Public Signs-Misinterpretation And Its Implications To College English Teaching

With China's open-up policy and the increasing pressures and opportunities ofglobalization, people will connect with individuals from different races, religions, andnationalities in their day-to-day encounters. As a convenient means of conveyance and awindow displaying the new outlook, public signs, bearing bilingual interpretations some withneon lights appear far and wide in every metropolis now. However, we encounter many errorsin the English version of these public signs a little now and a little then, which greatlymar ourimage. Many experts diagnosed the misinterpretation of public signs from the perspective oftranslation principles, but few researchers have delved into the root cause from theperspective of teaching, which constitutes the cornerstone of its final resolution. This thesistries to locate the trouble spots in the translation of Chinese-English (C-E) public signs withinthe teaching context, categorizing the misinterpretations and offering essential guidance tocollege English teaching in pursuit of a viable and ultimate resolution. This thesis chieflycovers four aspects with regard to public signs.Chapter One is an overview of public signs. In this chapter, the definitions, classifications,applications, language features, and principles of C-E translation of public signs are alldiscussed in great detail. The categorization of the common problems in the translation of C-Epublic signs is dealt with as well.Chapter Two is concerned with the theoretical framework on which the study is conducted,----chieflythe theories of contrastive analysis, error analysis and input hypothesis. Contrastiveanalysis and error analysis are used to analyze the errors in the English version of public signswhile input hypothesis provides a sound basis for rethinking college English teaching andfollowing the author's studyof public signs, offer valuable tips on its improvement.In Chapter Three, the author strives to diagnose the misinterpretation of public signsthrough data analysis. The data used in this thesis has two sources, one of which is the"authentic"materials gleaned second-hand. The other source is the students'translations of100 public signs involving myriad misinterpretations. Data analysis has found that inappropriate interpretation lies chiefly in factors like cultural awareness, thinking patterns,linguistic competence, the arbitrariness of translators and so on. In light of Krashen's InputHypothesis, the author concludes that the errors in C-E translation of public signs stemprimarily from the insufficient input of teaching materials, hence putting forward proposals onhow to supplyoptimum input within school curriculum.Chapter Four succeeds the preceding analysis, centering on pedagogical implications thestudy elicits so that errors in handling public signs bilingually can be avoided as much aspossible. It is advisable to create a teaching and learning environment with rich attention onthe following elements: a) resorting more to communicative approach as the teaching method,laying emphasis on the use of the target language; b) improving the quality of teacher talkwithin class hours; c) increasing the volume of authentic input through diverse sources; d)raising cultural awareness through purposeful teaching materials; e) integrating classroomteaching with practice, offering students more access to practical application of bookknowledge. The author holds the firm belief that if classroom teaching is both bilingually andbi-culturally oriented, classroom teaching can serve as an ideal and highly efficient meanstowards the tackling of errors in translating public signs.The thesis has significant practical value. The principal objective is to enlist classroomteaching in a bid to find an effective and efficient means for the ultimate solution ofmisinterpretation of public signs. Only if students'overall communicative competence isboosted can they largely diminish the frequency of misinterpretation, facilitating thecross-cultural exchange.