An Intercultural Communicative Approach To Chinese-English Translation Of Public Signs

With further and faster implementation of her policy of opening up to the outside world, China has been increasingly achieving remarkable development. Many global events, such as the 2010 World Expo and the 2010 Asian Games following the 29th Olympic Games in 2008, have been held in China, and a large number of foreign visitors choose China as the first choice for business, tourism and education. Intercultural communication thus has been enjoying increasingly high frequency. It is high time that we provided correct and accurate translation of public signs, which can offer foreign visitors much information and convenience.Public sign is any sign that is displayed publicly to provide information of directing, prompting, restricting or compelling functions. (Lv Hefa 2005). Thus accurate and idiomatic English translation of public signs is of great significance. However, to our disappointment, there are still a large number of problems in the translation of public signs can be frequently seen. Based on the theory of intercultural communication, this thesis discusses the English translation of public signs from the cultural perspective.Intercultural communication is communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct to alter the communication event. Misunderstanding, conflicts, divergence caused by may be emerge due to the differences of the interlocutors'cultural backgrounds, education, religious beliefs, thinking styles, which may affect the process of intercultural communication.After discussing the vital importance of culture in public sign translation by analyzing linguistic, non-linguistic and cultural features of public signs, including intercultural communicative functions, the author uses the typical examples of public signs she collected while traveling, by taking photos of them in the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hainan and Changsha. Based on the theory of intercultural communication, this thesis tries to make a detailed analysis of the typical examples, and proposes the related strategies:To achieve the optimal cultural equivalence between the source language and the target language and to attain the best communication effect, the translator should promote his intercultural awareness and reinforce his competence by employing relevant strategies, such as making cultural adjustment, enhancing aesthetic effects, etc.