A sign refers to a lettered board or other public display placed on or before a building，room，shop or office to advertise business there transacted or the name of person or firm conducting it(Webster＇s Third New International Dictionary)．Sign is a broad term，widely used in public facilities，ranging from traveling，catering，accommodation，recreation，shopping to medical service，educational institution and financial service．Signs，which belong to social phraseology，cover a wide range from environmental communication signs(way-finding/directing signs，information signs，notices，and warnings)，street signs，traffic signs or road signs，road markers，parking signs，school signs，no-smoking signs，construction signs，travel signs，instructional notices and so on．They are，with their social communicative functions，widely used by the public on all kinds of occasions．Signs are everywhere in our lives．They make our lives easier and more exciting when we are familiar with them．But sometimes they also bring problems to us．For example，a tourist might not be able to understand signs in a foreign country．Although much research has been directed to automatic speech recognition，handwriting recognition，optical character recognition(OCR)，speech and text translation，little attention has been paid to automatic sign recognition and translation．Sign translation along with spoken language translation can help international tourists to overcome language barriers．

7．2．1．2　The principle of translating signs公示语翻译原则

Skopos theory，proposed in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s by Reiss and Vermeer，is the core theory of functionalism，which is a broad term for various theories focusing on the function or functions of texts．Skopos theory stresses the interactional，pragmatic aspects of translation，arguing that the shape of TT should above all be determined by the function or skopos that it is intended to fulfill in the target context．Reiss and Vermeer formulate this principle into two skopos rules: an interaction is determined by(or is a function of)its purpose and the skopos can be said to vary according to the recipient．From these principles，it follows that the translator should use the translation strategies which are most appropriate to achieving the purpose for which TT is intended，irrespective of which whether they are considered to be the“standard way”to proceed in a particular translation context; in short，when producing a TT “the end justifies the means” ．An awareness of the requirements of the skopos thus expands the possibilities of translation，increases the range of possible translation strategies，and releases the translator from the corset of an enforced—and hence often meaningless—literalness．(Shutteworth ＆ Cowie，2004: 156)

The framework of the theory is that any form of translation action，including therefore translation itself，may be conceived as an action，as the name implies．Any action has an aim，a purpose．The word“skopos” ，then is a technical term for the aim or purpose of a translation，an action(which)leads to a result，a new situation or event，and possibly to a“new”object．(Nord，2001: 12)A translational action may involve a variety of purposes，which may be related to each other in a hierarchical order．Three possible kinds of purposes in translation may be: the general purpose aimed at by the translator in the translation process，the communicative purpose aimed at by the target text，and the purpose aimed at by a particular translation strategy or procedure．That is to say，when translating a sign，the translator should above all know what his or her purpose is，what function(indicating，prompting，restricting or compelling)the sign has，and what strategy determined by the purpose(literal or free，domesticating or foreignizing，etc．)he or she use according to the features of signs．

7．2．1．3　The basic functions of signs公示语的基本功能

Signs perform the four basic functions:indicating，promoting，restricting and compelling．As its meaning suggests，indicating(指示)is to indicate or guide readers．Signs as such are also called instructive/directive/guiding notices which give readers detailed information with no prohibition and restriction．Indicating is the most basic function performed in sign language．Indicating signs generally give readers relevant information about what it is and what service it provides．This is a basic function of sign language．Each type of signs has indicating function，such as “Toilet for Men” (男厕所)，and“Toilet for Women” (女厕所)．

Prompting(提示)has no striking difference from indicating except that the former carries the tone of warning．It aims at reminding readers of paying considerable attention to signs．You may see a sign saying “Wet Paint” (油漆未干)near the recently painted bench，implying“Don＇t touch the bench，or you will get painted” ．And“Mind Your Head When Rising from Seat”(起立时谨防碰头)to warn you to be careful．

Restricting(限制)signs，unlike the two functions mentioned above，put restrictions and constraints to readers，who are expected to abide by certain rules in the interest of public．Restricting signs are to keep or confine within limits．“Please Give This Seat，If A Handicapped or Elderly Person Needs It”(请让座给伤残人或老年人)and“30 Minutes Parking”(限停30分钟)are good examples．

Compelling(强制)signs have great power and potency to induce action on brief．With its tough tone，negative words and comparatively uniform sentence structures，there is little possibility of alternatives．Imperatives are preferred in this circumstance．For example，“No Smoking” (严禁吸烟)，“No Littering”(严禁乱扔垃圾)，“Dog Must Be Kept on a Leash”(狗须用皮带牵住)and“Construction Area，No Pedestrians Beyond This Point”(施工重地，行人不得入内)．

7．2．1．4　Features of signs and their translation公示语特点及其翻译

Signs belong to functional varieties．They are distinguished from other types of languages by their unique features embodied in their applied circumstances．Generally speaking，there are five features，which are conciseness(for example ，“Don＇t Touch”or“Hands Off”勿动展品instead of“Please Don＇t Touch The Exhibits” ，“Night Bell”夜间有事，请按此铃rather than a translated sentence); directness(for example ，“No Passengers on Trucks”严禁客货混装instead of “Don＇t Put Passengers and Cargoes Together”); suitable mood，suggesting instruction，order，request and warning(for example ，“Keep Distance”保持车距，“Handle with Care”小心轻放，“Fire Alarm”火警，“No Driving after Drinking”禁止酒后开车); combining letters with pictures; and capitalization of English signs as in the examples mentioned above．

Therefore，the translator should adhere to the functions and the features of signs in translating signs，and overcomes their functional and Pragmatic deficiencies in Chinese versions．More examples are listed below to show the features and functions in sign translation．

7．2．1 Translation of Signs公示语翻译

7．2．1　Translation of Signs公示语翻译