The Paper's reporter Zhong Yuhao
Recently, in response to the feedback on the Internet about the "problem of translating the names of Chengdu subway stations", the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government pointed out in its reply that due to the differences in several implementation standards, the translation rules on which some similar subway stations are translated are inconsistent. After investigation, it was found that more than 30 subway station names that are inconsistent with the current translation rules are found, in view of the fact that such English station names are not obviously misleading to guide road traffic directions, it is recommended to refer to the principle of "name from the master" and follow the customary name that has been recognized by the society.
Not long ago, a netizen reflected through the People's Network leadership message board that the confusion of the translated names of Chengdu Metro and Chengdu Bus is not a day or two. As the Universiade approaches, the translation of public transport station names is urgent. It is reported that the translation should be led by the Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and carried out rectification in conjunction with buses and subways. I would like to ask, first, will the subway and bus be uniformly translated by name? At present, the bus system is fully pinyin translation. Second, the translation of subway in terms of directions, temples, etc., due to different standards, leads to word order and wording confusion, such as Zhaojuesi Road South (Zhaojuesi South Road) and Jianshe North Road (Jianshe North Road), and Jinhua Temple East Road (Jinhua Temple East Road). Third, the impact of errors caused by translations is far higher than the cost of replacement, when will the difference between these translations be resolved?
According to the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government, it is understood that before 2013, the work related to the translation of subway station names was led by the Civil Affairs Bureau and implemented by Chengdu Rail Group; the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government led the translation review of new road signs and subway station names at the end of 2013, and did not participate in the translation of bus station names. Due to the different implementation standards of Chengdu Rail Group before 2013, the local standards of Chengdu City from 2013 to 2017, and the implementation standards adjusted by our office according to the 2017 national standards, the translation rules based on the translation of some similar subway stations are inconsistent.
The Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government said that after receiving the suggestions of netizens, our office attached great importance to it, and Geng immediately conducted a systematic inspection of the English translation of all line subway station names in the city, found more than 30 subway station translation names that were inconsistent with the current translation rules, and consulted Chengdu Rail Group to make changes. After communicating with chengdu rail transit group, our office learned that changing the name of a subway station involves updating the language broadcast system, line network diagram, signs inside and outside the subway station, inside and outside the carriage, etc. The renaming of the subway station is very easy to cause the update to be incomplete, and the use of the new and old subway station names is chaotic. In view of the fact that such English station names are not obviously misleading to guide road traffic, our office recommends referring to the principle of "name from the master" and following the customary name that has been recognized by the society. Since then, in the Work of Translating the Name of the Subway Station into English, the new interchange station has been consistent with the naming method of the original station name, and the new ordinary subway station has been translated according to the latest standards.
The Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government also mentioned that at the end of 2021, the "Work Plan for the Standardization of Foreign Language Signs in Public Places in Chengdu" has been introduced. According to the work plan, our office intends to introduce relevant policies for the management of foreign language signs in public places in Chengdu in 2022, clarify the principles, setting requirements, and foreign language sign management system for the setting and supervision of foreign language signs in public places; and formulate and promote the "Specifications for the English Translation and Writing of Bilingual Signs in Public Places in Chengdu" in stages and fields from 2022 to 2026 to clarify the translation principles. By improving the relevant systems and norms, we will gradually solve the problem of bilingual signage in public places in our city.
The Surging News noted that in December 2020, netizens have reported that the translation of some subway stations in Chengdu is not standardized, the rules are not uniform, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chengdu Municipal People's Government introduced at that time, the translation of subway station names belongs to one of the special work contents of geographical names and road names, and our office cooperates with the Civil Affairs Bureau to carry out English translation. Since the opening of the city's first subway line Line 1 in 2010, our office has cooperated to complete the English translation of multiple batches of subway station names. However, due to the advanced age of the translation experts who originally handled this work, the change of translators and other reasons, there were problems such as irregular translation of subway station names and inconsistent rules. In order to welcome the Chengdu Universiade, our office launched the "Love Chengdu • Welcome Universiade" urban public English logo correction activity from July 2020 to July 2021. At the event, there were also citizens who raised several questions you found. In order to systematically complete the optimization of the translation of subway station names, our office intends to conduct a systematic inspection of the English translation of all lines of subway station names in the city, and send the revision opinions to the Civil Affairs Bureau before March 2021, which will transfer them to the Rail Transit Group and gradually complete the rectification.
Earlier, in September 2017, the Chengdu Evening News had published a report that the English translation of some road station names in Chengdu was a bit chaotic.
The report mentioned that when Mr. Minzhao recently sat in the car, he found that the English translation of Chengdu East Railway Station was "Chengdudong Railway Station", and he remembered that the previous English translation was "Chengdu East Railway Station". On September 23, 2017, while riding the subway, he noticed that the Chengdu East Railway Station was translated as "East Chengdu Railway Station". "When foreigners see such a translation, it's easy to get confused, right?" Mr. Zhao said that as an important image window of the city, the railway station should be unified and convenient.
Not only the railway station, but also the English names of many place names or road names in Chengdu have adopted the combination of pinyin and English, and the reporter visited and found various situations of inconsistent translations. For example, the translation of traffic station and street sign names is not uniform. The name of the bus stop on Changshun Middle Street is "Changshun Zhongjie Station", and the reporter saw the English translation of "CHANGSHUN MIDDLE STREET" on the road sign two or three meters away from the bus stop. The street sign on East Main Street reads "DONGDAJIE STREET", while the exit sign to East Street at the Chunxi Road subway exit translates as "Dongda Street".
At that time, Wu Danqing, deputy secretary-general of the Chengdu Translation Association, said that the English translation in some places in Chengdu is indeed not very standardized, "for example, street names with directional words like Xiatongren Road should be translated, 'lower' should be used instead of 'Xia', and 'Xia' may make foreigners unable to find a sense of direction." Like the People's Park, Wu Danqing believes that at least the paraphrasing of the park should be translated, and if all of them are in pinyin, it is not very standardized.
Wu Danqing believes that the names of stations near tourist attractions need to be unified, "for example, the Ming Shu King Mausoleum, as a historical attraction, is not just a name, it has historical connotations, and it is not very standardized to use pinyin directly." However, when naming the subway station, it may be considered that the English name of the Ming Shu King's Mausoleum is a bit complicated for foreigners, and the translation is pinyin, Mingshuwangling. He suggested that when determining the relevant station names, in addition to organizing experts to discuss, some foreigners who have lived in Chengdu for a long time can also be consulted for suggestions, "They may have some suitable abbreviations to learn from." ”
Editor-in-Charge: Wang Jun
Proofreader: Ding Xiao
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