Characteristics and functions of logos

Signs, also known as public signs and social signs (Yu Weichang, 1998), belong to the category of social management terms and are a special language phenomenon used in social public occasions, covering a wide range of Very broadly, any language signs or slogans posted or printed in public places that are intended to provide publicity and services to the general public or special groups can fall into the category of logos.

According to the speech act theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969, 2001), slogans are an art of persuading others through effective verbal means. They are also part of language activities and belong to a special kind of communication. . Its particularity lies in the fact that it occurs between the manager and the managed and has a specific context, that is, a specific communication place. But it is not a face-to-face communication that occurs at a specific period of time. Neither party involved appears as an individual. The target is all people who have social behavior in the place, regardless of gender, age, status, or status. Education level. Slogans belong to "one-way communication", and their binding force or influence will not be as great as face-to-face communication. However, their use is also to act with words and influence the behavior of the audience, and has a clear purpose. According to statistics, most signs are to instruct, prompt, or restrict or force the behavior of the audience for the purpose of standardization and management, which is the communicative purpose of signs.

Signs can be divided into four categories, namely indicative signs, suggestive signs, restrictive signs and mandatory signs.

Indicative signs provide thoughtful information services to the people they communicate with, and their purpose is to provide some relevant information or guidance to the public, such as information services, ticket offices, etc.

Indicative signs serve as reminders or notifications to the communication partners, allowing them to make corresponding arrangements according to the content of the prompts. They have a wide range of uses, such as: "The parking space is full", "Reach out the water", etc. .

Restrictive signs restrict and restrict the behavior of relevant communication objects, and regulate the behavior of communication objects according to their communicative intentions

But their directive tone is weak. It leaves more room for the communication partner to choose to obey or refuse, and the language is straightforward, such as: "The customer stops", "Keep quiet", etc.

The communicative intention of mandatory signs is to require the relevant communication objects to take or not take certain actions in a coercive way. They have a strong commanding tone, straightforward and tough language, and do not allow the communication objects to choose. For example: "Smoking is strictly prohibited", "Dangerous goods are not allowed to enter the station", etc.

Signs are not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a cultural image. Although some signs are very similar internationally, such as traffic signs, the signs in different countries are still different in some aspects. There are certain differences. Therefore, to translate logos well, you must first understand the differences in language habits and cultural characteristics of logos in the target country.