A Study Of The Problems And Their Solutions In The Chinese-English Translation Of Signs From The Perspective Of Functionalist Skopos Theory

As the common expressions in public places, the English signs in China still have various problems, which not only create barriers to communication, but also greatly undermine the international image of China. Therefore, the study on the Chinese-English translation of signs is both necessary and in urgent need.The thesis first introduces the definition of signs, and summarizes the main features and functions of signs. Second, the thesis elaborates the functionalist skopos theory, including the theoretical background, Reiss’s text typology, Vermeer’s skopos theory and Nord’s "function plus loyalty". As a breakthrough in traditional translation theories, the functionalist skopos theory focuses on the target text and emphasizes that translation is a purposeful activity. As a result, the target text must achieve the expected function of the source text in the target language. Otherwise, mistranslation may be caused. Meanwhile, as for the problems in the Chinese-English translation of signs, most researches are about the Chinese-English translation of signs in certain public places, or the Chinese-English translation of some specific expressions. Therefore, the functionalist skopos theory sheds a light on the systematic study.Then the thesis mainly discusses the application of functionalist skopos theory in the Chinese-English translation of signs. The problems in this field are analyzed with examples at the linguistic, pragmatic and cultural levels, and the comparatively appropriate translated versions are also given afterwards. In addition, the thesis probes into the major factors leading to these problems, which are the translators, the different cultural backgrounds and the lack of unified standardization. According to the skopos theory, the Chinese-English translation of signs is a purposeful activity; moreover, the rule "the end justifies the means" demands the active participation of the translators and the reaction of the target readers should be attached importance to. Then the translators choose the appropriate translation methods to achieve the expected purpose and function of the original text after analyzing its text type. At last, the thesis puts forward some suggested solutions to the problems existing in the Chinese-English translation of signs. In a word, the thesis aims to claim the attention of more and more scholars on the Chinese-English translation of signs in order to make the translation maximally conform to the common usage and expressions of English.