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1、1 IntroductionColor terms are impersonal existence of nature, so it is beyond human beings category to learn about colors. And color not only has some objective attributions, it also contains various cultural connotations and extending meanings. And it will make language livelier to properly use col
2、or terms. As man can see color with their own eyes, it seems that people have the same description of color words. However, because different peoples have different geographic environments, customs, ways of thinking, religious beliefs, regimes, literature and arts and ways of living, there is no sur
3、prise that colors are described diversely in different countries. They show the particular personalities of each nation. And language is not only the carrier of culture, but also it is an important part of culture. In other words, culture includes and influences language. People could know culture t
4、hrough language. So only to combine culture with language can people successfully in communicating with each other. There are various color terms in both Chinese and English, and almost all of them have similar and different associations, indications and connotations in both the two languages. So to
5、 have a good master of the differences and similarities of these words and their associations, indications and cultural connotations is a prerequisite for a better understanding of the different cultures of Eastern and Western countries, which will make the communication between Eastern and Western
6、countries easier.Plentiful color related closely with our life. In the long-time development of humans language, color words are not only simply to describe the color but to convey the pleasant impression and unique charm.1.1 The Close Relationship between Culture and LanguageThe relationship betwee
7、n language and culture is not just that between a part and a whole. It is much more complex than that. Language is the carrier and container of culture; language, as a mirror of culture, is strongly influenced and shaped by culture; language and culture is closely related, each influencing and shapi
8、ng the other. As E.Sapir(1884), an American linguist points out that a language cannot exist in a “cultural vacuum”, nor can it exist in a vacuum of practices and beliefs inherited from the society. As the carrier of culture, every language has its own system and structure. And every nation has its
9、own living habits, thinking way, language psychology, behavior criterion, sense of worth, and culture tradition. There are few correspondences of semantics and culture in different language. As Nidas Dynamic Equivalence says that even the big difference of formation in original text and target text,
10、 cant prevent the successful obtain of the correct information of both the original readers and target readers. Words is the most active and positive part of language. Words reflect the carrier function of culture, and reflect the vicissitudes of our society and the development of our national cultu
11、re directly. 1.2 Color Words and Its Cultural Connotation in LanguageImagine that we live in a colorless world; everything in this world cant be identified by color. What a terrible world it will be! Most of the times, we are not only using color words to describe certain thing, but to express our h
12、appiness, sadness, angry or other. So color words can also be considered as adjective words. However different nation has different understanding of the seven color words, there are thousands of understanding of these color words in different situation. Color makes our life colorful, it relates clos
13、ely with our life. Color words can create countless phrases which rich our language too. Different nation use different color to create different phrases to show their various feeling. Color makes our language colorful. Language is the symbol systems of more than one kind of levels. In the field of
14、human linguistics, the vocabulary is one of the most direct and concrete factors reflecting the whole nations lives. Every word records peoples understanding of objective world. As a group of special vocabulary colonies, the color word is no exception, directly or indirectly bearing the weight of va
15、rious and colorful cultural connotation of varied nationalities and containing strong national cultural traditions, social local conditions and customs, aesthetics temperament and interest. This paper illustrates a large number of examples and comparatively analyzes the original meanings and extende
16、d meanings of the color words in two different cultures. It fetches illustrations and employs the linguistic context to analyze the literal meaning and culture meaning of the color words in both English and Chinese languages, aiming at confirming the suitable translating method and accurately transm
17、itting information. 2 The Contrast Study of Color Words between Chinese and English2.1 The Development and Change of the Colors. From the scientific definition, color is a visual phenomenon that created by the ray launching and reflection and penetration of the object. From the civilization of the w
18、est, they show a very impersonal attitude towards the objective world and the objective fact. So, the symbolizations of the color words in west are always very direct. Generally speaking, they use the direct character of the color to refer the abstract culture sense. For example, red leads west peop
19、le to think about dangerous things and violence. But blood whose color is red always reflect gallop and vigorous in west culture. Once the blood flow gets down, flower of the life also died of old age. Then, red became a color taboo for its dangerous and violence association. When the renowned sinol
20、ogist Hawks was translating Hong Lou Meng, he realized that red may possibly cause the modern English reader associate with “violence”, “bleeds”. Therefore, he changed the title The Red Mansion to The Story of the Stone. Since China has experienced several millenniums feudal societies as well as the
21、 culture lag, and science and technology backwards, color gets a strong sense of mysterious to Chinese people. The development of color also alerts a great influence on Chinese social culture development. In the pre-qin, the color words are related with outlook of the ancient people, and philosophy,
22、 and later with political. So the connotations and reflections are really rich and the symbolization of color words is multivariate. For example, from the aspect of sinologist, red in Chinese culture is rooted from sunlight because the color of sun is red. We depend on sunlight instinctively and the
23、 happy and auspicious sense of red are created spontaneously. Ancient people also considered that everything on earth was created after the sun rise. We show a very kind and familiar emotion to sun, so to red. As for white, our ancestor were puniness and impotence, so they stick their chin out in da
24、ylight, and been attacked by wild animals. Daylight means death, dangerous to them. White became less pleasant to them. In ancient Chinese culture, white is a color taboo then. 2.2 “White” Between Chinese and EnglishWhite is a peace and pure color, so it makes people feel kind and quiet. In ancient
25、Greek, people believed that sleeping in white nightgown ensure a nice dream. And the pharaoh in Egypt, also believed that white was the most important color; the color of their crown is white. The ancient perish considered that The God was always dressing in white, so in most of the oil paintings, d
26、ivinities and God were all in white. In Websters Dictionary of English Language, “white” is the color of pure snow or milk. “White” in western culture means purity, innocence, cleanliness, and chastity. On Christmas Days white-colored ornaments are seen everywhere in decorating Christmas trees and h
27、ouses in most western countries. On wedding days girls are wearing white bridal-dresses, for “white” in their mind is the symbol of purity and lucky. However, most Chinese girls prefer “red” on the point of choosing colors owing to different customs. Sometimes, white in Chinese and English owns the
28、same meaning. For example, white heat(白热), the white people(白人), white bandit(白匪), white house(白宫), white crane(白鹤), white fish(白鱼), white poplar(白杨), white area(白区), white terror(白色恐怖), the White Army(白军) and so on. On the other hand, a number of Chinese phrases comprising “白” do not denote color b
29、ut to compose new words. Such as, 白班 (day shift), 白铁 (galvanized iron,) 白菜 (Chinese cabbage), 白痴 (idiot), 白卷 (blank examination paper), 白蚁 (termite),白面 (wheat flour),白熊(polar bear),白日做梦(day dream),白血病(leukemia), 白木耳 (tremella), 白兰地 (brandy), 白内障 (cataract), 白士(medical worker), 白面书生 (pale-faced schol
30、ar), 白眼(dirty look or supercilious look), 白头偕老 (remain a devoted couple to the end of their lives),白字 (wrongly written or mispronounced character) etc. In English, “white” does not always equal Chinese word “白”. Take “a white lie” for example, here a white lie is not “白色的谎言” in Chinese but “善意的谎言”.
31、Another example “white night” does not mean “白色的夜晚” but “不眠之夜”. Similar phrases are, “white rage”(震怒), white hoped(被寄予厚望的人或事物), white-headed boy(宠儿) etc.In Chinese, “白” is often used to show the meaning of “徒劳，徒然”（in vain）or “无代价”（without cost）. On such occasions, “白” is no longer a color word but a
32、n adverb. We should pay attention to these translations, such as 白忙，白费 (all in vain, a waste of time and energy); 白搭 (no use, no good); 白送 (to give away free of charge, for nothing); 白费心机 (bother ones head for nothing); 白手起家 (to mild up from nothing, start from starch) etc. Besides, “白” in Chinese h
33、as the meaning of plain, unadulterated, e.g. 白开水(plain boiled water), 白饭 (rice with nothing to go with it), 白肉 (plain boiled pork) etc. In one word, “白” does not always mean “white”, thus we should take notice of it in our translation practice.2. 3 “Black” in Chinese and English Black is a warm and
34、dark color, and it indicates gloom in both the western and eastern countries. So black usually has a negative effect and is connected with something evil. Famous social activist Martin Luther King referred that 60 out of 120 words about black in Rogets the saurus are disgusting. He said angrily: “ev
35、en semantics are trying to make black as ugly and degrading. In ballet dancing drama Swan Lake, white swan give us a pure and kind imagine, however, black give us a hopeless depressing and sorrow imagination. Though most of the meaning of black in both Chinese and English are the same, but there are
36、 still differences between them. Black is a sad color in both Chinese and English, which stands for sadness. People in England and the USA always dress in black when they attend a funeral to show their mourning to the dead, which is the same as in China. But beside that, in other situation, European
37、 societies consider black represents serious and solemn. So there is no surprise that black suit and black dress is the most favorite conventional garment of the westerners. And on grand occasions, people such as high officials, famous businessmen and authoritative scholars are more likely to dress
38、in black. The members of the symphony generally dress in black, too. And the judges in the court in Western countries wear black garment to show the authority of the law.And in English “black Friday” refers to the Friday that Jesus suffered from tribulation before the Easter day. It is a depressed d
39、ay. And “black tiding” means doom or something unsatisfied. And English-speaking countries consider black to be misfortune and disaster. Such as “black box”, there is a black box in each plane. It is used to take a note of all the information of the flying. And if there is an air disaster, it could
40、be used as a proof to analyze the causes of the disaster. So “black box” has the close relationship with evil and disaster, and it is called “黑匣子”in China, which can be literately interpreted. And there are many other terms with black in both China and the west that could be literately translated be
41、cause they convey the same meaning. Black has something to do with anger, furtiveness and something unlawful. Such as “black in the face”-“脸色铁青”and “to look black at somebody”-“怒目而视”, the two terms in both the west and east means “to be very angry”, and “to give somebody a dirty look”. And the words
42、 “black market”-“黑市”means a market that is unlawful. There are quite a few such words in English that convey the same meaning as those of Chinese. Such as “blacklist”-“黑名单”. In both the west and the east, black sometimes reminds people of something abhorrent and connects with stubborn, cheat and evi
43、l. Such as “black hearted”, which can be translated as “黑心肠”in Chinese. And both in the two languages, it means people who not only has an evil mind, but also often does harm to others. And the word black in “black sheep”-“害群之马”, “a black deed”-“恶劣透顶”and “a black lie”-“不可饶恕的谎言” all contain the simil
44、ar meaning as in the phrase “black hearted”. And “blackleg” refers to those people who cheat in the racecourse. However, we also find several other examples to show the difference of black between Chinese and English. In western countries, black can also express profit. For example, “black figure”,
45、“in the black” are all can be translated as “盈利”. And “black figure nation” refers to “国际收支顺差国家”. 2. 4 “Red” in Chinese and English Humans cognitions to red have common grounds. Ewald.Hering, a physiologist divided all the color into 6 basic colors: red, green, yellow, and blue, purple, black and wh
46、ite. In China, from ancient times, we have 7 basic color, which conclude the above 6 basic color and orange. In Russia, there 12 basic colors, red is the most important color. In 1969, American linguistic Berlin and Key made a deep research on color words in nearly 100 languages in the world, which
47、showed that red was still the most basic color. From that, we can easily found that, red is not only the main color of a nation, but the main body of the color word of our life. According to Berlin and keys theory of basic color, red is a special noun. Because of in primitive natural life of every n
48、ation, red stands for a very important level, and is easier to refine. British people believe that red is the personate of faith and broad. The color of clothe dressed in church is called holy red. And red carpet means welcome and respect. People like red to pursuit a warm feeling. The origin of red
49、 is blood and fire. From etymology, it also indicated to the color of life. Based on the inspiration and virile and power, Red owns a series symbolization such as life, birth, love, warmth, inspired, passion, and celebration. As for red, red in Chinese and red in English is a generalized word, and a name for different kinds of red. For example
