1. Introduction
Needless to say， warning signs are familiar to modern readers as they are deeply embedded in our daily lives. Although we are bombarded daily with the messages on this kind of sign， we hardly perceive them on a conscious level. Furthermore， conventional wisdom has it that warning signs could possibly be of little necessity as an object of study. Contrary to what has often been claimed， this article will examine this particular type of signs， it may be worthwhile to consider what kinds of features are peculiar to warning signs. It should be stressed that the language use and the typographical design of warning signs will hold a vitally important place in the study. To put it another way， the language use， the font type of warning signs will be examined fully. It is also valuable to mention that the warning signs analyzed in this article are set within a particular situation， the study will pay close attention to the warning signs which are installed in an university accommodation. The elaborate description of the situation for the study will be provided below.
In order to gain more insight into this specific type of signs， it is essential to explore the general notion of signage in depth. Typically， signage can be divided into two main categories， namely ‘information’ and ‘statutory/mandatory’ （Stevenson 1990： 14）. To explain， naming signs and directional signs are the two important facets of information signage. Both of them are associated with orientation， nevertheless， the distinction is that the former one may be helpful for locating a position， and the latter one tells people how to get a particular place （Stevenson 1990）. This is the same sense as in Liu et al. （2012）’s definition， road signs are served as markers to assist people to recognize streets， city names and directions. In this respect， Azaryahu （2012） has further noted that power and authority have a discernible impact on some street signs， which are of utmost importance to symbolize the administrative and political control over a particular domain.
2. The criteria to analyze warning signs
Before analyzing the particular examples of warning signs， it is essential to take into consideration the following criteria， which served as a useful guideline to illuminate some features of warning signs.
2.1 General features of signage
2.1.1 Language use in signs
Without doubt， simple and straightforward language should be utilized in signs as clear and concise signings are indeed beneficial to express information. The generalization is further strengthened by Schmidt （2011）’s statement that removing as many unnecessary words as possible is aimed at highlighting the crucial messages，， and making them easier to read.
