How to write English signs and signs is the standard to meet the habits of foreigners? Ask for advice, the more detailed the better.

Ch ing lish is everywhere. Chinglish refers to the nonstandard English that English learners and users in China, due to the interference of their mother tongue and their cultural and intercultural habits, and their limited English level, rigidly adhere to the combination of Chinese rules and habits by their own subjective imagination. For example, "suspension of collection" is translated as "Stop Cashier", which is the result of translating Chinese word for word. In fact, just use "Closed". And "pay attention to safety" is translated as "Notice Safety" in some places. According to this translation, it is reminding people not to go to a safe place. In English, "Danger" is generally used, which is both simple and warning. On the outer wall of a supermarket, there are two eye-catching slogans: "Low price every day" and "Save money every day". The English below are "low prices everyday" and "today and any day payless" respectively. This is typical English hard translated according to Chinese meaning. To express the same meaning, it is better to translate it into "All sale every day" and "We save money for you".

Mistranslation, hard translation and coinage lead to misreading. Many signs are distorted by inaccurate expressions, and the information they want to convey cannot achieve the expected effect. "Western Pharmacy" is misinterpreted as "western pharmacy", and "don't enter the green space" becomes "no entry to Greenland". Some shopping malls often have the sign "welcome you again", which we all know is welcome to come again next time, but "Welcome" means welcome to come again, so once written, it becomes welcome twice. Another example is "a drop of wine from the driver makes two tears from the relatives", which is translated into "one drink of alcohol on the part of the driver can result in two lines of teachers for his family". This kind of translation is a blunt translation of Chinese into English. If it is translated into "Drink and Drive Costs Your Life", it not only expresses the original meaning of the sentence, but also is more concise, more suggestive and less blunt.

The translation of signs does not conform to the principle of language politeness. The same meaning can be expressed in many ways in English. The difference between different expressions often lies in mood and emotion, and the choice of mood and emotion depends on the specific environment. Therefore, the translation of English signs must consider specific occasions and objects, and the reading psychology and emotion of the prompted object. Correct meaning is only the first step in translation. For example, "elevator for the disabled" is directly translated as "Lift for the Disabled" in many shopping malls. Semantically, this translation is correct, but from the perspective of humanistic care of language, "disabled" refers to the disabled, which is not enough to take care of the feelings of disabled friends. If it is translated into "if for the underrive leged", it is more in line with the principles of politeness and euphemism, because "under rive leged" refers to people with low status, which shows the translator's humanistic care. And the word "forbidden" can be seen in many public places. If it is literally translated into English as "Don' t", the translation tone is blunt and not euphemistic. For example, "Don' t make noise" and "Don't pick the flowers". But if translated into "Quiet, please" and "Take care of the flow2ers, please", it is concise and creates a relaxed atmosphere.

translation skills

when translating signs, we should convey the linguistic and cultural information of the source language to the recipients of the target language according to the characteristics of concise and easy-to-understand signs and the differences between the two languages and cultures. The same meaning can be expressed in many ways in English, and the difference between different expressions often lies in mood and emotion, so the translation of signs must consider specific occasions and objects and make different treatments according to different contexts. The English translation strategies of signs can be as follows.

The stylized translation of Chinese signs indicating prohibition generally uses the structure of "no/No+verb", while in English signs, the form of "no+noun or gerund" is often used. For example, it is forbidden to take ecstasy "No Drugs", do not bring soft-packed drinks into the venue "No Drinks from Outside", do not litter "no lite ring" and do not park "No Parking". Chinese means "dedicated" and English can adopt the form of "noun+ONLY". Such as employee-specific Staff Only; BusesOnly for buses; VIP Only for VIPs; MembersOnly and so on.

Translation of habitual expressions means that we should follow the habits of English when translating, and we can't do blunt translation according to the literal meaning of Chinese. If the parking space is full of "occupied" and has been reserved, please understand "temporarily closed for the accident" when stopping the service, and "EscalatorOut of Service" is not needed for elevator maintenance. These signs have their own fixed expressions in English-speaking countries, so they can be applied directly when translating. If the above statement translates "The parking is full" into "the parking is full", it is not in line with English habits, but will make foreigners unable to understand it. Therefore, according to the specific situation, we should choose the existing customary expressions in order to achieve the best translation effect.

In reverse translation, some words expressed from the front in Chinese can be expressed from the back in the translation; Some words in Chinese are expressed from the negative side, and the translation can be expressed from the positive side. For example, "Don't stick your head out of the window", if it is translated as "Don' t put your head out of the window", it will make people feel strong and psychologically difficult to accept and agree. However, if the same message is conveyed from the opposite angle, "Keep head inside vehicle" is more in line with English idioms, more euphemistic and acceptable. Another example: no parking on the sidewalk "Park off pavement"; Do not touch "HandsOff"; Do not invert "Keep Top Side Up"; Please don't stand at the door "Stand Clear of the Door"; Please do not enter "Keep Off the Grass" and so on.

Not translating signs into English is a kind of transmission of Chinese culture, tradition and daily behavior norms to foreigners, and it is bound to have a reaction in foreigners' hearts. Therefore, in the process of translating signs, we must realize that the English translation of signs itself is a kind of propaganda for Chinese thought and culture, and some signs are only written for China people, such as "No spitting", "No scribbling", "No defecation in the park" and "No scribbling". These signs are written purely for China people, and if translated, they will damage the image of our citizens, so we can consider not to do so. In the conclusion, Chinese and English public signs have their own characteristics. Due to the different ways of thinking and expression between China and the West, the translation of Chinese signs has made mistakes. The translation of signs, seemingly trivial, is actually related to the overall image of a city and even a country. Therefore, when translating signs, we should choose words accurately, understand the meaning of the original text, respect the target readers, follow the cultural customs and realize the purpose of language communication.