Analysis of the Current Situation of English Translation of Public Signs in Colleges and Universities and Research on Its Improvement Strategies

Wang Jing

【Abstract】With the continuous deepening of Chinas internationalization process and the expansion of foreign exchanges， bilingual， even multilingual public signs have emerged in colleges and universities in response to the rising number of foreign students and teachers. While English public signs have become increasingly prominent， the English translation quality of public signs varies greatly. Guided by such translation strategies as literal translation， free translation and translation modification， this paper investigates and analyzes the current situation of English translation of public signs in colleges and universities based on field investigation and inductive analysis， so as to discover the existing problems in the English translation of public signs and carry out studies on its improvement methods to promote the standardization of English translation of public signs in colleges and universities.

【Key words】English translation； public signs； colleges and universities； improvement strategies

【作者簡介】Wang Jing（1997-）， female， Han ethnicity， born in Sishui， Shandong， is an undergraduate of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Research direction： interlingual translation between Chinese and English.

1. Development status of public signs in colleges and universities

Public signs are not only a linguistic but also a cultural phenomenon. They form a language system that conveys specific information such as instructions， prompts， restrictions， orders， etc. to the audience in public in a concise， clear and diverse language. On this basis， public signs in colleges and universities are the ones that appear in campuses， which adapt to the cultural characteristics and meet the actual needs of colleges and universities by presenting themselves in both English and Chinese.

Since the reform and opening up， China has witnessed rapid development and made great achievements in higher education. The education system is constantly undergoing all-round transformation and innovation. As material carriers of higher education， campuses have also been continuously developed. Following the development trend of the learning society， the translation of public signs in colleges and universities has become a major concern.

With the continuous improvement of Chinas international status and the growing influence of Chinese culture， China opens its doors ever wider and cultural exchanges have become increasingly frequent. At the same time， Chinese colleges and universities have attracted a large number of foreign teachers and international students， and have established friendly relationship with foreign counterparts. English public signs are playing an increasingly significant role in this process， which requires that colleges and universities establish a well-defined and orderly standard for the English translation of public signs when using them to deliver messages， so as to create a harmonious cultural atmosphere and ensure that campus activities of students from all over the world can be carried out in an orderly manner.

2. Translation errors in public signs in colleges and universities

2.1 Errors in translation process

2.1.1 Messy combination of Chinese and English

Use Chinese Pinyin to replace English. For example， the sign “監控區域” ， which should have been translated into “Monitor Area” instead of “ Jiankong Area”， is shown in some areas of a campus. This is an incomplete translation with the combination of both Chinese and English.

According to the international practice， addresses and road names are usually translated literally in English. But some of the road names in Chinese Pinyin are not in conformity with the norms. For example， “文津路” is translated into “Wen Jin RD”. However， the standard translation should be “Wenjin Road”.

2.1.2 Unnecessary over-translation

As some translations are lengthy and complicated， they cannot be used as reminders or instructions. So the principle of simplicity should be followed：

2.1.3 Ungrammatical structure

In some translations， two nouns are juxtaposed as the subject， or the original form of a verb is used as the subject， singular and plural forms are not clarified， etc.， which do not conform to the structure or grammatical rules. There are also some authors who directly copy dictionary definitions and use the parataxis thinking， which is a taboo for interlingual translation between Chinese and English. The former is isolated and static， and the latter is flexible. It is self-evident that consulting the dictionary is necessary in translation， but relying on dictionary completely leads to disasters. For example：

2.1.4 Straightforward and impolite translation

The language politeness is highly important in the process of international communication. The English translation of public signs is not only a significant way of publicizing， but also an important means of cultural and emotional communication. Therefore， the politeness principle should be followed in the translation to reflect humanistic care and create a harmonious atmosphere. Public signs with negative meanings such as “prohibited”， “do not” and “no” can be translated in an implicit and euphemistical way while maintaining functional equivalence. For example， “Dont talk loudly” （“不要大聲喧嘩”） can be changed to “Please Keep Silent”.

2.1.5 Improper wording and deviation from original intention

Since improper words are selected without taking the specific context into consideration， some translations deviate from the original intentions， and even are misunderstanding. For example：

The shared bicycle campus parking lot can only be used by users after registration at the platform， but this condition （“通過平臺認證方可使用”） is misinterpreted as “Certificated Users Only”. “Certificated” means “officially documented”， hence the sentence should be changed to “Registered Users Only”.

“黨團活動室” is misinterpreted as “Multi-activities Room”. “Multi-activities” means “multiple activities”， so this sign should be changed to “Caucus Room”.

“請勿在書上涂畫” is misinterpreted as “Prohibit Desecration on Books”. “Desecration” means “the blasphemous behavior， the act of insulting”， which is relatively severe and religious. Therefore， the sign should be changed to “No Writing”.

2.1.6 Rigid translation without real understanding

“Rigid translation without real understanding” refers to the translation that does not conform to the English expression habits， that is， blind translation according to the literal meaning and sentence structure. The translators misunderstanding of the original intention will make a public sign fail to realize its information transmission function and cause misunderstanding. Some translations are only obtained from word-for-word rigid translation by translation software， or from simple adjustment of the word order， which are unintelligible to readers.

2.1.7 Omission and pretermission

Some translation only include part of the words， and even miss the central words， hence the expression is incomplete. Inconsistent translation refers to translation confusion， and the English version of a public sign is inconsistent with the original Chinese version. Therefore， the English sign cannot convey equal information and fails to realize its instruction function， causing the readers to be confused. For example， “醫學圖書借閱廳” （“Medical Book Reading Hall”） and “音像資料閱覽室” （“Multimedia Reading Room”） are translated into “Medical Books” and “Multimedia” respectively， missing “Reading Hall”and “Room”.

2.2 Errors in the sign production process

2.2.1 Incautious spelling errors

English signs must not only conform to international practice， but also follow the principle of accuracy. Spelling errors should be strictly forbidden. However， some sign-printing companies， due to the poor English ability， are prone to omit letters or use wrong letters. For example：

2.2.2 Inconsistent case rule

Such errors are usually inconsistent case rule in phrases or sentences. If one applies the uppercase rule， the first letter of each word in a phrase or sentence should be uppercase； if one wants to emphasize the whole phrase or sentence， each letter could be uppercase. The principle is that the case rule should be consistent. For example， the original translation of “會議室” is “Meeting room”， which is suggested to be revised to “Meeting Room”.

2.3 Errors in maintenance and management

Insufficient management and maintenance

Due to exposure to the weather and insufficient maintenance， some letters in public signs have gone missing. For example， the signs “A*minist*ative Building”， “Log*stics Service Bu*lding” and “Expe*imental Buiding” are unintelligible at first glance. Actually they are “Administrative Building”， “Logistics Service Building”， and “Experimental Building”.

Note： “*” is a missing letter.

3. Strategies for English translation of public signs in colleges and universities

3.1 Unify the translation standard

English teachers， British and American students in China， and outstanding students majoring in English should be encouraged to work together to develop a unified English translation standard for campus public signs， and establish a translation corpus for reference.

3.2 Strengthen review and check

The errors in public signs should be eliminated by strict review at each step of sign production. Translation should be done in strict accordance with the English translation standard， and reviewed by experts to ensure that the translation is concise， grammatically correct， proper in wording and faithful to the original text. Before the public signs are posted， the finalized translation text of them should be rechecked and revised if any error is found.

3.3. Organize related activities

Lectures， knowledge contests and “woodpecker” activities related to English translation of public signs， as well as public welfare activities of identifying and correcting errors in public signs should be carried out. Students are supposed to be encouraged to actively participate in the above mentioned activities， thus bringing translation errors in public signs to their attention.

3.4 Strengthen supervision and management

Publicity departments of colleges and universities are suggested to strengthen the management and maintenance of public signs， and regularly check whether there are conditions like missing letters or color fading.

4. Prospects for English translation of public signs in colleges and universities

English translation of public signs in colleges and universities seems to be a trifle unworthy of attention， but it is one of the important means to create cultural atmosphere. It has direct impact on study and daily life of foreign students， and has a subtle influence on foreign language learning of Chinese students. As a “name card”， English translation of public signs is an important element of international image building by colleges and universities.

Due to the influence of multiple factors such as cultures and thinking habits， the standardization of English translation of public signs in colleges and universities is undoubtedly an important and arduous task. A prudent and serious attitude is supposed to be taken from initial translation and review of pubic signs to the production of them.

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