【正文】 ce of stylistic message of source language into target language. The last one is the equivalence of semantic message of source language and target language. Some problems existing in the translation of public signs in Huangzhou are caused by the failure to adhere to the above three requirements. According to the functional equivalence, the author will analyze the reasons that cause the mistranslation of public signs in Huangzhou. 黃岡師范學院本科畢業(yè)論文 7 Firstly, the English version of public signs aims to serve the foreigners, which needs us to take foreign culture and custom into consideration when translating the public signs. If we fail to do that, we may probably cause offence to the foreigners. For instance, the public signs of ―黃岡市殘疾人康復中心 ‖ is translated into ―Huang Gang Shi Can Ji Ren Kang Fu Zhong Xin‖. Obviously, it is only pinyin of Chinese, foreigners can not understand it. Another example of this kind is a shop on the business street which is titled ―時尚內衣生活館 ‖,and its English name is ―Fashion Underwear Comfort Gallery‖. After looking up a dictionary, the author finds that the meaning of gallery is a small store or studio where you can see and buy pieces of art. So the author thinks that ―時尚內衣生活館 ‖ is better translated into ―Fashionable Underwear Life Hall‖. The author also finds that ―老上海餅屋 ‖ is translated into ―LAO SHANGHAI BKAERY‖, so the title is mispronounced. It is not difficult for us to find that the translators who translated the above three public signs were so careless and didn‘t take the cultural differences into consideration. There are still quite a lot of the similar examples such as the translation in parks of ―不要踐踏草坪 ‖―Keep Off The Grass‖. But in America people often use ―Please give me a chance to grow‖. Secondly, the public sign is also a kind of text which has different styles, too. That requires us to pay attention to the stylistic features of different public signs. In fact, the author finds that in Huangzhou almost every street and road is mistranslated. For instance, ―勝利街 ‖ ―考棚街 ‖ are translated into ―Sheng Li Jie‖ ―Kao Peng Jie‖. But the author thinks that these translations can not be understood by foreigners, nor it is needed for our Chinese, thus this kind of translation is meaningless. After searching some papers, the author finds that ―street‖ is a public road in a city or town that has houses and buildings on one side or both sides, ―lane‖ is often a narrow one with buildings on both sides, ―alley‖ is a narrow passage behind or between buildings, ―thoroughfare‖ refers to a public road or street used by traffic, especially a main road in a city or town. Thus, ―勝利街 ‖ is better translated into ―Sheng Li Thoroughfare‖ and ―考棚街 ‖ is better translated into ―Kao Peng Street‖. Thirdly, the main purpose of public signs is to express information. Therefore to keep the foreigners well informed, we must guarantee the accuracy of the public signs. But the mistranslations in Huangzhou often make the foreigners confused. For instance, the public sign ―危難時刻，迅速報警 ‖ in Huanggang Central Hospital is translated into ―BEING 黃岡師范學院本科畢業(yè)論文 8 URGENT, CALL 110 QUICKLY‖, but this translation is too long and does not conform to the features of public signs, thus the author thinks that it should be translated into ―EMERGENCY CALL 110‖. Another example is the translation of ―嚴禁向窗外拋扔物品 ‖on a train in Huangzhou Railway Station. It is translated into ―Strictly forbid toward window to throw a product‖. The above public signs will cause the foreigners confused instead of telling them the clear meaning. Nida‘s functional equivalence thinks the meaning is the most important aspect that should be considered seriously when we translate a text. Suggestions for Existing Problems Vermeer once stated that culture referred to ―the entire setting of norms and conventions an individual regarded as a member of his society must know in order to be like everybody or to be different everybody‖. (Vermeer, 1989, 28).Different culture has different language styles, so when we translate, we must bear culture in mind. Language Styles Language styles of Chinese and English public signs are quite different. There are five major features about English public signs: Firstly, most of the public signs are written in capitals without full stop, for instance NO CLIMBING. Secondly, the public signs are always short even one word， for instance STOP. Thirdly, the public signs are in simple writing style, such as noun, verbal noun or phrase, for instance NO PAINTING. Fourthly, imperative sentences are used sometimes， for instance DON‘T TALK LOUDLY HERE. Lastly, formal writing styles are used sometimes， for instance ANY MISDEED SHOULD BE PUNISHED Meanwhile, Chinese public signs mainly use simple words to show simple meaning, that is, words should be brief and concise. So when we translate Chinese public signs into English, we‘d better pay attention to different language styles. For example, a Chinese public sign may goes like:― 隨地吐痰乞人恨 罰款一千 有可能 傳播肺病因此起 衛(wèi)生法例要遵行 ‖. However, when translated in English, we use only five words: ―No spitting. Maximum penalty $1000.‖ FormalNormalInformal There are sayings in English vary from formalnormalinformal. In Chinese, we only use―不許吸煙 ‖almost everywhere. Meanwhile, the author finds that in Huangzhou ―No Smoking‖ is used everywhere. In fact, it can be translated in several forms in English, and 黃岡師范學院本科畢業(yè)論文 9 they should be used in different situations: 1) No Smoking 2) Thank you for not smoking 3) Don‘t even think about smoking 4) All smoking strictly prohibited These several forms are used differently. ―No Smoking‖ is most euphemistic, and it is always used in meeting rooms and clubs. ―Thank you for not smoking‖ is always used in hospitals and stations. The tone of ―Don‘t even think about smoking‖ is strong,