The Use of English in Public Service Areas Has Got Provincial Guidelines in Henan

嵩山、白马寺、二七路......用英语怎么说？外语标识迎来“河南标准”

How to Put Specific Names Like "嵩山", "白马寺", "二七路" into English? The Use of English in Public Service Areas Has Got Provincial Guidelines in Henan

 

开水间 open water rooms，小卖部 small buy，请在一米线外等候 please wait outside a noodle，这些"神翻译"标识牌你见过吗？生活中随处可见各式各样的标识标牌，但有些标识牌的英文翻译却令人哭笑不得。告别"神翻译"的外语标识，河南准备怎么做呢？

Have you ever seen the language howlers of “开水间open water rooms”, “小卖部small buy”, “请在一米线外等候please wait outside a noodle”, etc.? There are various public signs in our society, but some of them have been translated amusingly. What measures will Henan province take to prevent such kind of translations?

 

5月8日，河南省公共服务领域外语标识规范建设启动仪式在洛阳举行，河南省委外事办现场发布了《河南省公共服务领域英文译写参考(试行)》，河南省公共服务领域英文译写在线查询系统也同步上线，外语标识今后也有了"河南标准"。

On May 8th, the Launch Ceremony of the Standardization of English Usage in Public Service Areas was held in Luoyang. Henan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office released the Guidelines for the Use of English in Henan’s Public Service Sector (Trial) at the meeting. Meanwhile, the Online Inquiry System for C-E Translation of Public Signs Used in Henan’s Public Service Sector started running. From now on, public signs’ translation has its own provincial guidelines.

 

"神翻译"翻译让老外摸不着头脑

Foreigners get utterly lost reading “amusing translations”

 

"有些标识牌写的也是英文，但在语法等方面并不规范，很多时候我并不理解是什么意思。"在洛阳待了十余年的英籍外语专家Craig Hunter在接受采访时表示，很多外文标识让他摸不着头脑，尤其是交通出行，极为不便。

“Sure, some signs have been put into English, but they are not correct in terms of grammar and others. It’s hard for me to get most of them.” Craig Hunter, a British language expert who has been in Luoyang for over ten years, said to a reporter that he found many local English signs quite confusing, especially transportation information.

 

据调查，近年来，河南省各地公共服务领域外语标识普遍存在拼写和格式错误、语法错误、错译、硬译和不符合外语表达习惯及国际惯例等突出问题，引起社会各界广泛关注。

According to the survey, in recent years, problems like spelling, format, and grammatical errors, mistranslations, word-for-word translations, inconsistency with English expressive and international practice are common in Henan’s public service sector English signs, which have aroused much attention from all walks of life.

 

与会领导指出，公共服务领域的外语小标识，是区域国际文明、开放水平的大标志，是洞察区域综合水平的大窗口。

The leaders at the meeting pointed out that English signs in public service areas are small themselves but their influence is huge as the symbols of provincial culture, openness, and comprehensive strength.

外文标识"河南标准"出台 让河南国际范儿更足

The production of “Henan provincial guidelines” for English signs makes Henan more internationalized

 

启动仪式现场，河南省委外事办发布了《河南省公共服务领域英文译写参考(试行)》，为河南道路交通、组织机构、旅游、医疗卫生、商业、体育、餐饮、文化、科技教育等9个领域的英语标识译写提供借鉴。

The Guidelines for the Use of English in Henan’s Public Service Sector (Trial) provides references for the signs in Henan’s transportation, administrative offices, tourism, health and medicine, commerce and finance, sports, catering, culture, science & technology education, etc.

 

"外文标识的规范能够增强外国友人的亲切感，更好展示我们的城市形象。同时，在语言兴国和教育兴国方面具有推进作用。"中国外文局原副局长、中国翻译协会常务副会长兼秘书长、中国翻译研究院执行院长王刚毅在接受采访时强调，外语标识规范化国际意义十足，河南在这方面的工作走到了前头，值得肯定。

“The standardization of English signs can be more reader-friendly to foreigners, better build up our cities’ images and promote Chinese rejuvenation by means of language and education.” Wang Gangyi, former CIPG deputy director, executive vice president and secretary-general of Translators Association of China, and executive director of China Academy of Translation and Interpreting, stressed in the interview that the standardization of English signs is of great international significance for which Henan deserves credit as a leading role in China.

 

当天，由河南省委外事办与河南师范大学共建的河南师范大学外事语料库研究中心建立的河南省公共服务领域英文译写在线查询系统上线，成为公共服务领域英语标识英文译写分享平台，为更多应用者提供搜索查询服务。（来源大河网 编译赵汉青）

On the same day, the Online Inquiry System for C-E Translation of Public Signs Used in Henan’s Public Service Sector developed by Foreign Affairs Corpus Research Center jointly supported by Henan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and Henan Normal University started running to provide search service for visitors.

 

新闻1+1：这些公共领域常用的标识该怎么翻译？

News 1+1: How to translate the following public signs?

 

《河南省公共服务领域英文译写参考(试行)》指出，译写要具有合法性、规范性、服务性、文明性等原则，并举例进行了说明：

The Guidelines for the Use of English in Henan’s Public Service Sector (Trial) points out that translation should be legal, standard, and fit to service functions. It also illustrates these principles with persuasive examples: