柰达功能对等理论视角下的公示语英译研究

陈爱菊

【摘 要】公示语应用于生活的方方面面，它不仅促进文化交流和经济繁荣，而且也规范着人们的思想和行为。本文以奈达的功能对等理论为指导，总结出在功能对等理论指导下公示语汉英翻译的三种原则，并将其与实际生活中的公示语英译案例相结合，通过将汉语公示语和其英文译本进行对比的方式对它们进行分析。

【关键词】公示语英译；功能对等理论；翻译原则

The C-E Translation of Public Signs from the Perspective of Nidas Functional Equivalence Theory

CHEN Ai-ju

（Xian Polytechnic University， Xian Shaanxi 710048， China）

【Abstract】Public sign is not only a special communication tool but also a unique cultural phenomenon， it not only promotes cultural communication and economic prosperity， but also regulates peoples thoughts and behaviors. This thesis takes Nidas functional equivalence theory as its theoretical instruction， with which the author sums up three principles in Chinese-English translation of public signs and combine them with practical examples.

【Key words】Public signs； Functional equivalence theory； Translation principle

0 Introduction

Public sign is a special kind of applied style， which refers to a kind of text used to convey certain information to guide people to do what they should or should not in public places. Public sign is widely used and it involves all aspects of peoples daily life， such as environmental protection， political activity， transportation， tourism， construction， and many other fields. As an effective communication tool， it uses concise language structure， straightforward figures or combination of words and figures to convey necessary and useful information to the public[1].

1 Nidas functional equivalence theory

Functional equivalence theory is developed from dynamic equivalence theory， which is a term for methods of translation put forward by Eugene Nida in his book The Theory and Practice of Translation in 1969. Later on， in his book From One Language to Another he changed the term “dynamic equivalence” to “functional equivalence”[2]. Nida believes that the term “function” considers translation as “a form of communication” and focuses on “what a translation does or performs”， therefore it is more reasonable than the “dynamic equivalence”. Moreover， Nida states that when large differences between two cultures of source language and target language occur the only way to perfectly preserve the original information is to change the structure and form of the source-text[3].

2 Principles in translating public signs under the functional equivalence theory

Nidas functional equivalence theory states that this strategy can significantly guides the domestic translation of public signs. Based on this theory this chapter will sum up three principles in translating Chinese public signs into English.

2.1 Receptor-oriented strategy

The receptor-oriented translation strategy is the soul of Nidas functional equivalence theory and Nida believed that the translation can be evaluated to see whether the target-text readers response are roughly the same with the source-text readers.

Take a popular domestic public sign for example， “青草依依，踏之何忍” is widely translated into “Please keep off the grass” or “Please do not tread the grass”. According to Nidas functional equivalence theory translation should focus on the response and feeling of the target-text readers， therefore， this public sign will be better translated into “Please give me a chance to grow”.

Another typical example is “游客游园要文明、有序，尊老爱幼”， in which “尊老爱幼” is often translated into “Please give priority to old people and children”. As for the western people， the “old” indicates that a person is useless due to an old age， which is rude in some degree. This translated text is not receptor-oriented and it ignores the target-text readers feelings and responses， therefore， “尊老爱幼” had better be translated into “Please give priority to senior citizens and children”.

2.2 Priority of content over form

Nida holds the view that “To preserve the content of the message the form must be changed”[4]. Therefore， the translated text should give the priority of content over form， otherwise， rigidly seek the identical form regardless of the content will definitely cause a lot of mistakes and troubles.

There is a common public sign “小心碰头”， which is often literally translated into “ Take care of your head”（照顾好你的头）. This translated text is absolutely Chinglish and violates the English ways of thinking. According to Nidas functional equivalence theory， in order to correctly convey information the form must be changed when it is necessary. Therefore， this public sign should not be translated word by word， instead， “Caution： Mind your head” is well enough.

Here is a typical example again， “咨询台”， which is often ridiculously translated into “Information Desk”. This translated text just solely follows the literal meaning of the source-text and completely ignores the real content. Thus the translated text “Information Desk” is totally wrong and it can be simply replaced as “Information”.

2.3 Being concise

The most distinguished stylistic feature of public signs is conciseness. Thus， translated text of public signs should be as concise as possible on the condition that the information of source-text must be accurately conveyed.

For instance， “老弱病残孕专座”， which is usually seen in public buses and the common translated text is “Reserved seats for the elderly， infirm， sick， disabled and pregnant people”. In fact， this public sign tends to inform passengers that some certain seats are serviced for those special ones and call for passengers offering seats to them. While this kind of word for word translated text inevitably brings a sense of redundancy ， therefore， “Courtesy Seats” is more appropriate on the bus.

Another similar example is “闲人免进”， which is commonly seen on the door of an office. If it is literally translated into “Do not enter if you have nothing important to do” the manner of expression carries a little impoliteness， and the translated text is not concise enough. Thus “Staff Only” is more reasonable.

3 Conclusion

Nidas functional equivalence theory requires translators to achieve functional equivalence between two languages， not to rigidly seek the identity of the two languages literal meaning in translation， but to use the most appropriate， natural and equivalent language to reproduce the source text from semantics to style so as to make the target-text readers response to the translated text equivalent to the source-text readers. Generally speaking， functional equivalence theory can efficiently instruct the translation of public signs and it is a more ideal and more feasible theoretical guidance for Chinese-English translation of public signs. Only by instructing with a correct translation theory， can the domestic translation of public signs become more standard and the international language environment much be purified.

【References】

[1]Lü hefa. Translation of public signs[M]. Beijing： Foreign Language Press， 2011.

[2]Tan zaixi. New edition of Nidas translation theory[M]. Beijing： Zhongguo Duiwai Fanyi Chubangongsi， 1999.

[3]Jia wenbo. Functionalist view of applied translation[M]. Beijing： China Translation & Publishing Corporation， 2004.

[4]Nida， Eugene A， and Charles R. Taber. The theory and practice of translation[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2004.

[责任编辑：杨玉洁]