On C-E Translation Of Public Signs In Scenic Spots--from Functional Approach

With the development of globalization, tourism is becoming an internationalized industry. The prosperity and development of China’s tourism heavily depends on this internationalized environment.21st century would be the prime time for the development of China’s international tourism. Public sign in scenic spots, which serves as an important channel to provide travelers with tourism-related information, plays a vital role in the development of tourism. However, inappropriate English public signs in some of the scenic spots do not commensurate with China’s fast-developing tourism and expanding intercultural communication. In order to promote effective intercultural communications and spread Chinese culture through tourism, it is urgent and necessary to regulate the Chinese-English translation of tourism public signs in China.Since2003, a lot of experts and scholars have analyzed the features of public signs. Though they are intended to play the same role under the same situation, both Chinese and English public signs have their own features ranging from dictions, grammar, collocations, syntactical structures to styles. It is these different features that cause various troubles in translating. Based on the Skopos Theory, by means of rich examples collected in Tai’erzhuang Ancient Town and an empirical study, this thesis gives a detailed analysis of the features of both Chinese and English public signs, and points out the practical strategies and methods applicable to the translation of this special genre. Based on an analysis of functionalist translation theories and many examples, the author draws the conclusion:Skopos Theory is useful guideline for studying C-E public sign translation in scenic spots. The translator should bear the function of the intended target text in mind while translating.The thesis consists of seven parts. The introduction part mainly focuses on the importance and necessity of standardizing the translation of public signs in scenic spots. Chapter one makes a brief introduction to public signs, especially public signs in scenic spots, and then tries to put forward the theme of this thesis by reviewing the present research status of public sign translation. Chapter Two offers a brief overview on the development of functional theory and focuses on the skopos theory and the translation principles under this theory, which is the theoretical foundation of the following case analysis. Chapter three discusses the functional features of public signs in scenic spots, and the enlightenment of skopos theory on C-E translation of public signs. Chapter Four aims at analyzing the translation problems and errors with the examples collected in Tai’erzhuang Ancient Town by employing functional translation theory. Finally, this chapter concludes the causes of these problems and errors. Chapter Five focuses on how to improve C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots by using different translation strategies. Translators as well as sign-makers are responsible for the correct forms of public signs in scenic spots. Finally, the conclusion part offers a brief summary of the whole thesis. At the same time, the author points out its limitation and further study on this topic.In a word, functional approaches, particularly Skopos Theory, are really useful to guide C-E public sign translation. In the translating process, the translator should not only pay attention to the form and content of the source text, but also bear the intended function of the target text in mind. A keen awareness of the differences between Chinese and English cultures as well as distinctive features of both Chinese and English public signs is helpful for the translator to produce successful translation versions.