On the Translation of Chinese Tourism Slogans

【Abstract】English slogans act as a wordless guide for the foreigners to follow the directions and it is a great chance for foreigners to know about Chinese and for Chinese to promote their images. Therefore， studies on the translation strategies of tourism slogans are still in great need.

【Key words】English slogans； translation； tourism slogans

Tourism， well-known as a “zero-smoke industry” and “invisible trade”， is a promising industry which has great significance values in modern times. It is true that scenic spots all over the country have been setting up English slogans to direct and facilitate foreign visitors. These English slogans act as a wordless guide for the foreigners to follow the directions and it is a great chance for foreigners to know about Chinese and for Chinese to promote their images. However， mistranslation in slogans can be seen around the country and that will cause the misunderstanding of the foreign visitors， damage the city image， eventually will hamper the development of international tourism to some extent. Thus， studies on the translation strategies of tourism slogans are still in great need.

In the framework of Skopos theory， one of the most important factors determined the purpose of translation is the address， that is to say， the intended receiver. The theory focuses on the purpose of the translation， which determines the translation methods and strategies that are to be employed in order to produce a functionally adequate result. The main idea of this theory is that translators should hold the thought from the perspective of the target readers during the process of translation. Therefore， the translator should bear in mind what the function of translation text is， what the target readers demand， and what situation it is to be functioned. Specifically， Skopos theory holds three rules for translation， namely skopos rule， coherence rule and fidelity rule. While translating， the three rules are combined together in most cases. First， skopos rule. Skopos is a Greek word for “aim” or “purpose”. The top-ranking rule for any translation is the skopos rule. Vermeer stresses on many occasions that the skopos rule is a general rule， translation methods and strategies are determined by the purpose of the target text. It is the purpose of the translation that determines the translation methods and strategies that a translator may adopt in order to produce a functionally adequate translation Second， coherence rule. Translation has been defined as a purposeful activity which involves a source text and the source text is usually part of the translation commission。Third， fidelity rule. Fidelity rule is a preceding offer of information. It is expected to bear some relationship with the corresponding source text. This is postulated as a further principle. It states that there must be coherent between the translated version and the source text. The target text should be loyal to the source text. The form and the degree of the loyalty are decided by the purpose of the target text.

In conclusion， based on Skopos theory， translators should keep the three rules in mind and the proposed translation strategies based on the three rules， such as transliteration， word replacement， borrowing， omission and so on.

References：

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作者簡介：詹蓉，陜西理工大學外國語學院學科教學（英語）專業研究生，陜西省西安市戶縣第六中學英語教師。