A Functionalist Approach To C-E Translation Of Public Signs Based On Corpus

The normalization of translational English public signs in China has madegreat progress, yet great disparity between translational and original Englishpublic signs still exists. Current studies on translation of public signs mainly focuson the summarization of examples and enumeration of errors, lacking persuasivedata support and thorough research. Based on Functionalist Translation Theory,this thesis has introduced the corpus research method and combined qualitativeand quantitative analysis into the study of C-E translation of public signs.With the help of self-established comparable corpus, this thesis has analyzedtranslational and original English public signs on lexical (word variability, wordlength, key words, part of speech) and syntactic (average sentence length, passivevoice and imperative sentence) level.Here are the findings through comparison. On linguistic level, translationalEnglish public signs are redundant, vague and dynamic with a high degree ofparataxis, while original English public signs are concise, precise and static with ahigh degree of hypotaxis. On cultural level, translational English public signsprefer subjective consciousness and collectivism, while English public signs preferobjective consciousness and individualism. Translational English public signsemphasize Approbation Maxim, Modesty Maxim and Positive Face, while originalEnglish public signs emphasize Tact Maxim and Negative Face. To narrow the gap,translation of public signs should follow the target-receiver oriented principle,adopt different translation strategies based on text typology, and give priority tothe methods of borrowing, supplemented by addition, omission and negation.