Cultural Connotations of Color Words in English and Chinese
On the Cultural Connotations of Color Words in English and Chinese
Abstract: Every nation has its own language system,and color words are an essential part of the language system.Culture differences of color words happens for the reason.The fact that color words are widely used in a language shows that they are functionally practical.Due to the differences between culture,history,aesthetic psychology,and language,people need to master language background well .The different connotations of color words in Chinese and English language are discussed from the aspect of cultural comparison so as to explore the causes of the differences.
Key words:,similarity,diffence,background
1.Introduction : Among English words, terms of color make up a group of words that are particularly rich in cultural associations. This means that they can be used either literally to refer to different colors or metaphorically to convey their associative meanings in different languages and cultures. The conceptual meanings conveyed by the terms of color are roughly the same in English and their equivalents in Chinese. But the same terms of color in these two languages may have different cultural association. It is natural that English terms of color may have cultural association that is not transparent to Chinese learners of English as a foreign language. Color words are frequently used both in Chinese and English. It is essential to grasp the difference and similaritity between the literal meaning and associative meaning. Further, it is practically useful to identify the differences, thus promoting the cultural communication and translation practice.
2 Similarities of color words
Color words are frequently used in Chinese and English.
color cognition, is the most basic human cognitive categories.people share great similarities in terms of color perception . as a reflection of language, although a variety of language expression of color are distinguished, the expression of the basic vocabulary of color among many languages, such as black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, are the same and very consistent.Due to the commonness of the language, some color words may have the same meaning in two specific cultures.
2.1.1 Red
Red symbolizes happiness, pleasure, blessedness and blessing both in China and the English-speaking countries. So there are lots of similarities in using it. It often connects with success and importance. The phrase “give somebody a red carpet of recept ion”means make a warm welcome to some important person. When the Spring Festival is coming, Chinese often put the red couplets on doors and windows. Red also means that someone is healthy and sanguine both in China and the English-speaking countries. For example: a fine old gentleman, with a face as red as a rose. This sentence means that the old gentleman is very healthy and sanguine. Red is often used to show some emotions in English. For example, become red-faced, turn red, and see red. The phrase “beco me red with anger/shame”is the same as the phrase “脸红”in Chinese.
2.1.2 Black
Black is not a good word both in Chinese and in English-speaking countries. It is often used to
express one’s anger or some evil things. When black is plus with a noun, it often means bad things and something without any hope, as in black market(黑市), a black heart(黑心), black money(黑钱), black guard(恶棍), a black sheep(害群之马), and black eye(丢脸),etc. All these new phrases can be directly translated into Chinese.
2.1.3 Green
Both green light in English and “绿灯”in Chinese are associated with authoritative permission to go ahead with some project. Apparently, they are derived form traffic regulations.
3.differences : the vocabulary of color words are very rich. attention needs to be paid not onlyto their own observation of the basic meaning,but also symbolic meaning, in that their symbolic meanings in different languages often have different characteristics.
3.1 ,the cultural connotations of red
Red is the basic color people cherish in chinese culture , it embodies the spirit of the Chinese people and material pursuits. It is a sympol of good fortune, joy,and also revolution and progress. it means the smooth going, success,and beauty.while red in Western culture differs greatly from that in china, it symbolizes a brutality, bloodness.it is symbolic of the radical, violent revolution, danger, and tension .It also symbolizes debauchery, obscene.
3.2, the cultural connotations of white
In Chinese culture, white ,on the contrast, is a basic taboo words,.it reflects the Chinese people’s abandon and disgust in material and spiritual world. White is exhausted without blood, without the performance of life, symbol of death, ill omen. White psychological functions in their development process due to the impact of political functions, symbol of corrupt, reactionary, backward.it also symbolized the failure, stupid, no profits available, it also symbolizes cattywampus, insidious.finally, it also symbolizes knowledge shallow , no fame.
white symbolic significance in Western culture mainly focus on their own colors, such as the new snow, fresh milk and the color of lily . Westerners think white shows grace and purity.so it is the color in respect of Western culture . It symbolizes pure and innocence, it also a symbol of integrity, honesty.
3.3, the cultural connotations of black
In Chinese culture, black has a heavy sense of mystery, a solemn and serious tone.and its symbolic significance is more complex due to the influence of Western culture. On the one hand, it symbolizes a severity and justice.on the other hand , because of its own people in the dark matt giving people insidious, sinister and terrifying feeling, It symbolizes evil, reactionary.it tells crime, illegal.
Black is the basic taboo color in Western culture with the spirit of the rejection of the West and obnoxious. It symbolizes the death, ill omen, disaster, symbol of evil, crime. it is also symbolic of shame and disgraceful,frustration and anger.
3.4, the cultural connotations of green
Green is endowed by nature with the color of life, it is the color of plant kingdom. Both in chinese and english, green is a sympol of lush, green Spring, health, nature, peace. In Chinese ,there are words with regard to green , such as " oasis";sen tence ,say “The Mountains were beautifully green" . By full of vigour,green is very easy associated with the youth time. Therefore, in the Chinese ancient literary works,green used to describe the beauty of young women, such as the" red male green female"," green cloud" ( woman with black hair )," a woman who has many progenies" ( woman married with children).In China , green sometimes contains derogatory
meanings, symbolizing the lowly and unorthodox. In addition," Greenwood" is derived from the Western Han Dynasty.The late Wang Feng and other leaders of the peasant uprising army,name the army " green rebel" due to occupy the Greenwood .It refers to the grouping of mountains Hero or bandits group against the official rule .
While in English,green has different sympollism,such as green old age ( healthy elderly ), the Green years ( Youth ), be ripe in years but green in heart ( a fresh green old but vigorous ), memory ,etc.. In English it can also mean envy, lack of experience.Such as: 1 A typist who is green at her job.Translation : no experience.
2 He is still green. Translation: he is still immature ( he is a little ); he was young; he was a rookie.
3 These tomatoes are still too green to pick.
Text: these tomatoes are not yet mature, can not be picked.
Below is the English words containing green meaning: greenback
Dollar banknotes, bills ( for face green named greengrocer );
The greengrocer ; easy boss, greenhorn the person that be deceived, understand the traditional code of conduct; a novice; greenhouse; green with envy very jealous.
Historical background:The symbolic meanings of color words in different national culture enjoy great differences .Fundamentally, in Chinese culture,Color is the symbol and reflection of the feudal society based on the past, feudal superstition and its Original backward science and education, and the formation condition.Based on these ,the symbolic significance of color was intensely politicized and mystified.While, in western culture, symbol color is more beneficial from the opennes of western nationality , wide popularity among science and education with its symbolic Meaning less mysterious, but more rational, making its semantics, Semantic Motivation easier to track. This between different cultures symbolic color is due to the differences of their respective nation's cultural and historical background, aesthetic and psychological differences arising, in the development of society, the history of precipitation in common, is a permanent cultural phenomenon. They can make the language more vivid, funny, profound and visionary. Understand the differences of chinese-english color words in the semantic cognition, culture identification not only contribute to English teaching and learning,but bring in a very positive effect in different levels of cross-cultural communication .
Conclusion: Having studied so much in color words, it can be seen that the influence of social culture on color words is deep-rooted. Every kind of colors has different associations and different culture characters in different nations. And their different meanings make life more colorful. After all, every nation shows its own culture and value in different way. It is indeed one of the most important fields of human’s recognition of the world. Therefore, the more people know about the color words, the better people understand the foreign culture. It has significant importance to comprehend and grasp the color words in both English and Chinese. If translation should be done in an adequate manner, it would put Chinese culture in a position of carrying on equal dialogues with Western culture. Hence the function of translation in our era cannot be replaced by any other means of communication.