论文部分内容阅读
【Abstract】With the establishment of a new free trade area in Fujian Province， various popular tourist sights in Ningde city are expected to receive more foreign visitors than ever before， as a consequence， the English version of public signs placed throughout all the spots has turn into an indispensable role of the endeavor to ensure the satisfaction of their leisure journeys. According to these， it’s urgent to conduct research on the C-E translation of public signs in scenic spots. Mistakes are found during the personal survey of Taimu Mountain， the paper gathers and corrects these misleading descriptions with care and puts forward suggestions to the relevant authorities with the best intention of improving the cultural environment and further promote its status in the world tourism industry.
【Key words】public signs; scenic spot; C-E; translation errors
1. Definition of Public Signs
Public signs， a kind of language notes that public in public places offering the public exact and helpful information to all the people， are widely applied in a variety of fields of life， especially in tourism. Public signs play a crucial part in people’s daily life. Public signs are generally referred to as “signs” in English， including public notices， advertisements， slogans and expressions on the public signs， and have been specified in various ways. It is defined in Wester’s New Collegiate Dictionary（1977）as a posted command， warning， or direction. In Longman Dictionary of American English（1991）， sign is “a board or notice giving information， warning， etc.” Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English（1997）defines a sign as a piece of paper， metal， or wood with words or a picture that gives information， warnings， or instruction a warning， etc. In According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary（Extended Fourth Edition）（2002： 1406）， signs refer to “a board， notice， etc. That directs someone towards something， gives a warning， advertises a business， etc.” And in the sixth edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary（2004）， sign refers to “a piece of paper， wood or metal that has writing or a picture on it that gives you information， instructions， a warning etc”.
2. Functions of Public Signs
Public signs are frequently applied in daily living， we can find that public signs are ubiquitous. The differences among the functions of public signs result in the differences between the language styles and mood in English translation of public signs （贾文波， 2004）. According to Professor Lv Hefa， there are four main functions for public signs， they are： directing， prompting， restricting and compelling （吕和发， 2004： 38）.
Absolute functions include： （1） Directing is the most common function of public signs. The purpose of public signs of directing is to give information to the public， to help the public to understand their surroundings or to help people know about the situation where they are. They do not mean to prompt， to restrict or compel （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （2） Prompting， as the function of public signs， doesn’t carry any specific meanings or significance， this kind of public signs do not demand or force readers to do something， but only to remind a fact or phenomenon （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （3）Public signs of restricting are used to confine or tie the tourists. The language here is direct and clear， but not to make the public feel impolite， rude， or tough. The public will accept this kind of limitation and be able to obey certain rules or regulations （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （4）Public signs of compelling function strictly demand the general public not to adopt certain actions. That is to say， the readers are compelled to do or forbidden from doing certain things. Public signs of compelling usually have forceful and tough tones （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）.
3. Errors Analyses of Public Signs in Ningde Global Geopark
3.1 Errors in Spelling Aspects
Spelling errors， which can also be called misspellings， are the most frequent mistakes in scenic spots and can be seen throughout in the translation of public signs. Spelling errors are mostly ascribed to the negligence of translators or signs-makers. Public signs with misspellings may not only cause severe misunderstanding， but also weaken the attractiveness of the scenic spots and leave bad impression on readers. Here are some examples for these kind of errors in Taimu Mountain：
In example 1， the author finds that the first word of the English version “Everal” doesn’t exist in The Oxford Compact English Dictionary. After the author’s observation， the correct word should be “Several”. （Errors in Spelling Aspects， Appendix 1）
In example 2， you can see many items below the “Items” rank; according to the writing standard of public signs， the first letter of every single word should be written in capital letter， except preposition. Capitalized words are used mostly in three places： proper names， key words in titles， and the first word of sentences. Common words used as parts of proper names are capitalized. Words derived from proper names are usually capitalized. Some proper names or their derivatives have become common words （丁往道， 吴冰， 2011）. Thus this public sign lacks of standardization. （Errors in Spelling Aspects， Appendix 2） 3.2 Errors in Grammatical Errors Aspects
Grammatical errors of public signs refer to the misuse of numbers， tenses， voices， prepositions and parts of speech（柳
婧， 2012： 40）. Generally speaking， grammatical errors in public sign translation are caused by the unqualified translators’ carelessness of the target language’s grammar. Here are some examples for this kind of error in Ningde Global Geopark：
In example 3， in order to line with the previous tense， the word “benefits” should be the first person singular. Thus the correct English version of “保护地址遗迹，建设地质公园，造福于民。” should be “To protect geological heritage， construct the Geopark and benefit he people”.
【Key words】public signs; scenic spot; C-E; translation errors
1. Definition of Public Signs
Public signs， a kind of language notes that public in public places offering the public exact and helpful information to all the people， are widely applied in a variety of fields of life， especially in tourism. Public signs play a crucial part in people’s daily life. Public signs are generally referred to as “signs” in English， including public notices， advertisements， slogans and expressions on the public signs， and have been specified in various ways. It is defined in Wester’s New Collegiate Dictionary（1977）as a posted command， warning， or direction. In Longman Dictionary of American English（1991）， sign is “a board or notice giving information， warning， etc.” Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English（1997）defines a sign as a piece of paper， metal， or wood with words or a picture that gives information， warnings， or instruction a warning， etc. In According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary（Extended Fourth Edition）（2002： 1406）， signs refer to “a board， notice， etc. That directs someone towards something， gives a warning， advertises a business， etc.” And in the sixth edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary（2004）， sign refers to “a piece of paper， wood or metal that has writing or a picture on it that gives you information， instructions， a warning etc”.
2. Functions of Public Signs
Public signs are frequently applied in daily living， we can find that public signs are ubiquitous. The differences among the functions of public signs result in the differences between the language styles and mood in English translation of public signs （贾文波， 2004）. According to Professor Lv Hefa， there are four main functions for public signs， they are： directing， prompting， restricting and compelling （吕和发， 2004： 38）.
Absolute functions include： （1） Directing is the most common function of public signs. The purpose of public signs of directing is to give information to the public， to help the public to understand their surroundings or to help people know about the situation where they are. They do not mean to prompt， to restrict or compel （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （2） Prompting， as the function of public signs， doesn’t carry any specific meanings or significance， this kind of public signs do not demand or force readers to do something， but only to remind a fact or phenomenon （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （3）Public signs of restricting are used to confine or tie the tourists. The language here is direct and clear， but not to make the public feel impolite， rude， or tough. The public will accept this kind of limitation and be able to obey certain rules or regulations （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）. （4）Public signs of compelling function strictly demand the general public not to adopt certain actions. That is to say， the readers are compelled to do or forbidden from doing certain things. Public signs of compelling usually have forceful and tough tones （邹蕴， 2012： 3-4）.
3. Errors Analyses of Public Signs in Ningde Global Geopark
3.1 Errors in Spelling Aspects
Spelling errors， which can also be called misspellings， are the most frequent mistakes in scenic spots and can be seen throughout in the translation of public signs. Spelling errors are mostly ascribed to the negligence of translators or signs-makers. Public signs with misspellings may not only cause severe misunderstanding， but also weaken the attractiveness of the scenic spots and leave bad impression on readers. Here are some examples for these kind of errors in Taimu Mountain：
In example 1， the author finds that the first word of the English version “Everal” doesn’t exist in The Oxford Compact English Dictionary. After the author’s observation， the correct word should be “Several”. （Errors in Spelling Aspects， Appendix 1）
In example 2， you can see many items below the “Items” rank; according to the writing standard of public signs， the first letter of every single word should be written in capital letter， except preposition. Capitalized words are used mostly in three places： proper names， key words in titles， and the first word of sentences. Common words used as parts of proper names are capitalized. Words derived from proper names are usually capitalized. Some proper names or their derivatives have become common words （丁往道， 吴冰， 2011）. Thus this public sign lacks of standardization. （Errors in Spelling Aspects， Appendix 2） 3.2 Errors in Grammatical Errors Aspects
Grammatical errors of public signs refer to the misuse of numbers， tenses， voices， prepositions and parts of speech（柳
婧， 2012： 40）. Generally speaking， grammatical errors in public sign translation are caused by the unqualified translators’ carelessness of the target language’s grammar. Here are some examples for this kind of error in Ningde Global Geopark：
In example 3， in order to line with the previous tense， the word “benefits” should be the first person singular. Thus the correct English version of “保护地址遗迹，建设地质公园，造福于民。” should be “To protect geological heritage， construct the Geopark and benefit he people”.