On The Problems And Strategies In C-E Translation Of Road And Traffic Signs From A Functionalist Approach

With the rapid development of our economy and the intensification of our reform and opening-up, China has developed good relationship with the outside world. Various measures have been taken to make the connection closer and closer, which can be shown by the fact that signs in both English and Chinese constitute an indispensable part in our communication materials and therefore the translation of signs is of great significance.With alternate names of placard boards or logos, signs consist of an important unit of communication and play a key role in our daily life, so considerable attention has been paid to the translation of signs. This thesis aims at drawing more attention to the translation of signs, therefore facilitating Sino-foreign communications.Functionalism emerged in 1970s in Germany after a longtime development. Functionalists believe that any form of translation, including translation itself, may be conceived as a kind of action, just as the name implies. Every action has an aim, a purpose, or Skopos, which is also the guiding principle of functionalist translation and determines the translation strategies. And one of the most important factors that determine a translation purpose is the addressee—the intended receiver or audience in the target language culture, with expectations and communicative needs. Therefore, in the translation of signs we must first make clear their functions and intended addressees.Focused on the road and traffic signs, this thesis is composed of six parts: First, short presentation is briefly given for the reasons, significance and methodology of this study. Secondly, the theoretic basis and the development of the functionalism are put forward, and then the Skopostheorie as well as its three translation rules are introduced, i.e. skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule. Thirdly, following the definition of signs, the characteristics of English signs are analyzed from five aspects and then road and traffic signs are classified in the light of their functions and information states. Fourthly, errors in the translation of signsare set forth from the viewpoint of three rules of skopostheorie as well as linguistic and pragmatic aspects. Fifthly, some C-E translation strategies are proposed in connection with different types of signs. In Chapter Six, brief summary of the thesis is made again; the discovery and implication as well as limitation are also revealed from the writing process. Finally it is suggested to make a further study.