Sources with the Beijing Municipal Traffic Administration said a
campaign was launched on September 6 to standardize bilingual signs
along the city’s second and third ring arterials, including
principal and minor ones. In addition, checks also cover signs in
the city’s major tourist attractions and scenic spots. Confusing
and misleading signs will be replaced.
“Should nothing unexpected happen (during this process),
problems related with bilingual (Chinese-English) signs will be
adequately addressed,” a member of staff with the administration
told reporters.
Problems with translations ranging from careless spelling and
bad grammar to cultural misinterpretation are commonplace due
mainly to a lack of professional translators. A typical example
would be “Stop cashier”, a sign often seen at supermarket or
department store cash tills.
The message is confusing and takes an English-speaking visitor a
second or two to understand that what it's really trying to say is
"Cashier Closed" or "Till Closed".
The take-a-dictionary-and-translate-literally method of
translation employed by substandard translators sometimes results
in ludicrous errors. An example would be the shoddy translation
from chukou (exit) to "export", and from shusan
(evacuate) to "scatter".
The absence of uniform criterion and a designated
standardization institution contribute to another major issue with
bilingual signs: the mixed use of Chinese pinyin and English for
road signs. For the Chinese characters which mean “minor arterial
(road)”, some signs display the Chinese pinyin fulu while
others use “service road”, which is not entirely correct.
Speaking of the mixed use of Chinese pinyin and English in road
signs, a facilities official with the administration spoke about
the dilemma they face.
“The National Chinese Committee orders the use of Chinese pinyin
while the Beijing Citizen Speaking English Office demands the use
of Chinese-English bilingual signs,” the official lamented.
On May 25, China Daily launched an ambitious national
campaign on their website aimed at standardizing bilingual signs
(www.chinadaily.com.cn).
EXAMPLES OF PROBLEMATIC BILINGUAL SIGNS
Problematic
translation
|
Intended meaning
|
|
Guest Go No Further
|
Staff Only
|
|
Business Suspended
|
Closed/No Service
|
|
Appropriate Parking
|
Reserved Parking
|
|
Nongzhan Bridge
|
Nongzhan Overpass
|
|
Police Affairs Station
|
Police Station
|
|
Business Reception Desk
|
Reception
|
(China.org.cn by Wind Gu, September 11, 2005)