative measures including text analysis,interview and observation,and through Stephen Pit Corder’s error analysis procedure,so as to find out the types,frequency,causes and effects of such errors,in the hope of helping to solve the problem of lacking systemicity in relevant studies and to reduce or prevent errors in the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots.In particular,the present study attempts to address the following three sets of interrelated research questions:(1)What are the types of errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots? What is the frequency of each type of errors?(2)What are the causes of errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots?(3)What are the effects of errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots?Results obtained in the study demonstrate the following:(1)Errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots mainly fall into three types: linguistic,pragmatic,and cultural translation errors,accounting for 53%,38% and 9%respectively.Among these,linguistic translation errors include spelling errors,grammatical errors,diction errors,and wrong use of pinyin,accounting for 37%,30%,24% and 9% respectively.Pragmatic translation errors include word-for-word translation,improper mood and tone,and omitted translation,accounting for 71%,12% and 17 respectively.Cultural translation errors include invalid information and cultural default,accounting for 40% and 60% respectively.(2)Errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots are the result of a combination of factors,specifically: translator factors(translator’s proficiency,translator’s attitude,interlanguage,social and cultural differences),producer factors(producer’s attitude,lack of relevant professional organizations),administration factors(lack of standards,supervision,and corpus of public signs),public factors(ignoring mistakes,intentionally destroying public signs).(3)Errors in the C-E translation of public signs in Jinan scenic spots may affect international and intercultural communication,China’s image in the world and the development of China’s tourism.Hopefully,the present study may have both theoretical and practical significance.Theoretically or academically,the findings and methodology of the study may promote the systemic analysis of errors in the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots with more systemic understandings.Practically,the results of the study may also help to reduce or prevent errors in the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots,thereby improving its quality.