Chinese-English Translation of Public Signs for Tourism 英语论文.doc

Chinese-English Translation of Public Signs for Tourism Leong Ko, The University of Queensland ABSTRACT Bilingual public signs are extensively used in Chinese-speaking regions such as Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. This article concentrates on issues relating to Chinese public signs at tourist attractions and their translation into English. Based on examples collected from these three regions, it finds that Chinese public signs in tourist areas constitute a special genre and tend to use a descriptive and/or figurative language style to convey a simple message, which creates challenges for translation. The data analysis indicates that three translation strategies are employed in translating public signs—i.e. literal translation, semi-literal and semi-adaptive translation, and free adaptation—and that literal translation is the most common strategy. It is found that all three strategies have limitations in conveying the message meaningfully and naturally. The article concludes that the unique nature of public signs in tourist areas suggests a need for further investigation of the language styles used in such signs in both languages and the most appropriate strategies for their translation. KEYWORDS Public sign, bilingual sign, public sign translation, literal translation, adaptation. 1. Introduction In Chinese-speaking countries and regions, bilingual Chinese/English public signs in are used extensively in public places such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, airports, parks, train stations, public amenities and places of tourist interest to convey information to readers of the two languages. Public signs have a number of distinctive features. For instance, they are mostly in the form of a single sheet of board, paper or metal, with clearly written words or drawings in large print for people to read or view from a distance. Due to the constraint of physical space, the expressions used on public signs are usually succinct, conveying essential information