作为六朝古都，古城南京的一大鲜明特点就是拥有多个历史悠久的城门。然而，让人不无遗憾的是，至少就中山陵风景区的公示语译文来看，城门的英语翻译居然说法不一，就大名鼎鼎的中山门的英译来讲，先后出现了Zhongshan City-Gate，Zhongshan Gate和Zhongshanmen。依据GOOGLE搜索引擎的检索，中国城市的古时候城门用city gate来翻译成英文是可以的，也是被国内官方常常用的，譬如说，人民日报网英文版2004年3月11日的一篇文章说的就是北京修复古城门的新闻，（http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200403/11/eng20040311_137124.shtml）。文章的标题是Beijing restores ancient city gate，可是，在该英语新闻报道的导语中，永定门的英语译文却是Yongding Gate 而不是Yongding City Gate。这就说明，在泛泛而谈中国古时候的城门时，大家一般以city gate来称之，而若是一个具体城门的英文说法，一般表达方法就是这个城门的名字加上英文单词Gate，英文单词city并不用。为了更好地说明问题，特把该英语新闻全文摘录如下，其中的city gate和Yongding Gate均以下划线形式予以强调：

Beijing restores ancient city gate

Beijing started Wednesday rebuilding the Yongding Gate, a city gate built in the Ming Dynasty and demolished1 47 years ago.

The project is scheduled to be completed in October this year, according to the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau.

The original Yongding Gate consisted of a watchtower in the front, a small town, which was actually an enclosure for defense2, in the middle, and a city gate tower at the back.

The restoration project will focus on rebuilding the city gate tower and its foundation, which is 31.4 meters long from east to west, 16.96 meters wide from north to south, and 7.9 meters high. The whole tower building is 25.2 meters high.

A section of ancient city wall, 15.9 meters long, 12.7 meters wide and 6.2 meters high, will also be rebuilt on both sides of the city gate tower.

Yongding Gate was one of the seven gates of the outer city of Beijing during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is the southern tip of the 7.8-kilometer central axis3 line, along both sides of which the ancient Beijing city extended. The Drum Tower is the northern tip of the central axis line.

Nearly half of the facilities such as gymnasiums serving the 2008 Olympic Games will be located along the central axis line. The planned Olympic Park will be located at the northern tip of the extended section of the central axis line.

Yongding Gate was demolished in 1957 due to claims that it obstructed4 transportation and was a dangerous building.

However, archaeologists and experts of cultural heritage protection have long appealed for restoration of the ancient city gate.

The Beijing city government gave the green light to the restoration project in May of 2001.

从上述英语新闻报道，大家或许可以得出如此的结论，中国古时候的城门，大家在用英文泛泛而谈称呼它们的时候，它们叫做city gate，这个时候它们的意思是城门，但，假如它们是表示某一个具体的城门的称呼时，譬如说永定门，中山门，太平门，这个时候的英文表达应该是城门的名字拼音加上英文单词Gate。至此，图4和图5中的中山门英语译文是不妥的。而且，更为紧急的是，该译文在City与Gate之间加上了一个英文连字符-，这就愈加不妥，可以说是错上加错了，由于依据英语语言规则，单词之间以连字符相连接表示它们是作为一个单一单词用的，只不过它们可能是依据约定俗成原则中间以连字符号相接而已。第二，连字符号也是构词法中的合词法原则，即两个或两个以上的词根据肯定的次序排列构成新词（陆国强，《现代英语词语学》，1983：36）。用连字符号衔接起来的两个单词合起来之后是作为固定的一个单词用的，这个连字符号不可去掉，而这个合成词也是不可以拆分的，而是一个有机组合，比如hit-and-run tactics（打了就跑的战术）， round-the-clock service（全天候服务）， off-the-shelf technology（最新技术）等等。更为要紧的一点是，这类合成词已作为一个词条网站收录在辞典之中。显而易见，City与Gate并非一个合成词，也不可以用连字符号衔接。

至于中山门的另外两个译文，Zhongshan Gate比较符合目前的表达习惯，就好似上文提到的北京永定门的译文，而Zhongshanmen事实上并不是是译文，只不过汉语拼音而已，这一处置原则事实上符合上文提到的国内有关部门关于国内地名标志上的地名书写的原则，即便用汉语拼音。从这一点来讲，将中山门标记为Zhongshanmen是符合有关规定的。现在南京的所有街道名字全部用汉语拼音标记就是一个证明。不过，这种标记方法的一个缺点是，对于那些对中国几乎一无所知的老外来讲，它们可能是毫无意义的，由于老外不可以依据这类汉语拼音判断出这个名字表示的的意思是。正由于这样，将地名这个专有名字以汉语拼音表示，而地名的属性则用英文来翻译，这种土洋结合的地名翻译方法已成为目前的主流，也已经为国际社会所同意。