中英顏色詞的文化差異與翻譯

TheculturaldifferencesofcolorwordsbetweenEnglishandChineseTranslationAbstract:Red,white,blackthreecolorwordshavesimilaritiesinassociativemeaning,ChinesecultureandWesterncultureinthesymbolicmeaningandsemantics,andtherearealsodifferences,withthecommon,confusingphrasesandidiomstranslation,letpeopleknowtheimportanceofcolorwordsinEnglishandChineseintwocultures.Keywords:colorwords;symbolicmeaning;culturaldifference;idiomColoriscloselyrelatedwithhumanlife,weeveryhourandmomentisnotindealingwithcolor.RepresentsvariouscolorwordsembodynationalculturalfeaturesofEnglishandChinesecultureisdifferent,theperformanceofdifferentnational"personality",withsignificantculturalstigma.Thesamecolorwordsoftencontaindifferentsymbolicsignificance.Therefore,correctlygraspthedeepmeaningofcolorwordsinthetwolanguagesandthecorrecttranslation,masterthevocabularyandidiomsintheEnglishlanguage,hasarolecannotbeignoredincross-culturalcommunication.Thispaperfocusesonthreecolorwords:red(red),white(white),black(black),itisinthetwolanguagesofEnglishandChineselanguageandculturedifferencesbeexplained,andsomecommontranslationandconfusablevocabularyandidioms,forEnglishlearners.一.REDWhetherinChinaorinwesterncountries,oftenlivewithfestiveredMoveon,butinChinathesymbolicmeaningsofredmorestrongly.Redsymbolizescelebration,successful,thriving,warm,suchas"fullhouse","good","fire".Chinesetraditionalweddingtonemainlyinred,thebridewearingredclothes,coverredhijab,aredcandle,withredhiword,afactionbeburstingwithhappiness.IntheAnglo-Americancountries,thebridedressedinwhiteweddingdress,wearingawhiteweddingdress."Red"standsfor"fire"inBritishandAmericanculture,"blood","agression","excitement","Rage","violence",suchas"seered","red-handed","aredbattle"isreminiscentofviolenceandbloodshed.RedinChinaisalsoasymbolofrevolution,suchas"red","bebothredandexpert",whileinEnglishoftenpejorativemeaning,with"red","radicalleft.",Suchas"redbelt","redactivities".RedinChinesealsoreferstopeoplewhofavororboss,suchas"red","popular";Ajoint-stockenterprisesattheendoftheyearprofitsdistributedtoshareholdersineconomicterms,suchas"bonus","bonus",WhileinEnglishreferstoeconomicorbusinessoftenhave"deficit","loss"meaning,suchas"beinthered","redink".Redreferstothecolor,hasthesamemeaninginEnglishandChinese,refertothe"red","black","red"andothermeans,canbeusedasadjectivesandnouns.Itreferstothetraffic,with"red"inEnglishandchinese.And"red"therelevantvocabulary,idiomsandEnglishtoChineselanguage紅白喜事weddingsandfuneralsChinaknownastheweddingforweddings,funeralsforthefuneral,and

Anglo-Americancountriesmarriagefuneralcustomisdifferent,Soitshouldnotbedirectlytranslatedinto"redandwhitehappyoccasions"intranslation,orforeignerswillbeterrified.2）紅娘go-between/match-maker"Matchmaker"Yuandrama"theWestChamber"heroine.Yingying'smaid,shecontributedtourgeYingYingandZhangShengbinding,thenfolkisknownas"matchmaker"eagertoothersmarriage,notaname.3）紅粉；紅顏ayoungbeautyBoththebeauty,correspondingtotheEnglish"red"can't,WuWeiyeoftheQingDynasty"round":"sixArmySongwailwithwhitemourningdress,redcrownangerasaconfidante."Chineseoldbeautifulwomandieorbemarriedtoabadhusbandisbeautiful,oftenhave"sinceancienttimes,confidantemuch".Sointhetranslationshouldadoptfreetranslation,avoiddirecttranslationofcolor.Forexample,紅顏薄命譯為“abeautifulgirlhasanunfortunatelife”。4）《紅樓夢(mèng)》TheStoryoftheStone"AdreamofRedMansions"alsoknownas"stone".AdreamofRedMansionsinChinesereferstothemagnificentbuildings,theoldoftenreferstoarichwoman.Manypeopledirectlytranslatedinto"ADreamoftheRedMansion",buttheBritishtranslatorDavidHawksintranslationisnottotaketheliteraltranslation,buttakingintoaccountthe"differencesinEnglishandChineseculture,accordingtored"translate"adreamofRedMansions"alias"stones".5）紅本memorialstothethronereadandwritteninredbyChineseemperorsTheMingDynastyeunuchLiuJindictatorship,thememorialhastwocopies,anamefortheemperor'swhite,afine-soundingnameredthistoLiuJin,butlateruntiltheQingDynasty,almostbyEmperorZhupiisred.Suchastakethewordstooliterally,directlytranslatedinto"redbook",willlettheAnglo-Americancountrieswereconsideredtobeacoverfortheredbook,andmisunderstandthemeaning.6）紅塵————theworldofmortals;humansocietyBuddhism,Taoismandotherknownworldtored,sointhetranslationshouldbethetranslationofthetruemeaningof.7）紅豆lovepeaWangWei"Acacia"poem:"healthandsouthernredbeans,springafewbranches.Takehomeanarmful,formysake,asasymbolofourlove.InChina,redisusedtosymbolizeloveorlove,sointhetranslationshouldadoptfreetranslationcanplayavivideffect.8）滿(mǎn)堂紅all-roundvictory;successineveryfieldInthetranslationofthisphraseshouldadoptfreetranslation,translationofredinChinesemeans"victory,thesuccessof"symbolicsignificance.9）紅榜honourrollInthetranslationof"honorroll"alsoshouldadoptfreetranslation,translationofthe"red""victoryintheChineselanguage,thesymbolicmeaningofsuccess",nottheliteraltranslation.10）紅利extradividend;bonusChineseinthe"dividend"meansapartofthedividend,"red"isnotacolor,notthe"red"inEnglish,thetranslatorshouldadoptfreetranslation.11）紅運(yùn)goodluck"Goodluck"meansgoodluck,thetranslatorshouldadoptfreetranslation.12）紅糖brownsugarHerethe"red"insteadof"red"inEnglishtranslation,thisistheexpressionofEnglishandChinesecolormisalignment.13）紅茶blackteaLbid.14）紅得發(fā)紫extremelypopularTheword"red",withthecolor"purple",inordertotranslatethetruemeaning,shouldnotuseliteraltranslationandfreetranslation,color,inordertoreachtoaproperextenttoexpressthetruemeaningoftheword.15）又紅又專(zhuān)bothsocialist-mindedandvocationallyproficient"Bebothredandexpert"isusedtodescribetheadvancedsexrevolution,sothetranslationshouldbethetranslationoftheChinesecharacteristics.And"red"relevantvocabulary,idiomsandtheirtranslationinEnglish1）beinthered虧損；赤字InEnglish"red"notonlymeans"red"color,with"deficit"intermsofeconomicorbusiness,"loss"andothermeans,thecommonlyused"inthered","redink"said,sothetranslatorshouldgraspthecorrectmeaningoftheword,inordertoavoidmistranslation.2）red-ball（美俚）貨運(yùn)快車(chē);鐵路特快貨車(chē)"Red-ball"isnotaChinese"red",but"express",namelytheexpressfreighttrain;railwayexpressfreight.3）redink赤字；虧損；虧空狀態(tài)"Redink"inEnglishreferstotheaccountingrecordsofCentralPlainsdebitorlossofredinkbalance,interpretedas"deficit;loss;thered.".Forexample:Thecompanywentintoredinklastyear.（去年那家公司處于虧空狀態(tài)。）4）red-blooded精力充沛的；健壯的；（作品）充滿(mǎn)緊張情節(jié)的Althoughthe"red"and"blood",but"red-blooded"doesnotrefertoredblood,notbleeding.Forexample:Tomisared-bloodedAmericanboy.湯姆是個(gè)精力充沛的美國(guó)男孩。）5）rollouttheredcarpet表示熱忱而隆重的歡迎和接待TheEnglish"redcarpet"referstotheredcarpettowelcomethedistinguishedguests,extensionofthesaidwarmlyandgrandwelcomeandreception.Forexample:WerolledoutthecarpetforthePresidentoftheUnitedStateswhenhevisitedourcountry.（美國(guó)總統(tǒng)訪問(wèn)我國(guó)時(shí)，我們以隆重的禮儀歡迎他。）6）seered火冒三丈；氣得要命Thetranslationmustnottakethewordstooliterallyunderstandingof"seered",thiswordisderivedfromtheSpanishMatadorwithredclothprovokebullstomadness,weusedananalogyto"flyintoarageforsomereasonorcircumstance,mad".Forexample:IseeredwheneverIhearthatman'sname.（我一聽(tīng)到那人的名字，便火冒三丈。）7）redeye廉價(jià)、質(zhì)劣的威士忌"Redeye"isnotaChinese"redeye"or"pinkeye",butalsoreferstoakindofcheap,poorqualityofthesourcewhiskey,whiskyonthepeople,theeyeswillberedness.Forexample:WedrankalotofredeyewhenIwasincollege.（在大學(xué)念書(shū)的時(shí)候，我們喝了許多廉價(jià)威士忌。）8）red-handed在犯罪現(xiàn)場(chǎng)被捕WhetherinEnglishorChinese,redhasthemeaningof"blood",orthecolor.Themurdererbloodstainedhandscalled"redhands".Forexample:Themurderwascaughtred-handed,thegunstillinhishand.（殺人犯當(dāng)場(chǎng)被捕了，槍還抓在他手里。）9）red-letterday值得紀(jì)念的/有特殊意義的/喜慶的日子WhetherinChinaorinwesterncountries,holidayorSunday,calendarthedateonareprintedonthered,ahappyhappyday.Itwasoneofthered-letterdaysofmylife.（這是我一生中值得紀(jì)念的吉日之一。）10）red-pencil修改；校訂；檢查；刪除Muchofthetruthaboutthemassacrewasred-pencilled.（關(guān)于屠殺的真相大部分經(jīng)審查刪剪了。）11）paintthetownred（俚語(yǔ)）飲酒作樂(lè)；狂歡慶祝Theydecidedtheywouldpaintthetownredafterwinningsomuchmoneybygambingonthehorses.（賭馬贏得了那么多錢(qián)，他們決定狂歡慶祝一下。）12）redtape繁文縟節(jié)；拖拉費(fèi)時(shí)的繁瑣手續(xù)"Redtape"means"tobinddocumentswithred"withtheold,nowknownasthe"unnecessaryandoverelaborateformalities;haulingcumbersomeproceduresandtime-consuming".Forexample:Hegetsthingsdonebycuttingthroughthebureaucraticredtape.（他能避開(kāi)官僚的繁文縟節(jié)把事情迅速辦好。）13）redflag（用作危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)或停止信號(hào)的）示警紅旗；易爆危險(xiǎn)品旗；激怒因素；引人冒火的事InChinese,"redflag"isthesymboloftherevolution,thesymbolofprogress,advanced,but"redflag"inBritishandAmericancultureisrefersto"redflag"andothermeans.Forexample:Whenyourmotherraiseshervoice,rememberitisalwaysaredflagandyou'dbettershutyourmouth.（當(dāng)你媽媽提高嗓門(mén)時(shí)，記得那是危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)，你最好少說(shuō)話(huà)。）14）redherring轉(zhuǎn)移注意力的東西或話(huà)題Mentioningadulteducationinadiscussionondecolonizationisacompleteredherring.（在討論非殖民化時(shí)談成人教育，這全是轉(zhuǎn)移注意力的閑扯。）15）redcap紅帽子；搬運(yùn)工"Redcap"inadditiontotheredhat,inAmericanEnglishalsorefersto"theairportorrailwaystation".Forexample:WhenIarrivedattheairport,aredcaphelpedmewithmyheavyluggage.（當(dāng)我到達(dá)機(jī)場(chǎng)時(shí)，一名搬運(yùn)工來(lái)幫我提沉重的行李。）二.WHITEChinesetraditionalcultureisheavyredbogeywhite,whiteanddeath,thefunerallinked,suchas"redfuneral"inthe"white"referstothefuneral.Thetraditionalfuneralinwhitetone,withwhitetomourn.AndintheAnglo-Americanculture,"white"standsfor"purity","chastity","innocence","happiness","Brightness"meaning.AsChinesetraditionalheavyred,BritishandAmericanweddinginwhitecolor,thebrideworeawhiteweddingdress,tosymbolizethepurityofloveandmarriage,happiness.Chineseinthe"white"with"clear;see"meaning,suchas"unrightedwrong";"blank;noresults;invain;free;nopay"meaning,suchas"whiteboilingwater","invain","eat";and"error;statement"accenttosaythedrama,suchas"white","monologue"etc..TheimplicationisthatinEnglish"white"doesnothave.AndtheEnglish"white"canalsorefertoa"white","upright;honest"meaning,buttheChinese"white"isnotthemeaningof.ButthecolorinChinesecultureandWesternculturealsohassomeofthesamepoint:with"pure（purity）","innocent（innocence）symbolicmeaning,suchas"Chinese"flawlesswhitejade","innocent",theEnglish"awhitesoul";intheaspectofpolitics,have"thereactionary;counter-revolutionary"symbolicmeaning;referstothecolor,thetwocultureswithsimilarcolors,suchastheChinese"SnowWhite",theEnglish"SnowWhite";inthetwoculturesaredoctorsandnurseswearcolorhospital,asymboloftheirworkispureandnoble,suchas"doctor","angelinwhite"hasbeenacceptedbythewholeworldculture.Andthe"white"relevantvocabulary,idiomsandEnglishtoChineselanguage1）白璧無(wú)瑕flawlesswhitejade;spotlessvirtue"Flawlesswhitejade"referstothebeautyoftriclosannetwork,metaphorofpeopleorthingswithouttheshortcomings,asa"whitejade".Sointhetranslationshouldpayattentiontothewordistheoriginalmeaningandextendedmeaning,suchastheformeristranslatedinto"flawlesswhitejade";ifthelatteristranslatedinto"spotlessvirtue"or"impeccablemoralintegrity".2）白菜Chinesecabbage"Chinesecabbage"alsoknownas"cabbage","cabbage",commonlyknownas"vegetables",similartothecabbage,butisnotthesame,shouldbetranslatedinto"Chinesecabbage",toshowthedifferencebetween.3）白藏autumn;fall"ErYaShi":"autumnofwhiteTibetan",itshouldbetranslatedas"autumn"or"fall".4）白丁thecommonpeople"Private"referstothe"civilian;notfame",translationshouldbetakentoavoidthe.5）白癡idiot;foolItrefersto"akindof"themostseverementalretardation,equivalenttotheEnglish"idiot","fool"means.6）白費(fèi)tolose;towaste;tobeinvain"Waste","waste","waste"refersto"waste;useless",hasnothingtodowiththe"white"color,correspondingtotheEnglish"white"cannot,thetranslatorshouldadoptfreetranslation.7）白銀silverTheancientChinesecalledsilveryellowwhite,"white"referstothe"silver".8）白馬王子princecharming"PrinceCharming"refersto"thegirlloveidealyoungman",and"PrinceCharming"inEnglishmeans"marriedCinderellaandtheprince;theidealofmarriage,bothmen"isthecorresponding.9）白手起家toriseinlifebyone'sownefforts;tostartfromscratchThisidiommeans"noeconomicbasisorinpoorconditionandcreateacareer",sothetranslationcannottranslatethecolor,becausethe"white"referstothe"empty-handedormanual",ratherthan"thewhitehand".白字wronglywrittenormispronouncedcharacterWhiteisnotwhite,butrefersto"mistakesorreadthewrongwordorcharacter".白話(huà)vernacularThevernacularChinese(Mandarin)referstoawrittenlanguage,suchasthevernacularChinese,vernacularfiction,andregardlessofcolor,cannotusethe"white"inEnglishtranslation.Whenthevernacularmeans"cannotbeachievedornotaccordingtothewords",suchas"emptytalk",shouldbetranslatedinto"noncence".白描akindofChineseoutlinedrawing;thesimple,straightforwardstyleofwritingBaimiaoreferstothetechniquesofChinesepainting.Itoriginatedfromtheancient"whitepainting",alsoreferstoastyleofliterarycreation,withconcisetext,withoutcontrast,depictavividimage.Translationnotearound.白戰(zhàn)fightunarmedWhiteandunarmedcombat,noweapons,nowhitewar.白頭偕老livetoripeoldageinconjugalbliss;remainadevotedcoupletotheendoftheirlivesThisidiommeans"coupleslivingtogethertotheold"married"aharmoniousunionlastingahundredyears,commonintheeulogy;saidofacouple","bald"doesnotmean"whitehead",itmeans"old".白開(kāi)水plainboiledwater"Noteaorotherthingsofboilingwater",not"white"boilingwater,translationwithoutthewhitecolor.白衣天使nurse"Angelinwhite"isthenurseofthename,"doctor"isonthedoctor'sname,sothetranslationof"nurse"and"doctor"ontheline.And"white"therelevantvocabulary,idiomsandtheirtranslationinEnglishwhitealert解除空襲警報(bào)Internationalairraidalarmisdividedintothreekinds,namely"yellowalert","RedAlert"and"whitealert"referto"yellowalert","warning"and"theall-clear".whitebook白皮書(shū)"Whitebook"referstothe"government,Parliamentandotherpublishedpolitical,diplomatic,financialandothermajorissuesoffiles,thisisthewhite","whitepaper"hasbeenacceptedbythepeople.whitecoffee加牛奶的咖啡Coffeemilkcolorlooksbetterthantheoriginallight,sotheEnglishcalled"whitecoffee".whitecollar白領(lǐng)The"whitecollar"directlytranslatedas"white-collar"hasbeenacceptedbythepeople,itreferstothementalworkwhite-collarclass.whiteelephant累贅的東西"Whiteelephant"doesnotrefertotheelephant,butreferstotheancientkingofThailandto"whiteelephant"togiveouttheretainer,cannotsell,raiseitandspendalotofmoneystory,laterdescribeditasuselessbutnotanytreatment,andtheneedformoneyorlabortomanagementandmaintenance.Forexample:whitefeather怯懦；膽小鬼Don'tputthe"whitefeather"translatedinto"whitefeather",OldEnglishthinktailministerBaiYumaocockfightingisimproved,andnotgoodfight,toamanofcowardiceorcoward.whitegoods家用白色織物；大型家用電器TheAnglo-Americanssheets,pillowcases,tableclothscolourmostlywhite;theirhouseholdappliancesaremostlywhite.white-haired/headedboy得寵兒；幸運(yùn)兒whitehands清白無(wú)辜；廉正；誠(chéng)實(shí)Thephraseisnotawhitehands,butthemetaphorof"innocent；integrity；honesty".whitehope被寄予厚望的人(或事物)；承擔(dān)艱巨任務(wù)的人WhiteHouse白宮"WhiteHouse"literaltranslation"WhiteHouse",referringtothepresidentoftheUnitedStatesWhitePalaceortheUnitedStatesgovernment,hadtoacceptthepeople.white-knuckle神經(jīng)緊張的；引起神經(jīng)緊張的whitelady雞尾酒"Whitelady"doesnotmean"whitelady",nor"dressedinwhitelady",butalsoreferstoakindofcocktailgin,orangewine,lemonjuice,shakewithiceandstrainintoaprotein,canalsorefertoa"cocaine".whitelie善意的謊言"Whitelie"means"aharmlesslie",translatedas"whitelie"or"nothurttheimportantessentialslie"properly.whitemarket白市；合法交易市場(chǎng)Becauseofthe"white"inEnglishis"pure"meaning,"whitemarket"todescribeand"blackmarket(black)"insteadoftheofficialmarket,fitting.whitewash粉飾；掩蓋"Whitewash"referstotheoriginal"whitecoat",afterdressingorconcealerrorsandshortcomingscomparedto.whitewar不流血的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)；經(jīng)濟(jì)戰(zhàn)Torefertoabloodywarwiththe"redbattle/war"inEnglish,withcorrespondingwhitewartodescribethewarwithoutbloodshed,mainlyreferstoeconomicwarfare.whitedays吉日；好日子Becauseofthe"white"with"fortunate；lucky"meaning,sothecorrecttranslationofthephraseis"auspiciousday".三BLACKSemanticsintheChinesecultureandAmericancultureinblackandsymbolicsignificancehasroughlythesame,"dark","black","evil","cruel","illegal"meaning,suchastheChinese"darkforces","black","blackheart"；theEnglish"blackheart""blackmarket",etc..ButthesymbolicsignificanceofblackinAnglo-Americancultureismorestrongly,itis"sinister","evil","criminal","despair","mourning","demons"meaning.Itistheanalogyalwaysgiveapersonakindofterrible,eventheevilfeeling.Blackalsocontainsa"devastating;gloomy;angry"meaning,suchas"BlackFriday(unluckyFriday)","inablackmood(depressedmood)","givesb.ablacklook(ferociousstaresb.)".漢語(yǔ)中與“黑”有關(guān)的詞匯、習(xí)語(yǔ)及其英譯黑幫reationary/sinistergangThesocietycovertactivitiesofcriminalgangs,usereationaryorsinistertotranslatemoreimage,outstanding.黑店gansterinnReferstothemurderplundersthegoodsinn,"ganster(bandits,bandits)totranslation"ispreferableto"black".黑不溜秋swarthyThedialectdescribeblackugly,whileinEnglish,"swarthy"isthemeaningof.黑社會(huì)Mafia-styleorganizations;ganglandTheAnglo-Americanshaveblacksocietycalled"Mafia-styleorganizations;gangland"-英語(yǔ)中與“black”相關(guān)的詞匯、習(xí)語(yǔ)及其漢譯Blackandwhite白紙黑字；書(shū)面"Black"means"blackink","white"means"whitepaper",meaningblackwordswrittenonwhitepaper,conclusiveevidenceinChine