전남 지역 관광지 영문 안내판의 문제점과 개선 방안

Abstract

Lee, Jong Kun & Edmundo Cruz Luna. (2016). Some Problems with English Plaques at Tourist Destinations in Jeonnam and Ways of Resolving the Problems. The Linguistic Association of Korea Journal, 24(3), 125-164. Foreign tourists visiting Korea often point out that English plaques at tourist destinations in Korea show a considerable number of errors in grammar and spelling, along with errors in using inappropriate terms. The purpose of the present study is to investigate some typical problems with English plaques at tourist destinations in Jeonnam and propose ways of resolving them. As pointed out by foreign tourists, several types of errors were frequently found in English plaques at tourist destinations in Jeonnam. The present study has classified problems with English plaques into five types: 1) grammatical errors and spelling errors due to lack of knowledge of the English language and ability for English translation; 2) errors in diction due to the lack of understanding Korean history, culture, religion on the one hand and the inability to understand differences in meaning between similar words on the other hand; 3) errors made by translators due to their carelessness and errors made by the manufacturers of the English plaques themselves; 4) errors made by not following the official way of romanizing Korean proper nouns; and 5) errors made by using machine translation. The present work has proposed ways of resolving these problems. When local governments plan to put up English plaques at tourist destinations, before they ask a translator or an agency to translate the Korean version of the plaque, they should organize a committee consisting of the following: experts in local tourism, a professor of English interested in translation endeavors, and a native English speaker. Based on the committee's recommendations, the local governments can then decide whom they should ask to translate the plaques. In addition, local governments should adopt a system of having the translators’ and editors’ real names either on the English plaques or in the local governments’ websites so that they have incentives to avoid possible errors as much as possible. Finally, local governments should develop a better system for local government employees who are responsible for putting up these English plaques to have the appropriate degree of expertise in dealing with these problems.