Abstract : With more and more communications in economy and culture between China and English-speaking countries, more and more foreign friends visit China, so the accurate and standardized translation of public signs in China is becoming more and more important. This paper lists the current situation and existing problems of English translation of Chinese public signs, introducing the indication, reminder, restriction and coerciveness functions as well as language styles of public signs on word, phrase and sentence levels, analyzing some main problems about Chinese-English translation of public signs such as spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes, misuse of Pinyin, word for word translation and Chinglish, putting forward that English public signs should pay attention to concise vocabularies and try to use “bringsim” for word and phrase, respect the cultural habits of readers, follow the principle of pragmatic equivalence as well as set up an organization or committee.

Key words:     public signs      functions      language styles      skills & strategies      Chinese-English translation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-4

2. The Definition and Functions of Public Signs-4

2.1 The Definition of Public Signs:-4

2.2 The Function of Public Signs-5

2.2.1 Indication-5

2.2.2 Reminder-5

2.2.3 Restriction-5

2.2.4 Coerciveness-5

3. Language Styles of Public Signs-6

3.1 Word-6

3.2 Sentence-6

4. Inappropriateness in practical translations-7

4.1 Spelling Mistakes-7

4.2 Grammatical Mistakes-8

4.3 Misuse of Pinyin-8

4.4 Word for Word Translation-9

4.5 Chinglish-9

5. Principles of Translations of Public Signs-11

5.1 For Word and Phrase-11

5.1.1 Use Concise Vocabularies-11

5.1.2 Try to Use “Brigsim”-12

5.2 For Sentence-12

5.2.1 Respect the Cultural Habits of Readers-12

5.2.2 Follow the Principle of Pragmatic Equivalence-13

5.2.3 Set up an Organization or Committee-13

6. Conclusions-14

Bibliography-15

Acknowledgements-16