Research On The Dynamic Adaptability Of Public Signs In China

This study aims to discuss the classification and description of current Chinesepublic signs and the dynamic adaptability in public signs designing. Based on thesurveys carried out in Zhengzhou city and Verschueren's Theory of LinguisticAdaptation, this thesis attempts to analyze that public signs language is a choice-makingprocess in adaptation to the constantly changing communicative context, the maincomponents of which in our study are changing material conditions, social relationshipsand settings, and cognitive and emotional needs of the public. A theoretical frameworksupported by Verschueren's theory is constructed for the consistency and systematicnessof description and interpretation of public signs. It is a qualitative research, grounded onthe pragmatic interpretation of the data, collected mostly from the survey done in YaXing Residential Zone and partly from the English-Chinese Expression on SignsResearch and Service Online.Public signs play an indispensable part in our everyday life which are defined inthis thesis as words or drawings written on a piece of paper, board or metal etc in publicplaces performing the informing, warning and advocating functions. There is nosatisfying research work up to now on the classification of current public signs in China,some limited to certain aspects such as traffic propagation logo (潘京安,周毅,2002),warning signs (王彩丽,2005), polite public signs (www.e-signs.info); some to thelocations where public signs are put into use (吕和发,单丽平,2004); some withdeficiencies (陈新仁,2001). Therefore, a tentative classification of Chinese public signsin this study is done on the basis of earlier research efforts both in English public signs(北竹,单爱民,2002) and Chinese public signs. Here public signs in China are dividedinto three types: informing, warning and advocating. Informing type performs thefunctions of directing and prompting. It is to provide information and service for thebenefits of the public easily accepted and recognized such as the names of public institutions and facilities. One thing worthy of attention is that informing type includesone part of the requesting type in Professor Chen's classification. For instance,"请看管好您的财物"and"餐具已消毒,请监督!"originally in Chen's requesting type aresupposed to be informing type in the author's opinion. The addressees are not requestedbut informed and prompted because these public signs are safeguarding their benefitsinstead of disregarding their freedom and interests. Not all public signs with the Chinesecharacter"请"are requesting in which the addressees are asked to do something for theutterer's interests. Warning public signs perform the function of warning, puttingdemands and restrictions on the relevant addressees who are expected to abide by publicnorms for the sake of the public. Warning signs include three subtypes: forbidding,requesting and educating which manifest three periodic changes over time. Advocatingtype is a characteristic of Chinese public signs calling on people to endeavor for theultimate goal of building a well-ordered and harmonious society, the content of whichgenerally relates to government or local policies. With the development of society, a lotof attention is paid to public signs designing.The detailed classification and description of the survey in Ya Xing ResidentialZone, the focus of surveys carried out in Zhengzhou, disclose the public signs status inChina which are summarized into three points:(1) use of bilingual signs and graphic symbols in public signs especially ininforming type.(2) the decreasing percentage of forbidding subtype and increasing percentage ofeducating subtype in warning signs and the continuum of directness andindirectness in warning signs(3) linguistic strategies such as figures of speech employed in warning signs andadvocating signs.Grounded on the author's self-constructed theoretical framework, public signslanguage is interpreted as a dynamic process of adaptation to the communicative context:the physical world, the social world and the mental world. Specifically, use of bilingual signs and use of graphic symbols with or without characters are adapted to the changingmaterial conditions; Direct warning signs are adaptable to the power relationship whileindirecting warning type and advocating type maintain the solidarity relationship. Thedirectness-indirectness continuum in warning signs is in adaptation to the social settings;Linguistic strategies catering to the emotion and cognition of the public such as use offigures of speech and use of additional words are found in warning and advocating typesto fulfill the communicative goals of public signs.It is hoped that some contributions are made in this study to the classification,designing and particular communicative dimensions of public signs language in China.