How to write English signs and signs is the standard to meet the needs of foreigners.

Chinglish is everywhere. Chinglish refers to the nonstandard English that English learners and users in China strictly abide by the rules and habits of China by their own subjective imagination because of the interference of their mother tongue, culture and cross-cultural habits, and their limited English level. For example, "suspension of payment" is translated as "stop cashier", which is the result of word-for-word translation of Chinese. In fact, just use "closed". And "pay attention to safety" is translated as "pay attention to safety" in some places. According to this translation, it is reminding people not to go to safe places. In English, "danger" is generally used, which is both simple and warning. On the outer wall of a supermarket, there are two striking slogans: "Low price every day" and "Save money every day". The following English words are "low prices everyday" and "today and any day payless". This is typical English hard translated according to Chinese meaning. To express the same meaning, it is better to translate it into "daily sale" and "we save money for you"

Mistranslation, hard translation and coinage lead to misreading. Many signs are distorted because of inaccurate expression, 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" has become "No entry into the green space". Some shopping malls often have "Welcome to visit again" signs. We all know that this means welcome to come again next time, but "Welcome" means welcome to visit again, so once written, it becomes welcome twice. Another example is "a drop of wine for the driver and two tears for the relatives", which translates as "a driver drinks a glass of wine and his family will have two teachers". This kind of translation is a blunt translation of Chinese into English. If translated into "drunk driving kills people", it not only expresses the original meaning of the sentence, but also is more concise, more suggestive and less blunt.

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

Translation skills

When translating public signs, we should convey the language and cultural information of the source language to the recipients of the target language according to the concise and easy-to-understand characteristics of public 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 public signs must consider specific occasions and objects and make different treatments according to different contexts. The English translation strategies of public signs are as follows.

In stylized translation, Chinese signs indicating prohibition generally use the structure of "no/don' t+verb", while English signs often use the form of "No+ noun or gerund". For example, it is forbidden to take ecstasy "no drugs", do not bring soft-packed drinks into the venue "no buying drinks from outside", do not litter "no lite ring" and do not park "no parking". Chinese means "dedicated" and English can take the form of "noun +ONLY". For example, only specific employees; Only applicable to buses; VIP is only applicable to VIP; Members only and so on.

Translation of idioms means that translation should be based on English habits, not on the literal meaning of Chinese. If the parking space is full "occupied" and has been reserved, please understand "temporarily closed due to accident" when stopping the service, and there is no need to "upgrade and stop" for elevator maintenance. These signs have their own fixed expressions in English-speaking countries, so they can be directly used in translation. If the above sentence translates "The parking is full" into "The parking full", it will not conform to English habits, but will make foreigners unable to understand. Therefore, we should choose the existing idioms according to the specific situation to achieve the best translation effect.

In reverse translation, some words expressed from the front in Chinese can be expressed from the back in translation; Some Chinese words 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 translated as "don't stick your head out of the window", it will make people feel strong and psychologically difficult to accept and agree with. However, if the same information is conveyed from the opposite angle, "Keep head inside vehicle" is more in line with English idioms, more euphemistic and more acceptable. Another example is: it is forbidden to park on the sidewalk "stop off the sidewalk"; Do not touch the "manual switch"; Do not reverse "keep the top up"; Please don't stand at the door "Don't go near the door"; Please don't enter "Don't trample on the lawn" and so on.

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