劉亞蘭

【Abstract】Public signs， as an important part of social language， are termed as the name card of a city. The translation of public signs is quite different from the translations of other practical texts， i.e. legal instruments， official documents， etc. Besides functioning as conveying information， it embodies aesthetic features which can draw peoples attention and bring people aesthetic feelings. Therefore， the quality of the translation of public signs greatly affects the image of a city， which is same in Xinjiang. Xinjiang， located in central Asia， the quality of signs translation is significant to the development as well as the transmission of Xinjiangs multi-culture.

【Key words】Public signs； Aesthetics； English translation

Public signs， as an important part of social language， are termed as the name card of a city. Recent years， more and more scholars draw attention on public signs translation research and have made rich achievements. According to Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary （2004）， a sign is “a board， notice etc. that directs sb. towards sth.， gives a warning， advertises a business， etc.”.In other words， signs are words conveying important information in a brief and clear way in public places， which sometimes combined with graphic form. In recent years， an increasing number of researchers pay close attention to the error analysis in translating public signs from perspectives of Culture， Pragmatics， Functionalism， Skopos， Memetics， etc. It is true that some problems do exist in English signs translation， but it does not mean English signs have nothing to do with beauty. For instance， “Better city， better life”（cited from Shu Huijuan， 2010）， English translation of the theme of 2010 World Exposition “城市讓生活更美好” in Shanghai， is a case in point. The Translated English sign leaves peoples with deep impression for the clearness and simplicity in diction and structure， so as to achieve the ideal effect of publicity.

Aesthetics， in more general sense， is the study of beauty， which has long historical development both in China and western countries. The word aesthetics is derived from Greek “aisthetikos”， and it is first proposed by a German philosopher named Alexander Baumgarten in 1735. Zhu Guangqian， a master in aesthetics， is the first person developed aesthetics in China. He defines aesthetics as “the feature or quality from which some objective things， qualities and configuration adapt to subjective ideologies， and they combine or blend together to form a complete image”. （Zhu， 2004）. The combination of translation with aesthetics is one of the major characteristics of Chinese translation theories. Translation aesthetics aims at analyzing， explaining and solving aesthetic problems in intra-language transformation by employing the fundamental theories of aesthetics.

1 Beauty in content

Beauty of public signs in content firstly reflects in using proper words. As mentioned before， public signs translation， at least， should not lead to misunderstanding； otherwise， it loses the basic function of conveying information. Then， it strives for the suitable mood in consideration of the psychological feeling of the public. English public signs can be expressed in formal and informal according to the occasion. For example， “小心碰頭” is translated into “Mind Your Head” which properly conveys the intention of the source text. It is a kind of prompting sign that aims to inform people of the potential danger of injuring head. Such warning signs is full of friendliness， goodwill and humanity. Another successful translated signs is “More Exhibitors” （請(qǐng)繼續(xù)觀看）， which is collected from Eurasia Exposition in 2011. The Chinese sign tends to inform the visitor appreciate more exhibits. The translator deals with the sign with common words and western style from the contents angle， not directly translate word by word. In this sense， it achieves aesthetic effect in content so that the speculators can get the intention of the sign immediately.

2 Beauty in form

Beauty in form， in a broad sense， refers to the beauty made up of certain color， form and sound， which universally exists in human beings， nature and artificial products. Such characteristics as parallelism， symmetry and rhythm are criteria of form， which has the property of independent aesthetic value， can also show the social content combined with it. “Great Expo with Great Hospitality”（當(dāng)好東道主，辦好博覽會(huì)） is beautifully translated since the innovative form and accurate diction like the repeated word “great”. Simple and clear as it is， it integrates the two parallel sentences of Chinese sign into a brief noun phrase. Such an appropriate and clever way can raise readers aesthetic feelings as soon as they notice it. Two Chinese verb phrases “當(dāng)好” and “辦好”are translated into an adjective “Great”. In the English sign， the same word “ great” embodies different meanings， for the first “great” means to host a successful Expo， and second one refers to the good manner of the host city concerning with enthusiasm， effort and so forth. The beauty of “great” is wisely chosen for the translator just to highlight “當(dāng)好” and “辦好”.

3 Beauty in ideorealm

The word “ideorealm” is composed of prefix “ideo-“ plus noun “realm”， which mean ideas and scenes respectively. It is something abstract， meaning creating an artistic setting capable of leading the reader into an imaginary space by way of artistic description （Shi Xiaoying & Shi Xiaoting， 2007）. Beauty in ideorealm is aimed at showing the authors intention with concrete and vivid image， which could induce the readers sensibility， imagination and understanding， so as to arouse the readers aesthetic passion and produce aesthetic effect. The sign “人間仙境不食人間 ‘煙火” is translated into “Thank You for Not Smoking. It intends to persuade the public not to smoke in an indirect way and distinctive expression. We can see that it is rather an advocating sign than restricting one. So how to make its English version function as the Chinese is not easy to handle. Generally speaking， the use of “please” in signs， for one thing， shows politeness to some extent， for another， it reflects constraint force of laws and rules towards tourists. Usually， “please” is used in such English signs like “Please do not smoke”. It is acceptable but still is a little bit crude and harsh in tone. Whats more， the underlying meaning is still in veil. But another translation “Thank You for Not Smoking”， is regarded as the most suitable one which is filled with humanistic care and presented in a good and harmonious sense.

4 Beauty in folklore

Language is the carrier and container of cultural information. When referring culture， it is necessary to make clear of what culture is. Based on Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English （1997）， folklore refers to the traditional stories， customs and habits of a particular community or nation， which can distinguish one nation from another. Xinjiang， as a multi-ethnic region， has distinctive features in local custom. For instance， “DarwazT” is the English version of “達(dá)瓦孜”， which shows Xinjiang minoritys amusing and special customs. Darwaz， means walking in the rope in high attitude. It is translated from Uygur language， which is a traditional sport for Uygur nationality. The ropewalker， wearing of folk consumes， walks on the rope doing some breathtaking action. Darwaz is listed as the first national non-material cultural heritage in 2006. People who see the show are amazed at the performers exquisite skill and excellent mental quality. Behind the successful performance， it reflects the quality of persistence， courage and fearlessness of danger and difficulties of Uygur people， which is just the strong personality that worthy to be praised and pursued. It would be better with the addition of specific note like “a kind of traditional activity in Uygur nationality， meaning walking on the rope in a high attitude”.

5 Conclusion

Beauty exists everywhere， it is the eternal pursuit of humankind， so does in translation. Chinese-English translation of public signs is not a simple transformation of one languagne to another， aesthetic achievements are also required apart from right translated version. The translator should regard public signs as aesthetic object and make great effort to produce nice translated texts combining the features of target language with the cultural features of source language， which is provided with aesthetic characteristics by using various devices of expression. The paper analyzes the aesthetic features of English signs in Xinjiang， i.e. beauty in content， beauty in form， beauty in ideorealm and beauty in folklore. The author hopes that signs translation can not only convey information， meanwhile， it can meet peoples need of aesthetic experience and appreciation.

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[責(zé)任編輯：鄧麗麗]