On Chinese—English Translation of Public Signs Based on Nida’s Functional Equivalence

Abstract：Based on Nidas functional equivalence， the article analyzes the status quo of C-E translation of public signs， including its concept and problems. Several typical examples are listed. The article also summarizes the principles and methods of it.

Key words：functional equivalence； public signs； C-E translation

1. Concept of Public Signs

What is “public signs”？ As per New Oxford Dictionary of English （2001）， a sign is a note that is shown in public whose function is giving information or instructions in a written or symbolic form.

2. Eugene A. Nida and His Functional Equivalence

Eugene A. Nida is a great scholar in translation field. Nida developed functional equivalence translation theory and he is one of the founders of modern principles of translation studies.

The concept of functional equivalence theory has been described in a number of books and articles as “dynamic equivalence”. In Toward a Science of Translating （Nida， 2004）， dynamic equivalence has been treated in the light of the “closest natural equivalent” but the term “dynamic” has been comprehended in a wrong way by some scholars as referring only to something influential. Accordingly， many people have been led to think that if a translation has considerable influence then it must be a suitable example of dynamic equivalence. Due to this misunderstanding and in order to emphasize the concept of function， it is more satisfying to use “functional equivalence”.

3. Problems of C-E Translation of Public Signs

3.1 Misspelling

Thanks to modern translation tools， misspelling is not hard to avoid now. But some still exist. The following are examples from Long Jianghuas （2007： 27-31） article. He discovered misspellings of public signs translation in a supermarket in Wuhan. “三樓生鮮特賣場” was translated into “The large fresh soles field of 3F”. “健身器材” was translated into “Blod-building apparatus”.

3.2 Grammatical Errors

As is well-informed， words are the carriers of meaning. While， grammatical rules organizing the words， are the foundations in translating. Accordingly， public signs with grammatical mistakes are very possible to make foreigners feel confused. For instance， “禁止攀登.” is translated into “Please dont climbing.” in some parks in China.

3.3 Inappropriate Tone

Inmost cases， equivalence in tone is always lost owing to cultural misunderstandings. For example， “青草依依，踏之何忍！” is widely translated into “Please keep off the grass！” in China. Nevertheless， according to functional equivalence theory， we can get other two versions， namely “Please give me a chance to grow.” and “Grass so fair needs your care！”. These two translations are much more acceptable to readers because the sense of coercion is weakened by rhetorical device yet propagating function is stressed.

4. Principles and Methods of C-E Translation of Public Signs

4.1 Principles of C-E Translation of Public Signs

4.1.1 Functional Priority

The most fundamental solution to the errors is to keep functional priority in mind. Concerning the C-E translation of public signs， translators should understand the functions of original public signs thoroughly and try to reserve it unchanged in their English translations.

An example is as follows：

Source Language：同一個世界，同一個夢想.

Target Language： One World， One Dream.

We may tell from the translation that the slogan meets the need of both structure equivalence and sound pattern equivalence. Both types serve a main goal of functional equivalence.

4.1.2 Conciseness

Public signs are well-known for its conciseness. Hence， redundancy may weaken the effect of a public sign. For instance， Chinese placard public signs “入口” and “警務工作站” can be understood without any problems by Chinese readers， however， the wrong English translations “Entrance Gate” and “Police Affairs Station” are all redundant expressions. They disobey the essence of functional equivalence.

4.2 Methods of C-E Translation of Public Signs

4.2.1 Borrowing

With more standard translations introduced to China， Chinese have been more familiar with borrowing. Many public signs such as “請勿吸煙”， “小心碰頭”already have their translations that are worldly acknowledged so that the best way is just borrowing them while translating.

Another type is to borrow translations from cathedratic works. For instance， a book Chinese menu in English version translates more than 2，000 Chinese dishes， and all restaurants in China can just borrow these translations without hesitation.

4.2.2 Substituting

Translators should analyze cultural elements and discover appropriate translation to replace the literal meaning of cultural elements based on functional equivalence.

Here is an example：

Source Language： 熱烈歡迎來自五大洲的朋友！

Target Language：

Original Translation： A warm welcome to the friends from the five continents！

Revised Translation： A warm welcome to the friends from all over the world！

Problem occurs when translating “五大洲”. It arouses no confusion among Chinese that “五大洲” refers to the world. However， as for westerners， there should be seven rather than five continents on the Earth. They may be misled that Chinese people only welcome the friends from the five continents and the rest are not welcome. A good slogan should cover its meaning in an all-round way.

5. Conclusion

C-E translation of public signs is important. But many problems still exist in it. The article introduces Nida and his functional equivalence， and discusses the relevance of functional equivalence to translation of public signs. Principles and methods are proposed for C-E translation of public signs.

【References】

[1] Nida， Eugene A. Towards a Science of Translating[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2004.

[2] 龍江華. 武漢城市形象建設與公示語漢英翻譯[J]. 長江論壇， 2007（1）.

【作者簡介】

張圣鑫（1992—），男，漢族，山東濟南人，山東大學在讀碩士研究生，主要研究方向：英語筆譯。