A Study of Chinese-English Translation of Tourism Signs from the Perspectives of Skopos Theory

Abstract

With the continuous improvement of China’s overall national strength and the constant improvement of infrastructure, the national charm continues to increase. More and more foreign friends have been attracted to travel to China. The translations of public signs in scenic spots are of great importance for foreign visitors because of the language barrier and cultural difference existing between China and foreign countries. These translations should convey information accurately, providing the function of bringing convenience to visitors and spreading Chinese culture. However, in reality, there exist various problems among the translations of public signs in scenic spots, which will definitely make foreign visitors feel puzzled. So it is of great urgency to make the translation more standard. This study takes public signs of various scenic spots as the research material to explore the translation of the public signs of tourist attractions from the perspective of Skopos theory. This essay summarizes the errors and mistakes in the examples. By comparing and analyzing the unqualified translations in the examples and their polished versions, some specific translation strategies are proposed and explained in detail to provide useful guidance for the translation.