Road or Lu, Is It Still a Question?—On Translation of Road and Street Names from the Perspective of Functional Theories

The translation of road names from Chinese into English applies no specific standards up to date. Whether the roads should be re ferred in accordance with the nearby position or some symbolic buildings or simply be represented by a phonetic pronunciation which has no specific meaning in English has provoked some heated discussion. In this paper I employ the skopos theory and other relevant theories to put forward a new perspective of translating road and street names, with same emphasis on that of generic name and on specific name. Some illustrations will be made on the defects of the writing standard set by relevant Chinese laws and regulations as well as resolutions of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, i.e. the adoption of a Single Romanization System, and Lu to be the generic name in China’s case. Also, I will further probe the existing translations of road and street names in major Chinese cities, most of which to be Road, either go against relevant laws or fail to inform foreign visitors. Finally, I will come up with the suggestion of ap plication of a combination of Lu and Road in translation of road and street names in accordance with functional approaches.