Abstract: More and more bilingual public signs have appeared in public places. Not only can these public signs reflect the spirit of a city, they can also embody the whole quality standards of a county. Proceeding from concepts, classifications, and functions of public signs, so as to make people know better about the public sign, then this thesis analyzes the current translational situation and the translational shortages of some public signs. At last, in light of the basic translation theory, this thesis explores some effective ways of translational techniques of public signs, such as, omission, addition, borrowing, liberal translation and conversion.

Key words: public signs   current translation situation   translation technique 

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Brief Account of Public Signs.1

2.1 Concept 

2.2 Classification 

  2.2.1 Traffic Signs

  2.2.2 Commercial Signs

  2.2.3 Public Signs

  2.2.4 Scenic Signs

2.3Function

3. Problems in Translating Chinese Public Signs5

3.1 Spelling Mistakes

3.2 Grammatical Mistakes 

3.3 Cultural Misunderstanding

3.4 Word-to-Word Translation Method

4. Five Techniques in Chinese Public Signs Translation.8

4.1 Omission

4.2 Addition

4.3 Borrowing 

  4.4 Conversion

4.5 Liberal Translation

5. Conclusion10

Bibliography.12

Acknowledgements..13