Linguistic landscapes () are the written and spoken words and pictures we see and hear around us, made up mostly of signs.
(illustration)
Signs can age includes information (such as maps and instructions), wayfinding (directions, arrows, etc.), identification (restrooms, building names, floors, entrance/exits), and regulations (warnings, traffic signs, and rules). Labeling tells about a product: identification of the product, instructions on how to use it, environmental advice, warnings and advertisements. Labeling can be considered a subset of signage.
We can broadly classify three different types of signage:
1. Branding = “decorating" / Labeling / Identifying
Identifies "what something is", including presentation of image
2. Directing = Wayfinding
Tells how to get somewhere, often including arrows
3. Instructing = Offering / Informing / Requesting / Advising / Warning / Forbidding
Gives information on what is available, how to use and NOT use it, including safety advice and caution
1. BRANDING
Branding refers to the function of providing an image for the product which does not have any other communicative purpose. It is similar to a product logo, more important for its or aesthetic sense than for the actual meaning of the words it uses.
One type of branding is a label or identification of the item, product, company or designer (similar to a logo). This usually requires only a simple one-to-one translation (病院 = hospital) or transliteration (高島屋 = Takashimaya).
Sometimes the choice between translation and transliteration is difficult. With proper names, using both can be a solution (e.g. 高島屋 = Takashimaya department store). But should 市役所 be translated as City Hall or transliterated as Shiyakusho? The choice here depends on the location of the sign, the intended reader, and the message.
Another type of "decorative" branding promotes an image through font, color, and choice of language (English for globalization, French for fashion, Chinese for orientalism, etc.). The message is not in its content but rather in its form.
Branding is not required to be grammatical or even to make sense, but it should reflect the desired image and not be offensive or misleading.
Two examples of unintentionally offensive branding can be seen below. Fig. Xa shows a group of entertainers in a 48-hour marathon program hosted by Fuji TV in 2015, with T-shirts with the program slogan “DO HONKY. No TV. No life.” "Honky” (or honkie) is a racial slur against white people, often used in contrast to the “N” word for black people. Fig. Xb shows another taboo word (the “F” word) boldly used to describe a sale in XXX when?
//figure//
2. DIRECTING (WAYFINDING)
Steps 1. Orientation - First, you want to make sure the person understands where they are. Telling a person to go straight depends on which way they are facing. So the first step is to help the person determine their location, and understand where the goal is. 2. Route decision - You obviously want to select the easiest route. This may not be the shortest, and will require other considerations. A woman in high heels may not appreciate being told to go on the shortest route when that route is irregular and uneven. 3. Route monitoring - You want to have signs that assure the person they are going in the correct direction and tell them how far they need to continue. 4. Destination recognition - It is important to tell people when they have arrived at the destination. Sometimes, it may seem obvious, but what is obvious to your staff may not be so obvious to visitors!
for further reference
http://aplus.com/a/apexsign/-d5b44b8f-123a-47bc-a746-8f1fa5cb19ed?no_monetization=true
3. INFORMING / INSTRUCTING / WARNING
Safety signage
BOTTOM-UP vs TOP-DOWN
Signage is categorized as "bottom up” or “top down”. Top down signs are created by “official” governments or local bureaus with authority. They are meant for the public good, and are generally funded by public taxes. Therefore, multilingual signs and
labels (such as warnings on cigarettes) are generally written and translated in clear, correct language, carefully checked for errors or possible misreadings.
On the other hand, bottom up signs and labels are written by manufacturers, promoters, and business people. They are often poorly written and translated by non-native amateurs who rely more on Google translate than their own personal experience. Examples of such signage abound on engrish.com.
In between these two distinctions, a clear “middle” ground includes “middle down" and "middle up".
Middle down signage is created by larger private companies or enterprises which have internal resources to create text of reasonable quality without having to rely on MT or outside interpreters.
//sign//
Middle up signage includes that of smaller government or public organizations which may not have access to the same type of linguistic expertise as their national counterparts. Local government or public welfare facilities often use signage that is clearly the product of machine translation without any hint of pre- or post-editing.
//sign//
SIGNAGE CLINES
There are two distinct polarities in translation. One is literal and complete translation, with clarity and accuracy in meaning. The other is more figurative, emphasizing beauty, form, and cultural reinterpretation.
Depending on the type of sign, the method of translation may be different. Some types of signage demand a more literal translation, whereas others require a more figurative one. The graph below shows a cline of signage (including both sign and label) types (=functions) and the methods of translation they prefer.
Figurative-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Literal
Offering Informing Requesting Advising Instructing Warning Forbidding
Another polarity is politeness vs. conciseness, which goes hand and hand with the question of length. Even adding the simple word “please” can convince a potential customer to use the service, but can also create a false atmosphere of choice in a life-threatening situation.
The opposite of politeness, i.e. rudeness, should never be permitted—no sign should be allowed to offend. Likewise, a sign should not be overly wordy, the opposite of concise, or this will discourage the reader altogether. Thus, the polarities in the graph below are neither negative nor contradictory qualities, but they are desired differently by different sign functions. We propose another cline of translation function with respect to the polarities of politeness vs. conciseness as follows:
Polite -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Concise
Offering Informing Requesting Advising Instructing Warning Forbidding
A final factor to consider is presentation. Signage that is meant to introduce a product will want to use a pleasant presentation that holds the eye. On the other hand, an ominous sign will want to capture the attention of the readers only long enough to make it perfectly clear that they should stop doing something or react in a manner necessary to protect themselves or others. The former might want to use a flowery script with a colorful background, or images that suggest rather than scream, even if the meaning is clear. On the other hand, the latter would want to be in clear and overt colors, most typically white, black, and red, with short words and strikingly urgent symbols.