Disscussion on the Translation Strategies of Public Signs

Abstract

Signage is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a cultural image. Public signs refer to signage used in public places, such as road signs, warning signs, and park signs. These signs play an important role in ensuring public safety and maintaining social order. However, due to cultural and linguistic differences, public signs are prone to mistranslation during the process of internationalization and cross-cultural communication, which may pose a threat to public safety and health, and even affect cultural dissemination and exchange. Therefore, in translating public signs, the translator should first understand the language habits and cultural characteristics of the target country. Secondly, during the translation process, some translation strategies should be applied to help readers better understand its meaning. This paper analyzes the current situation of public sign translation, collects and discusses some mistranslated cases, and provides corresponding translation strategies to help readers better understand the cultural differences and overcome the language barriers, thus promoting globalization and cross-cultural exchange and providing guidance for future translation practice.