Towards More Contextual Appropriateness In Chinese-English Translation Of Public Signs-A Relevance-theoretic Perspective

With China's economic development and the deepening of its reform and opening up, economic and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world are gaining in momentum. Just as public sings are of great relevance to China's internal social development, translation of public sings matters a great deal to promoting China and enhancing the country image internationally. Nevertheless, due to the unique linguistic features and diversified functions of public signs, their translation proves complicated and difficult. While translation regularities are yet to be established, academic research into the area is still largely insufficient.Based on the theoretical support found in Relevance Theory proposed by Dan Sperber and Deidre Wilson, this thesis focuses on contextual appropriateness in Chinese-English translation of public signs. Relevance theory is composed of major concepts like context, mutual manifestation, optimal relevance, obstensive-inferential communication. Unlike in traditional theories where a restricted view of context has always been held, in Relevance Theory, context is viewed as a dynamic cognitive concept. In relevance-theoretic terms, such concepts as mutual manifestation and optimal relevance are all concerned with various contexts. From the present study, it can be inferred that context is the foundation of relevance theory. This thesis focuses on the study of context with respect to its characteristics, functions, contextual effects, contextual assumption, and then an analysis is made of how mutual manifestation and optimal relevance can be achieved in public signs translation. Finally, it discusses the context-based problems in public signs translation, and concludes the specific strategies of translating public signs.For the present study, quite a number of translated public signs have been collected. Seen from a relevance-theoretic perspective, especially in terms of contextual appropriateness, public signs fall into the research scope of sociopramatics, which reflect the education level, moral cultivation and ideological outlook of the country in question. When it comes to translating public signs, contextual appropriateness is expected to prevail. In other words, whatever the translation strategies are applied—whether literal or free translation or transliteration, optimal relevance based on contextual appropriateness should always be achieved.