Abstract: Under the background of economic integration, English is the carrier of culture and means of communication, its status and range of application both have obtained a great enhancement. Signs are not only direction or guide to travelers, but also the embodiment and visual symbol of city image. So English translation of signs plays an important role in international communication and cooperation. Whether public signs are standard shows the international image and cultural taste of the country. However, the present situation of public signs is not satisfactory. The paper will start with the explanation and functions of public signs, firstly, introduce what is public signs and what functions does public signs have and their differences. And then illustrate the present situation of their English translation with errors frequently found in our environment, for example, non-standard writing, grammatical mistakes, chinglish, semantic ambiguity and so on. Finally some proposals are put forward to improve the present situation of sign translation.

Key words: public signs; English translation; present situation; solutions

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

2. About Signs2

2.1 Functions 

2.2 Other Features

3. Problem Investigation..4

  3.1 Non-standard Writing 

3.2 Grammatical Mistakes

3.3 Chinglish

3.4 Semantic Ambiguity

3.5 Errors Caused by Cultural Difference

4. Suggestions for Improvement7

  4.1 Borrowing

  4.2 Preciseness

  4.3 Conciseness

  4.4 Cultural Factors

5. Conclusion9

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements11