Abstract：Public signs, a special form with a specific function, provide people with a lot of information. It plays a very important role in economy, politics, culture and tourism, etc. Public signs on campus, as a part of signs which is often ignored by people, are significant in the civilization of the society. As a window of social spiritual civilization, C-E translation of public signs on campus is a very important part of international communication. In order to make the foreigners know more about China, Chinese universities have focused on the C-E translation of communicative materials, especially on public signs. Hence, it is necessary to use an exact and proper translation of public signs on campus.

However, there still are many problems in the translation of public signs existing on campus. As a large branch of linguistics, pragmatics plays an increasingly important role in public signs. This thesis focuses on C-E translation of public signs on campus from the perspective of the pragmatic equivalence theory. Moreover, the author also introduces the typical pragmatic failures by illustrating the current errors and some typical problems in the translation of public signs on campus. At the end, the author summarizes the research findings and limitations of this thesis and gives some suggestions for further research.

Keywords:  public signs  pragmatic equivalence theory  on campus

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Significance of C-E Translation of Public Signs on Campus-1

1.2 Current Study on Public Signs Translation in China-1

Chapter Two Theoretical Framework—Pragmatic Equivalence Theory-3

2.1 Definition of Pragmatic Equivalence-3

2.2 The Essence of Pragmatic Equivalence-3

Chapter Three Common Errors in Translation of Public Signs on Campus-5

3.1 Linguistic Errors-5

3.1.1 Lexical Errors-5

3.1.2 Grammatical Errors-7

3.2 Cultural Errors-7

3.3 Pragmatic Errors-7

3.3.1 Chinglish-7

3.3.2 Inappropriate Tone-8

Chapter Four Translation Tactics for Public Signs on Campus from the Perspective of Pragmatic Equivalence Theory-9

4.1 Tactics for Linguistic Translation Errors-9

4.1.1 Briefness and Conciseness-9

4.1.2 Suitable Mood-9

4.2 Tactics for Cultural Translation Errors-10

4.2.1 Transliteration-10

4.2.2 Addition of Explanation-10

4.2.3 Thinking in a Opposite Way-10

4.3 Tactics for Pragmatic Translation Errors-11

4.3.1 Following the Fixed Patterns-11

4.3.2 Capitalization-11

4.3.3 Letters and Pictures Combined-11

Chapter Five Conclusion-12

References-13