Functional Equivalence Theory to Translation of Public Signs 英语专业毕业论文.doc

functional equivalence theory to translation of public signscontentsabstract.2introduction.3chapter1generalization on public signs.41 .1 definition of public signs.4 1.2 classification of public signs. .41.3 functions of public signs.51.4 features of public signs. .6chapter 2 introduction to nidas theory.102.1 nidas formal equivalence.102.2 nidas dynamic equivalence .102. 3 nidas functional equivalence.102.4 feasibility of f-e in public signs translation .14chapter 3 strategies on public translation.183.1culture oriented .183.2target-readers thinking model and feelingoriented20 3.3 focus on the characteristics of languages.213.4 qualifying the translators.23conclusion.24notes.25 bibliography26acknowledgement27abstract: with the increasing development of international trade and multinational companies, public signs has gradually developed into an independent applied language, and the tanslation of public signs become extremely important. this thesis, based on the former studies on this aspect, under the guidance of nidas functional equivalence theory, conducts systematic and comprehensive study on the translation of public signs.the thesis starts by introducing the basic knowledge of public signs, including the definition, function and then illustrates the linguistic characteristics of public signs .then comes the introduction to nidas functional equivalence. the author illustrates the development of f-e, the relationship between f-e and public signs translation and the reason why f-e suits public signs translation. at last, based on nidas functional equivalence theory, the author holds several principles and strateges toward the translation of public signs.key words: public signs translation; functional equivalence theory 摘 要:随着国际贸易和跨国公司的日益发展，公示语作为一种应用语言，已逐渐从普通英语中独立出来，其翻译变得极为重要。 作者在前人探索的基础上，在等效翻译理论的指导下，就公示语翻译进行了较为系统全面的研究。文章首先论述了公示语的基本知识，包括其定义、分类、功能及其特点，指出两者在语言方面和文化方面的主要差异。文章继而介绍了奈达的等效理论及其发展过程，并分析等效理论与公示语翻译的关系，以及等效理论能有效指导公示语翻译的原因。最后作者根据奈达的等效理论，探讨了公示语翻译原则和翻译策略.关键词：公示语翻译；等效理论introductionas more and more foreign visitors stream into china, the bilingual public signs, which are supposed to be the most immediate public guidance for visitors, start to play more and more important role not only in its public function for directing people, but more in their significance for upgrading the international image and reputation of china in the global community. however, the numerous and frequent occurrence of problems in the c-e translation of public signs makes the mistranslation of public signs an emergent issue that needs immediate and effective solution since improper translation of public signs will not only cause social disorder, but more seriously, it will degrade chinas international status. only when the needs and feeling of reader been put in the first place,can we improve public signs language translation of the status quo and achieve the real purpose of public signs translation. of course, in order to achieve this goal, the translator should have a firm grounding in translation theory, because theory and practice complement each other. if there is no translator is of rich theoretical knowledge and practical experience, the translated version will seriously affect the public signs communicative intent and effect. evidently, the existing reader-response principle play an important role in guiding translation. of public signs. chapter 1 generalization on public signs1.1 definition of public signs public signs are a special style existing in public places in forms of word and straightforward diagrammatic presentation as well as the combination of word and diagrammatic presentation with the functions of putting forward requirements or drawing peoples attention. 1.2 classification of public signs signs can be classified into different groups with regard to such factors as function, social application and so on. in terms of the materials with which signs are made, we have traditional signs and electronic signs. the former group includes those made of plates of wood, metal, plastics or written directly on the wall. the latter group contains those signs involving high technology, often spotted on digital screens in big cities. when referring to the content, signs are displayed in words, marks, pictures or a combination of them. in accordance with the usage and the place they appear, we have traffic signs, road signs, signs at scenic spots, business signs, and signs for environmental protection etc. one of the acceptable classifications of the public signs is that the present public signs can be classified from the translation perspective, into the two larger categories, they are: the international public signs, and the non-international public signs, which is also called the national or local public signs.1.3 functions of public signs 1.3.1 directing directing is to provide information or certain service for people. they are prevailing in a city and can be found almost everywhere. examples are as follows: “公共厕所”(public toilet) “售票处”( ticket office) “地铁站”(underground).1.3.2 prompting prompting is to remind people to pay considerable attention if they want to perform any action. it has no clear boundary with directing except that prompting carries the tone of reminding. the public sign savage dog or dog that bites step. when traveling in a city, the public sign“限高3.3米”(restrictedheight 3.3m)is quite important for people who are driving on the road. 1.3.3 restricting restricting is to set limits and constraints on peoples conducts. this kind of signs normally adopts direct and simple expressions but never leaves a rude or impolite impression on the readers. take the following signs for example.非请莫入employees only”， “宾客止步closed to visitors”，“施工现场，禁止通行construction site，keep out” 1.3.4 compelling compelling is to require people to take or not to take certain actions. the languages of this category are direct and tough, no compromise at all. imperatives are preferred under this circumstance, for example, “靠左行驶keep left”，“仅限紧急情况下 使用emergency use only”，“严禁吸烟smoking is strictly prohibited” “禁止导游讲解”(no briefing of groups)1.4 features of public signs before discussing stylistic features of public signs, two terms closely related to the functions of public signs should be mentioned, that is, static state and dynamic state demonstrated by public signs in their daily use. static state here refers to those public signs that indicate the function of directing, and nouns that have the static feature are frequently employed. this type of public signs are generally used in scenic spots, traveling service, business industry, names of street, etc. dynamic state refers to those public signs that indicate the function of prompting, restricting and compelling, and verbs, gerunds that have the dynamic feature are more likely to be used. this type of public signs frequently appears in public traffic and urgent aid, etc. 1.4.1 frequent use of noun, verb and gerund as public signs possess both static state and dynamic state, noun, verb and gerund are frequently used in public signs. public signs that perform directing function bear the static state, and nouns are greatly employed. 国际出发international departure 露营装备camping equipment 秦始皇兵马俑qin terra-cotta warriors and horses figurinespublic signs that bear prompting, restricting and compelling functions often adopt verbs or gerunds, thus they are in dynamic state shown by the following examples: 请勿与司机攀谈do not speak to the driver 谢绝小费no tipping严禁烟火smoking and lighting fires strictly forbidden1.4.2 present tense and imperative sentences public signs are put in particular areas for certain readers. a public sign can be a single word, such as exit, a short phrase, for instance，因故停用(out of order ) and a complete sentence-this toilet is open daily 7:00 am-7:00 pm 7 days perweek. when public signs consist of sentences, present tense is the only tense employed in the expressions; meanwhile, imperative sentences are most frequently seen.take the following sentences for example: 降下车窗换换空气 lower window for ventilation 飞往欧洲各地的乘客请在旁边排队 please queue from other side for flights to european destinations1.4.3 combination of letters or words with picturesmany vivid pictures are usually found above or under the letters or words of public signs. these pictures can provide information for those who are not familiar with both english and chinese, and who are not able to read as well. moreover, those pictures are uniformly used all over the world, thus mis by supplying international一 used pictures. in this condition, letters and words act as the supplement to the picture 1.4.4 capitalization of english public signs capitals are essential to public signs for the reason of highlight and of international standard. capitals of public signs share the same rules as the writing of a title, that is, capitalizing the first and last words of public signs and all other words (including words following hyphens in compound words) except articles, coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, nor, for), short prepositions, and the to in infinitives(丁往道，1998:2). look at the following sentences: “皇家天文台售票处”ticket for royal observatory “离前请归还钥匙”please return keys before leaving 1.4.5abbreviation and conciseness many public signs have been internationally accepted, and they are presented in abbreviation, for example, p is the abbreviation of word parking(停车)，i is for information(问询服务)，cctv is the abbreviation of closed circuit television(闭路电子监视系统)，and vip suite(贵宾候机室). conciseness is the most distinguished stylistic feature among the five features of public signs. there are two rules to follow so as to achieve conciseness: firstly, articles, pronouns and auxiliary verbs should be omitted, for example,footpath closed(边道封闭). secondly, phrases and simple sentences are preferred, for example,“勿动展品”is a commonly seen public sign in tourist sites. it is translated into please dont touch the exhibits. obviously, it is translated according to its chinese literal meaning. to follow the international standard, hands off is concise enough to convey the correct meaning. chapter 2 introduction to nidas theorybefore the analysis of nidas f-e theory, it is essential to have a brief introduction to nidas formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence.2.1 nidas formal equivalencethe term fe, together with dynamic equivalence, was first advanced in toward a science of translating. fe is text -oriented. it is characterized by focusing attention on the message itself, in both form and content. in formal equivalence the form(syntax and classes of words) is preserved; while the meaning is lost or distorted. 2.2 nidas dynamic equivalence dynamic equivalence is nidas another major contribution to translation studies. de has been extensively adopted by bible translators since the 1950s and has been successful. since the 1960s, it has grown rapidly in popularity and has been greatly acclaimed. nida first postulates his concept of de translation asfollows: 2. 3 nidas functional equivalencede is the predecessor of functional equivalence. in his book from one language nother, nida changed the term dynamic equivalence intofunctional equivalence. as for the reason of the change, nida explains that dynamic equivalence has been treated in terms of the closest natural equivalence, but the term dynamic has been misunderstood by some persons as referring only to something which has impact. accordingly, many individuals have been led to think that if a translation has considerableimpact then it must be a correct example of dynamic equivalence. because of this misunderstanding and in order to emphasize the concept of function, it has seemed much more satisfactory to use the expression functional equivalence in describing degrees of adequacy of translation. nida has explained the principle functional equivalence time and again in some of his important works. in his toward a science of translating, nida explains, in contrast, a translation which attempts to produce a dynamic rather than a formal equivalence is based upon the principle of equivalent effect. in such a translation one is not so concerned with the matching the receptor-language message with the source-language message, but with the dynamic relationship, that the relationship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptor and the message. in his the theory and practice of translation, nida defines it more clearly like this, dynamic equivalence is therefore to be defined in terms of the degree to the receptor of message in the receptor language respond to it substantially the same manner as the receptors in the source language. in his book from one language to another nida has changed the term dynamic equivalence into functional equivalence, for the purpose of emphasizing communicative functions and eliminating misunderstandings. in order to build up a solid foundation for his functional equivalence, nida, in his book, has made a deep detailed study of the communicative functions of language, which will be discussed later in this part. in his book language, culture, and translating, nida has distinguished degrees of his functional equivalence from the aspects of cognitive and experiential factors, namely, theminimal, realistic f-e and the maximal, ideal f-e. the former degree of f-e could be stated as, the readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it.1 nida stresses that anything less than this degree of equivalence should be unacceptable. nidas maximal, ideal f-e should be, the readers of a translated text should be able to understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did. nida insists that this maximal level of equivalence is rarely; it ever achieved, and except for texts have little or no aesthetic value and involving only routine information.2 functional equivalence is the soul of nidas overall theory of principle of equivalence. the improvements lie in two aspects:first, the degrees of functional equivalence have been clearly divided into two scales,which make the principle f-e more practicable; secondly, nidas minimal, realistic definition of f-e is more definite, concrete and understandable. to sum up, in order to have a better understanding of nidas functional equivalence one must bear his following words in mind, in general it is best to speak of functional equivalence in terms of a range of adequacy, since no translation is ever completely equivalent. a number of different translations can in fact represent varying degrees of equivalence. this means that equivalence cannot be understood in its mathematical meaning of identity, but only in terms of proximity, i.e. on the basis of degrees of closeness to functional identity.32.3.1contribution and limitation of f-ethe principle f-e initiated by nida has been of great importance and profound significance in the international translation circle. 1) nidas f-e focuses on achieving equivalence both in form and in content, thus having solved the contradiction, which could not have been settled both by literal and free translation. 2) the successful utilization of readers responses. nida insists that atranslation serves the readers or receptors of the target language. nidas f-e principle has made more possible the translatability of language of different cultures. to sum up, functional equivalence has taken advantage of the theory of aesthetics of reception, which emphasizes the subjective initiative and creativity of the receptors, and it also stresses their demands and aesthetic consciousness toward the adjustment mechanism of the works of art. despite of all the above-mentioned contributions, nidas f-e principle is far from being perfect. in fact, it does have some limitations. (1). equivalence effect: in some cases, equivalence is impossible (2). readers response: in the first place, it is very often difficult to determine how the original readers comprehend the text, and in the second place, it is frequently impossible to evaluate effectively the responses of those who read a translated text (peter newmark,2001:1012). 2.4 feasibility of f-e in public signs translation first of all, the limitations of f-e will not affect the application of f-e in public signs translation. equivalence in nidas theory cannot be understood in its mathematical meaning of identity, but only in terms of proximity, i.e. on the basis of degrees of closeness to functional identity,5 since no translation, even nothing can be ever completely equivalent. secondly, nidas f-e suits public signs translation. (1) the core of public signs translation and its function is to call upon the target reader to act, to think, or to feel, in fact to react inthe way intended by the text, which also la