中英文颜色词内涵的分析(2)

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1. Introduction

Color terms are the words that used to describe the things in colors. Because language is an important part of culture and different nations have different cultures, color terms, as a part of language, have different connotations in Chinese and English as well. These color terms, to some degree, reflect different cultures of Chinese and English. Therefore, it is significant for English learners to understand the different connotations of color terms when they communicate with foreigners. This paper takes some typical colors as examples to discuss the different connotations of color terms. Also it lists some possible reasons that lead to the differences. Finally, it puts forward some suggestions about how to deal with such situation where the connotations of color terms are different in translation.

2. General Introduction of Different Connotations of Color Terms in Chinese and English

There are a variety of color terms in the Chinese and English. The western people think that the most used colors are eleven basic color terms, including white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange and gray, in the system of color terms in all kinds of language. (Berlin, B.& Kay, P. 1969) However, in the ancient China, people thought that there were five colors that were used most, which were green, red, yellow, white and black. Each of them represents five directions. This paper will talk about three colors in specifics. They are white, red and black.

2. 1. Different Connotations of White in Chinese and English

In the Chinese traditional culture, five colors represent five directions, of which white represents the west, belonging to autumn. （孔颖达, Tang）And autumn is often described to be desolate and sombre by the ancient poets. They often feel sad when they see everything is withered in the autumn and white can express this bad feeling well. What’s worse, white was regarded as an extremely unlucky color after Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the capital city was Hangzhou, which was very hot in the summer. The scholar - officials from the northern China were not used to such hot weather. They began to wear white clothes in order to be cooler. At that time, white clothes became popular and the scholar-officials were all wear clothes in white. However, the emperor was dead when wearing white clothes were popular. Therefore, white clothes were regarded as the clothes that should been dressed in mourning for the funeral. At the same time, white was thought to be unlucky. Also, in the ancient Chinese feudal society, white is the color represents the common people, which, in other words, represents the low position. For example, “白丁”means people without knowledge and in the low place. In addition, the derivatives of white in Chinese are often in bad meanings. For example，in the phrase“一穷二白”， it represents the backward place.

However, things became quiet different in the western. White usually represents purity, innocence and truth in the western. The brides often dress in white to represent pure in the weddings. In the art, white often represents loyalty. In the western funeral, white represents hope. The decorations in the churches are always white in the Maundy Thursday and Halloween. (彭秋荣，2001）Besides, white also represents power and situation. Such as White House, White Hall and White list. What’s more, the extended meanings of white in the western are often good. For example, a white day means a lucky day.