| Signs, as the first-hand information available to foreigners, serve as a window significant both to the Chinese and the foreigners. However, the improper or nonstandard English versions of signs, referred to as the"urban psoriasis", have become a pressing problem in badly need of attention.Functionalism provides us with an advisable translation theory for C-E sign translation, under the guidance of which the thesis attempts to analyze the existing problems in C-E sign translation. Meanwhile, some feasible strategies and technologies are proposed in hope of offering some clues to the research of C-E sign translation.As for the structure of the thesis, to the exclusion of the introduction part and the conclusion part, the thesis consists of four chapters. The introduction part mainly states the research background and the significance of the thesis. It also offers readers a bird's eye view of the previous and current studies on sign translation including research in the translation field and public campaigns. Chapter One centers on the generalization of signs. It covers the definition, classification as well features of signs. Chapter Two dwells on the existing errors in C-E sign translation, which fall into three different levels, i.e. linguistic level, cultural level and pragmatic level. Chapter three gives a brief introduction to functionalist approach. Then Skopostheorie and Newmark's Text Typology are introduced as the theoretical basis. Under the guidance of the two principles, an analysis of errors in C-E sign translation from the perspective of functionalism is further made. Subsequently, in Chapter four, some corresponding strategies at the three levels are proposed for improvement in C-E sign translation. The conclusion part re-stresses the need to draw much of our attention to the existing problems in C-E sign translation and to attach great importance to the possible solutions to them. Moreover, the limitations of the thesis are finally stated.
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