Many of Shanghai's signs feature either English or pinyin, a writing system that turns Chinese characters into words using the Roman alphabet.

上海市的许多标识都标注有英文或者拼音。拼音是一种将汉字转变成罗马字符的书写规则。

But Shanghai's Road Administration Bureau has started a public consultation¹ on whether that should change.

但是上海市交通管理局已经就是否要对此事作出改变而进行了公众咨询。

In a lengthy² survey on the city's highways, one question asks if signs should use only Chinese characters in future. The survey itself is also written entirely³ in Chinese.

在对该市高速公路的一项长期调查中，有这样一个问题--交通标识将来是否应该只使用中文字符。这项调查内容本身也全部是用中文写成的。

According to the China Daily newspaper, the bureau says it wouldn't remove English or pinyin signs around major transport hubs, junctions⁴ or the city's business district.

据《中国日报》报道，上海市交通管理局表示，他们不会去除该市主要交通枢纽、路口和城市繁华地段的英文拼音标识。

A spokesman says the idea would create more space for a larger font, so Chinese characters would be easier for drivers to see.

一名发言人表示，去除标识牌上的英文可以腾出更大的空间来，从而可以书写更大的汉字，如此一来司机们就可以更加容易地看到这些标示牌。

But many expats are still worried they would end up getting lost, with one German pointing out that getting a driver's licence in Shanghai doesn't require knowledge of Chinese characters.

但是许多外籍人士仍然担心他们会迷路，一个德国人指出，在上海拿驾照并不要求司机要懂汉字。

An Australian expat tells the paper that "with Chinese characters, most foreigners are helpless".

一个澳大利亚人在接受《中国日报》采访时表示：“在汉字方面，大多数外国人都很无奈”。

Social media users are divided on the issue - some on microblogging site Weibo don't see why English or pinyin should feature on the signs anyway. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do, why do people who cannot speak a word of Chinese come to China if not to learn?" asks one user.

社交媒体用户在这个问题上也有一些分歧--微博上一些人无论如何也不能理解为什么非要用英文或拼音来做标注。一名用户说道：“入乡随俗嘛，为什么那些不会说一个汉字的人既不学习又非要跑到中国来呢？”

But another points out that many expats can understand pinyin - usually the first stage of learning Chinese for foreigners - but can't read the characters.

但是另一人指出，许多外籍人士可以看懂拼音（拼音一般是外国人学习汉字的第一阶段），但是却看不懂汉字。

Some voice concerns over the cost of any change and one person thinks it would be a step backwards⁵, asking: "Is Shanghai no longer an international metropolis⁶?"

其他一些人则对去除英文这件事所造成的后果表示担忧，有人认为这是一种倒退，并发问道：“上海难道不再是国际大都市了吗？”