Abstract

With the deepening of the reform and open-up policy, China is gaining more and more influence all over the world. Because of this, China’s international images are drawing increasingly more attention across the world, which, in one respect, is embodied in the construction of the images of the cities. Recently, more and more cities employ bilingual public signs to show the levels of modernization and international development. Thereby, English translations of Chinese public signs arouse more and more concerns in the academic circles.

    At present, studies of C-E translation of public signs in our country are booming and the research findings emerge endlessly, which contributes a lot to the popularization of the bilingual public signs. However, due to the peculiar text types and the functions of the public signs, C-E translation of public signs is still faced with great difficulties and challenges. Future studies of C-E translation of public signs are still not enough and the translation skills need improving. Besides, the growing number pragmatic failure appears in the course of C-E translation of public signs. All of these add great troubles to the appropriate use of the bilingual public signs.

    This paper, based on Thomas’ Pragmatic Failure Theory (1983) and its analysis principles, conducts both a quantitative and qualitative study on more than one piece of public signs collected in many areas, and finds out more problems in C-E translation of public signs originate from pragmatic failures, such misusing and mispelling some words, syntax errors, and word for word translation, all of which fail to express the desired meanings. The phenomena were due to the pragmatic failures. 

    At last, the paper put forward some strategies with the intention that the pragmatic failures in C-E translation of public signs can be avoided completely.

    Key words: Public signs; pragmatic failures; translation strategies

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Research Designs-3

2.1 Research Questions-3

2.2 Data Collecting and Research Methodology-4

2.3 Procedures of the Research-5

3 Literature Review-5

3.1 Introduction to Public Signs-5

3.2 Previous Studies at Home and Abroad-6

3.3 Limitations of Previous Studies-9

4 The Theoretical Framework-10

4.1 Introduction to Pragmatic Failures-10

4.2 Classifications of Pragmatic Failures-12

4.3 Causes of Pragmatic Failures in the Language Translation-13

5 Strategies for Avoiding Pragmatic Failures of Public Sign Translations-14

5.1 Techniques in Public Sign Translation-14

5.2 Strategies of Semantic Translation-18

5.3 Strategies of Aesthetics-oriented Translation-19

6 Conclusion-20

References-22