Abstract

With the development of economic globalization, an increasing number of foreigners want to travel in China. And attraction signs have become the main way for those foreigners to get the introduction of scenic spots. Thus, English translations of attraction signs are important to those tourists.

The theory of negative transfer of mother tongue is a theoretical basis of this thesis. In this thesis, the research subject will be three scenic spots in Ningbo----Baoguo Temple, Tianyi Library and Yuehu Park.  Errors in English translation of attraction signs in scenic spots will be analyzed from the perspective of lexicon and syntax. The method of research will be on-the-spot investigation and reference reading.

The significance of this research is to promote the translation quality of attraction signs in scenic spots in Ningbo and promote the prosperity of tourism industry in Ningbo.

The conclusion of this thesis is that the mother tongue has a strong negative impact on tourism translation, so during tourism translation process, translators should get rid of their own ways of constructing sentences and their own diction habits, and make efforts to translate in English idiomatic ways of constructing sentences and English diction habits.

Keywords:  negative transfer of the mother tongue; language transfer; tourism translation

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Background-1

1.2 Significance-1

1.3 Structure-1

2. Literature review-3

2.1 The Connection between Mother Tongue and Translation-3

2.2 The Theory of Negative Transfer of Mother tongue-3

2.2.1 Language Transfer-3

2.2.2 Error Analysis-4

2.3 The Current Studies of Transfer Errors in Tourism within China-4

3. Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Tourism Translation of Attraction Spots in Scenic Spots in Ningbo-7

3.1 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Lexicon-7

3.1.1 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Semantic Domain-7

3.1.2 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Connotative Meaning-7

3.1.3 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Collocation-8

3.2 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Syntax-10

3.2.1 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Conjunctions-11

3.2.2 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Tense and Subject-verb Agreement-11

3.2.3 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Sentence Structure-12

3.2.4 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Voice-12

3.2.5 Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Avoidance-13

4. The Causes of Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue in Tourism Translation-14

4.1 Different Modes of Thinking-14

4.2 Different Ways of Constructing Sentences-14

4.3 Different Diction Habits-14

5. Conclusion-15

References-16