顏色詞-英語專業(yè)本科論

1、A Constractive Study on Cultural Connotation of English and Chinese Color WordsApplicant: Qi YongwenSupervisor: Yu Yezi Faculty: English Department Zhang Jiajie College January 6 , 2015 Jishou University ContentsAbstractI摘要III.Introduction1 1.1 Introduction of Color words1 1.2 Study on Purples, cont

2、ents and meaning1II.Contract of cultural Connotations of Color Terms between English and Chinese2 2.1 Contact of cultural Connotation of Red between English and Chinese2 2.1.1 紅2 2.1.2 Red3 2.2 Contact of cultural Connotation of White between English and Chinese4 2.2.1 白4 2.2.2 White5 2.3 Contact of

3、 cultural Connotation of Yellow between English and Chinese6 2.3.1 黃6 2.3.2 Yellow7III. Causes of Differences8 3.1 Natural Environment8 3.2 Perception9 3.3 Religions11 IV. Conclusion13 Bibliography14 Abstract The world we live in is very colorful. There are various color words and expressions of col

4、ors used to depict the colorful world. Though different nations have different color conceptions, basic color words/characters, such as red/ 紅，white/白，yellow/黃 are in common in both English and Chinese. Basic color words/characters are always closely connected with Chinese and English cultures and r

5、eflect many different cultures of the two nations. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction of color words and the study on purples,contents and meaning. Chapter Two serves as the main body of this thesis, firstly finding out the common basic color words/characters in En

6、glish and Chinese based on the theory of basic color words, then discussing the cultural connotations of English and Chinese common color words/characters in detail and contrasting the similarities and dissimilarities between them. Chapter Three probes the causes of similarities and dissimilarities

7、including perceptions of color, natural environment, philosophy, religions, traditions and customs. Finally the paper concludes that though different nation may have different colors and different color words, there are some colors and color words in common. To understand the cultural connotations o

8、f the same color words in different languages, the cultural background of them should be learned so that misunderstanding will notbe caused in cross-cultural communications. To sum up language carries and reflects culture, so do the basic color words/characters as a part of language. Through the con

9、trastive study on the cultural connotations of basic color words/characters in English and Chinese, the thesis concludes that in cross-cultural communication, the study will make people teach and learn English better and do translation more correctly and precisely.Key words: Basic Color Words/Charac

10、ters; Cultural Connotations; Contrastive Study 摘要 我們生活在一個多彩的世界，相應(yīng)地有諸多的顏色詞被用來描述這個世界。盡管不同的民族有不同的顏色觀念，但英漢兩種語言中卻有相同的基本顏色詞諸如red/ 紅，white/白，yellow/黃?；绢伾~常與各民族的文化緊密相關(guān)并反映各民族的文。英語和漢語均有悠久的歷史，二者都有豐富的顏色詞匯。其中基本的顏色詞匯最具文化色彩并能反映英漢兩種語言所具有的不同的社會文化、歷史、哲學(xué)等方面。隨著中國日益發(fā)展昌盛，和西方國家的跨文化交際也日益頻繁。 基本顏色詞因具諸多的文化內(nèi)涵常會在跨文化交際中常引起誤讀，故本

11、論文以中英基本顏色詞為研究內(nèi)容，認(rèn)為這是很有意義和有必要的。本論文共五章。第一章介紹了基本顏色詞和本文研究目的、內(nèi)容和意義。第二章是全文的主體部份，首先根據(jù)基本顏色詞理論得出中英共有的基本顏色詞，繼而詳細(xì)描述了其文化內(nèi)涵并對比其異同。第三章探究了基本顏色詞文化內(nèi)涵異同原因，涉及不同民族對顏色的認(rèn)知、自然環(huán)境、哲學(xué)、宗教信仰、傳統(tǒng)及風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣。最后文章得出結(jié)論：盡管不同民族有不同的顏色和顏色詞，其中有一些是共有的，為了理解不同語言中相同的顏色詞的文化內(nèi)涵就必需掌握其文化背景，這樣在跨文化交際中才不致引起誤讀。 綜上所述，語言負(fù)載并反映文化，基本顏色詞作為語言的一部份，也同樣具有此特點(diǎn)。通過對中英基

12、本顏色詞的文化內(nèi)涵對比，本論文認(rèn)為在跨文化際中該研究結(jié)果有助于英語的學(xué)與教，并能提高翻譯的準(zhǔn)確性。關(guān)鍵詞：基本顏色詞;文化內(nèi)涵;對比研究I. Introduction1.1 Introduction of Color Words Color (color) is a natural phenomenon, exists in every corner of the human environment. It is a part of the outside world perception experience.Thus naturally constitute of the eternal

13、topic. It is said that there are 4000 kinds of colors in the world. They can be described as complex color spectrum. or be made of accurate and pure color samples. But its the product of high technology.The color has continuity, like a long ribbon. Its hard to distinguish which is the red, which seg

14、ment Is orange and which is yellow. Color is an abstract concept originally. There are millions of things in the world , and each has unique color.People use color word to illustrate thousands of color , The color word is generally accepted color symbol.1.2 Study on Purples, Contents and Meaning Col

15、or word is a special member of the language vocabulary system . The color words is very rich in Chinese-English two language vocabulary system .it not only can show the physical properties of a object, but also has profound cultural connotation. It is also one of the important areas that human reali

16、ze world. Color words reflects the emergence, development and evolution of human knowledge and the process of social development. its rich culture reflects different historical periods of human society and the social background. It reflects the different cultural connotations. Knowing the basic colo

17、r words of Chinese-English cultural connotation can deepen our understanding of the different language and culture, broaden our horizons and broaden our knowledge. the research of Chinese-English basic color words is a hot spot in the research of the linguistic culture. the current academic circles

18、is limited to research the number of Chinese-English basic color words,color words semantic and rhetoric aspects rather than dig its deeper cultural connotation .This thesis is mainly from the basic color word red (紅), white (白), yellow (黃), through performance of the cultural connotation obtained t

19、he same cultural connotation of color words in Chinese and English. Through the comparative analysis , it is concluded that the reason for the cultural connotation of different color words is resulted from the geographical environment, way of thinking, and religious beliefs.The last is the conclusio

20、n. And it points out the deficiency of this paper and try to be improved in the future. Through the contrastive analysis of the cultural connotations of the basic color words in Chinese-English ,we learn that a language can not only understand the surface phenomena, but ignore its deep cultural conn

21、otation.II.Contract of Cultural Connotation of Color Terms between English and ChineseIn this part, contrast will be made on the cultural connotations of basic color terms between English and Chinese. Chapter One gives a range of basic color terms discussed in this thesis. Of the nine pairs of the b

22、asic color termsred and 紅,white and 白, yellow and 黃, in English and Chinese, the English term “brown” can occasionally be used to mean “to do something thoroughly” as in “to brown it up” and “to be angry” as in the slang“to brown off”, but the Chinese counterpart “ 棕 ” is short of cultural connotati

23、ons because customarily Chinese people seldom use the term in their lives. Consequently, we will not make further discussion on this pair and our contrast will be focused on the rest eight pairs of basic color terms.2.1 Contract of Cultural Connotation of Red between English and Chinese2.1.1紅 China

24、is a country admiring the sun, originated from the ancient worship of the sun. The red color and hot temperature let the ancients feel mysterious.As a result, ,the ancients admires the color red. In Chinese, people use “朱紅” to symbolize rich. “朱門”to symbolize dignitary residence. “朱衣”means dignitary

25、s clothes. Red always makes them think of warmth, prosperity, happiness, celebration and so on. This can be seen in Chinese daily life, for instance, brides wear red clothes to express happiness in the wedding ceremony. During the Spring Festival days in China, older generation will give children re

26、d envelop with money in it to celebrate the coming of new year and hope the children to be lucky. “紅雙喜” should be stuck to the windows to symbolize the wedding and happiness of a new couple. In business, people use “開門紅” to symbolize good fortune. We usually use “大紅大紫”,“紅人”to depict a people who ach

27、ieve success in his career, and “走紅”,“紅火”to symbolize a prosperous business. Though“ 紅” is usually commendatory in Chinese, it also symbolizes embarrassment, shyness and anger. For instance, “臉紅” means that someone feels embarrassed or shy. “氣得漲紅了臉” means that somebody is very angry. In negative use

28、, “紅”also means jealousy, such as “眼紅”. And in “紅燈區(qū)”，“紅”means something alert. It also indicates danger or prohibition in the phrase “亮紅燈”,“亮紅牌”. In fact, the negative meanings of “紅”originate in alien culture, in traditional Chinese culture, its cultural connotations are all commendatory. “紅” has a

29、lso some political sense in Chinese which means revolution and progress. For example, “紅軍”,“紅寶書”,“紅色政權(quán)”,“紅色根據(jù)地”and so on.2.1.2 Red England is a country which admires God, people regard God as the father of everything. Therefore, some natural phenomena such as the sun, fire are not mysterious to them

30、. In the Englishspeaking countries, “red” is always used in negative way. Its cultural meanings consist of cruelty, disaster, anger, potential danger, war, death and so on. For instance, “red light district” is a euphemism which means the places where people do sexual business. “Red flag” implies so

31、mething dangerous, which warns or prohibits people not to go on. Red also represents some emotion such as anger. “I turned red with anger.” “Red-faced” means that somebody feels angry or embarrassed. Red also indicates opposition or competition that is violent without pity, for instance, the idiom “

32、red in tooth and claw”. Though red in English is always associated with something unpleasant, its also used in positive ways. In western countries, red indicates the color of life because its the color of blood and fire. Red makes people associate with birth, love, celebration, expressions as “red-b

33、looded”, “roll out the red carpet”, “Red-blooded” means that somebody is full of strength and energy. “Roll out the red carpet” means “somebody is treated with the kind of courtesy” or “deference shown to persons with high social status,” “red carpet” is used to indicate the etiquette that is very c

34、eremonious and the people who is treated in a very respectable way, like in “I didnt expect to be given the red carpet treatment!” Like “紅” in Chinese, “red” also has a connotation of politics. For instance, “red” means the party or somebody who supports leftwing political ideas, which refers to soc

35、ialist or communist, like in “Red Ken wins seat in parliament.” “Red Army” refers to the army of the communist countries, as in “The Red Army was the army of the USSR.” “Red Caps” refers to the porters in American English or military policemen in British English. The capital “R” is often used to ref

36、er to a communist. In custom and traditional life, “red” is usually used to refer to some objects. For instance, “red meat” refers to the meat that is dark brown in color when it has been cooked, such as beef and lamb. In Chinese, there are some similar examples of “紅”. “紅茶” is mainly named from the

37、 angel of the color of tea water. “紅糖”doesnt seem red but brown, but in traditional way, its named “紅糖”. 2.2 Contract of Cultural Connotation of White between English and Chinese2.2.1白In traditional Chinese culture, white often represent a unlucky meanings, people usually connect white with terroris

38、t and death. This unlucky is not created, there are several explanations for this: one is that flood endangers peoples life and property security, so as to make the white has become a kind of sense of foreboding; In addition, most of the hospitals are white, often there will be a loss in the hospita

39、l, and a lot of patients were died in the hospital. White color is often give people a kind of the terror of death; Because in Chinese traditional culture, there are five elements in the world, which state that white is the color of the west. And people regard the sunrise as the birth of a person wh

40、ile the sunset as the death. The sun rises from the east and sets down in the west. Thus white as the symbol of west and represents the sign of death. So there are expressions “白事” to mean “funeral affairs”.“白”also usually means “failure”. In a war, the loser will hang “白旗” to show that they are def

41、eated and accept failure. Chinese people use “白” to represent “in vain, priceless or without rewarding” such as “白送”，“白干”，“白費(fèi)勁”，“白吃”，“白拿”and so on. “白” also means somebody who is sly or dishonest. For instance, in traditional Beijing opera, different color of faces has different meanings, “白” is an

42、unpleasant color. In peoples daily life at present, when a man who is handsome, but insincere, and always leads his life depending on women will be called “小白臉”. When “白” is used to depict someones complexion, there are two kinds of meaning, one refers to the people who looks fair, while the other m

43、eans someone looks pale because of being unhealthy or some strong emotion such as angry ,sad and so on. In political field, “白” is always used as the antonym of “紅”，and its connotation is rebellion, decadence and reaction. For instance, during the civil war, people called enemies “白軍”，“白匪”，“白區(qū)”refer

44、ring to the place which was occupied by Kumingdang army.Though “白” in Chinese mostly used in a derogatory sense, it also has commendatory connotations. For example, in ancient China, white-feathered animals such as 白鹿，白鶴，白狼，白雁，白天鵝 are the symbols of luck and fortune. “白”also means purity and innocen

45、ce. For instance, there are expressions such as “潔白”,“白璧無瑕”, in which,“白”means purity and beauty.2.2.2 White Compared with Chinese “白”, “white” in English usually means something pleasant. The cultural connotations of white may be originated from the Bible, in which white is the symbol of Jesus, tru

46、th and virtue, while black represents the wick and the evil. In western countries, white means purity which can be seen from white dress that Jesus and his angles wear. Western wedding ceremony is usually called “white wedding” for the reason that bride usually dresses in white, wearing white gloves

47、 and shoes and even the invitation card sent in ilver letter, which all symbolize purity, virgin and happiness. “White” has some other cultural connotations as in “a white Christmas”, it refers to snow at Christmas time, which is contrasted with “a green Christmas” meaning a Christmas with snow. Tho

48、ugh “white” is usually a commendatory word in English, it is also used in a derogatory sense. “A white night” means a sleepless night, as in “It was amazing that I was not sleepy after a white night”. Besides the meanings of “white” mentioned above, it also means death as well as in Chinese. It has

49、meaning of pale used to refer to somebody who looks pale because of strong emotion or illness. For instance “white with anger/shock/fear”, as in “she went white as a sheet when she heard the news”.2.3 Contract of Cultural Connotation of Yellow between English and Chinese2.3.1 黃 “黃” in Chinese has mo

50、re connotations, and most of them are commendatory. Born with yellow skin, cultivated in the yellow soil, and taking the Yellow River as their place of origin, the Chinese people are very proud of the fact that they belong to the yellow race.In the five elements theory, the color “黃” represents “ear

51、th”, which stands for the center of the universe and therefore yellow is a respectful color. Actually, Chinese culture is cultivating culture, “yellow” as the color represents earth and naturally is respected by Chinese people. In Chinas ancient theory of “Five Elements”, “黃” is one of its five colo

52、rs. Theres another Chinese phrase “天玄地黃”, in which “黃” also means the color of earth. Actually, in Chinese peoples eyes, “黃” indicates the center of universe and implies Chinas territory and state, and is also a primary color according to the theory of “Five Elements”. Therefore, Chinese people are

53、so proud of being Chinese and name themselves as “炎黃子孫”. On the basis of the meaning mentioned above, “黃” is extended to mean imperial power, dignity or seizing power. For instance, in Chinese legendary, the earliest ruler of our Han Nationality is “黃帝”，the origin of his name came from the fact that

54、 he was usually dressed in yellow and wore yellow hat. In addition，“黃”has the same pronunciation as “皇”， therefore, the color “黃”becomes the color of emperors and at last is the symbol of imperial power. Actually, the underlying reason for these lies in that Chinese people worship earth. “黃”also ind

55、icates wisdom and some doctrine. In Chinese Taoism and Buddhism, the yellow color is very respectable. Thats why even today, monks can still be seen dressed in yellow. Taoist priests also usually wear yellow dress. Chinese Buddhism hold the view that“黃”is the symbol of wisdom and doctrine. The worsh

56、ip of the “yellow” color makes“黃”have another connotationmystery and luck. For instance, in ancient times, superstitious people use yellow paper written incantations to expel ghosts. People always chose a day as “黃道吉日”to do something important, such as wedding or opening ceremonies of business. “黃”a

57、lso indicates best. Because the color “yellow” is the color of gold, which is very precious, people easily associate “黃”with something precious too. For instance“黃金周”,“黃金時期”and etc. Though “黃” in Chinese is usually used in positive way, there are some derogatory connotations.The first usual negative

58、 meaning is vulgarity, obscenity and filthiness. This sense maybe comes from American “yellow journalism” that we have mentioned before, but Chinese people obviously misunderstood the meaning or degraded and narrowed its original connotations, therefore, the expressions “黃色書刊”，“黃色電影”all refer to the

59、 book and film that is obscene.The second derogatory meaning of “黃” is “failure”, it is usually used in colloquial Chinese. When Chinese people say “某事黃了” that means they have failed in doing something. In financial area, theres a phrase “黃財(cái)”，which implies a dead loan and the renter cannot get their

60、 money.There is an expression “命歸黃泉”,which indicates somebody has been dead while“黃泉”is the euphemism of underworld.2.3.2 Yellow In English, “yellow” has dual cultural connotations. “Yellow” is the color of the sun and gold, therefore, it makes people associate with wealth, power and honor. This can