【正文】 .................... 8 FormalNormalInformal ................................................................................... 8 Appropriate Use of Rhetorical Devices.............................................................. 9 Strategies of Translation .......................................................................................... 10 Keeping it Simple............................................................................................. 10 Adapting Information for Readers.....................................................................11 Trying to Use Symbols ......................................................................................11 iv Providing the Most Benefit for Readers............................................................11 Examples of Correction ............................................................................................11 Requirements for Both Translators and Governments ........................................ 12 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 14 Bibliography....................................................................................................................... 15 黃岡師范學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 1 I. Introduction Literature Review Translation study has never been stopped ever since human beings began their cultural and lingual exchanges. Nida once said: ―Translating consists in reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the sourcelanguage message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style.‖(Nida, 1963, 130) And Newmark defined translation as ―rendering the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text.‖ (Newmark, 1998, 6) Nowadays we have all kinds of translation theories that provide us with many translation principles and methods to translate public signs. In China, Lv Hefa once pointed out that directing, prompting, restricting and pelling are the four most important functions of public signs. The frequent use of nouns, verbs, phrases, abbreviations, bination of words and signs, present tenses and imperative structures mark their most outstanding stylistic characteristics. He Xueyun has mentioned the strategy of public signs translatio n in three aspects: linguistic characters of public signs, functional meanings and readers‘ cultural habit. In western countries, there are also numerous translation theories. For example, Newmark first put forward three functions of language: expressive function, informative function and vocative function. When translating, translators must follow the Equivalence Theory and adopt municative translation, which is to produce on the readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained on the readers of the original. Public sign is the general term for signs of indication, reminder, instructions and warning in public. It is a practical type of writing, aiming at conveying useful and necessary information to public thus to fulfill its relative functions. Translating public signs is the practice of conveying the information embodied in the source text for the purpose that the translated text exerts the same function as the source text． It is important to translate public signs appropriately， since it has a bearing on whether the translated text can convey the information accurately， whether it would interfere with munication with foreign people and whether it would impair the image of a city and even a country． However, the importance of translation has not been full recognized, especially in small cities. After searching the 黃岡師范學(xué)院本科畢業(yè)論文 2 Inter, the author found that there is no thesis which studies the situation of public signs translation in Huangzhou systematically. Therefore, taking bilingual public signs in Huangzhou for example， based on the analysis of those problems and Eugene A. Nida‘s Functional Equivalence, this thesis will discuss the principles and strategies of translation of public signs so that it will help Huangzhou and other cities in China to improve the quality of English public signs. Significance of the Thesis As an education center in China, Huangzhou is developing at a fast speed and attracts more and more foreign friends to study, work and live here. The accurate translation of public signs plays an essential part in guiding the foreign friends. However, the problems existing in the translation often misguide them. Thus it is necessary to improve the quality of translation of public signs. And this thesis aims to analyze the mistakes existing in the translation of public signs in Huangzhou so that it will help to improve the quality of the translation of public signs, which, of course, will better guide the foreigners living in Huangzhou. Through the analysis of the mistakes and errors, this thesis will also introduce the Functional Equivalence Theory and provide some strategies for the translation of public signs in Huangzhou, even in China. Layout This thesis consists of five parts. The first part, which includes the brief narration of the current research situation of this subject, is a general introduction to this thesis. The second part is the knowledge that is related to the public signs. The third part is the existing problems of translation of public signs in Huangzhou. The forth part, which is the main part of this thesis is the analysis of the problems, the strategies of their translation, correction of current problems and it also explores the right deeds of translators and governments. The last part gives a conclusion to this thesis. II. Definition and Classifications of Functions of Public Signs Pubic signs have several de