英汉语颜色词对比Word格式文档下载.docx

英汉语颜色词对比Word格式文档下载.docx

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颜色词除了其表层意思外，还有丰富的内涵意义。

尤其在英汉颜色词中，它们的意义有时相似甚至相同，有时也存有差异。

所以，对不同文化中颜色词意义的研究就变得十分必要了。

本文通过对英汉颜色词的语义以及其使用的比较，阐明了英语颜色词的意义，用法，习惯表达与汉语颜色词所存有的差异。

如果不了解这些差异，会对语言学习造成一些障碍，所以了解并掌握这些对跨文化研究和交流有一定的实际意义。

关键词:

颜色词；

比较；

文化；

英语；

汉语

Introduction

English　and　Chinese　are　the　two　most　popular　languages　recently.　They　both　have　abundant　vocabularies.　Because　of　different　customs　and　cultures　these　vocabularies　have　different　meanings　in　English　and　Chinese.　Color　terms　are　the　best　evidences.　For　instance,　we　are　living　in　a　beautiful,　wonderful　and　colorful　world:

　there　is　the　blue　sky,　white　clouds,　red　flowers,　green　trees　and　so　on.　It　is　obvious　that　colors　have　close　relationship　with　our　life　and　play　a　very　important　part　in　our　life.　People’s　research　on　colors　has　never　been　stopped,　and　it　becomes　more　and　more　efficient.

The　range　of　English　and　Chinese　color　terms　has　common　concept.　However,　because　different　kinds　of　conditions　work　on　our　understanding,　we　need　to　know　the　different　usages　of　color　terms　between　English　and　Chinese.　Hence　comparison　and　contrast,　involved　in　this　paper,　they　are　the　basic　methods　that　we　always　use　to　compare　two　different　things,　especially　to　study　two　different　languages　and　cultures.　A　comparison　explains　how　things　are　similar,　and　a　contrast　tells　us　how　things　are　different.　Since　Chinese　and　English　are　the　very　typical　languages　in　the　world,　they　are　always　compared　with　each　other.　The　purpose　of　using　this　method　in　this　thesis　is　to　find　the　similarities　and　differences　in　their　applications　between　English　and　Chinese　color　terms.　This　paper　includes　three　parts:

　first,　the　author　will　give　a　brief　introduction　of　color　terms,　particularly　the　basic　color　terms;

　then　she　will　make　a　semantic　comparison　between　English　and　Chinese　basic　color　terms;

　finally　she　will　tell　the　inequality　of　these　color　terms　in　applications.

Comparison　of　English　and　Chinese　basic　color　terms　

Color　termsmakeupagroupofwordsbetweenEnglishandChinesewhichareparticularlyrichintheirsemanticmeanings.Itmeansthattheycanbeusedeitherliterallytorefertodifferentcolorsormetaphoricallytoconveytheirassociativemeanings.TheconceptualmeaningsconveyedbycolortermsinEnglishandChineseareroughlythesame,colortermsinChineseandtheirequivalentsinEnglishrefertoroughlythesamecolors.Butthesamecolortermsinthetwolanguagesmayhavedifferentculturalassociations.ItiscommonthatEnglishcolortermsmayhaveculturalassociationsthatarenottransparenttoChinese.Thefollowingparagraphsanalyzesemanticcomparisonofsixdifferentkindsofbasiccolorterms（red,black,white,blue,greenandyellow）tomakeabetterunderstandingoftheculturalassociationsofEnglishandChinesebasiccolorterms.

1.Red

ItistrueinbothEnglish-speakingcountriesandChinathatredisassociatedwithcelebrationsandhappyoccasions.Inwesternnations,redisthecoloroflife,aswellasthecoloroffireandblood.Thus,redcanbeusedtorepresentlife,birth,love,warmth,inspiredpassionandcelebration.Forexample,thefamousBritishpoet,RobertBurnsoncewroteapoem,ARed,RedRose（Li,2002：

39）.Itexpressedhisaffectiontohisloveintheimageofredrose.Thepoemisverypopularamongreadersallthetime.

1）Red-bloodedmeansapersonwhoisenergeticorstrong.Forexample,heisared-bloodedman.Inthefollowingexamples,afineoldlady,withafaceasredasarose,redreferstothehealthofbodyandface.

2）Ared-letterdaymeansadayparticularlylookedforwardtoortoberemembered,whensomethingremarkableandusuallypleasurablewillhappenorhappened.Forexample,itwasared-letterdayinthehistoryofChineseRevolution.Theexpressionisprobablybasedonchurchcustoms,whichcomesfromthefactthatincalendarsallholidaysareprintedinredandotherdaysareprintedinblack.

3）Topaintthetownredmeanstoenjoyalively,boisteroustimeinpublicplaces,oftenattractingthenoticeoforcausingsomedisturbancetoothers.Forexample,theseyoungmenoftenpaintedthetownred.

Ontheotherhand,redisassociatedwithsomethingunpleasant.Italsoconveysthemeaningofwar,lossofblood,thedestructivepoweroffireandhatred.Therefore,italsoactsasasignofwarning,danger,evendeath.Takethefollowingcases：

1）Intheredmeansatalossofprofit.Forexample,theyhadtosellthefirm,becauseforyearstheyhadoperateditinthered.Thisexpressioncomesfromthecolorofinkusedinkeepingaccounts,figuresindicatinglossareusuallywritteninred.Suchasredfigure,getoutofthered.

2）Redflagconveysthemeaningofasignfordanger,whichwarnspeoplenottogoon.Inthe1950s,akindoftubermustardfromSiChuanatthebeginningwasunsalableinforeigncountriesbecauseoftheredflagonthetrademark.Thenitbecamethebestsellerwhenchangedthetrademark（Meng&

Xu,2001：

97）,itwasmostlycausedbytheculturedifferences.

3）Red-handedisusedforthecriminalswhoarecaughtatthespot.Forexample,thethiefwascaughtred-handedinthestorewhenshewantedtoescape.Suchasaredbattleandhavearedhand.

Redisalsoassociatedwithcertainemotions,likeembarrassment,excitementofanger,forinstance,seeredmeanstogetextremelyangry.Thatwavingaredflagmeansdoingsomethingthatcouldcausequickangerinotherpeople.Forexample,themerementionofhishatedcousin’snamewaslikewavingaredflaginfrontofhim.

Redmeatissimplybeefandmutton,incontrastwithwhitemeatwhichreferstochickenandotherfowl.WhileredcapsrefertoportersinAmericanEnglishormilitarypolicemeninBritishEnglish.InEnglishredisassociatedwithrevolutionandcommunism.SnowwroteabooknamedRedStaroverChinawhichisaboutrevolution.

InChinarediscalled赤，朱，丹orsimply红.ThecolorredplaysaveryimportantroleinChinesepeople’slife.Itisthecolorofluckandcanrefertowarmth,lifeandimplyhappinessandgoodfortune.Itisusedespeciallyforfestivals;

itisalsothecolorofweddings.InChina双喜iseitherwritteninredorwrittenonapieceofredpapertosymbolizeaneventofspecialjoy,suchasawedding,abirthdaypartyoropeningabusiness.红喜事speciallyreferstoawedding.披红，挂红isatraditionalwaytocelebrateaneventofhappiness.Similarly开门红meansgetagoodstart,whichisthesymbolofgoodfortune.Probablybecauseoftheatmosphereintheweddings,thecolorgetsanotherassociativemeaning,whichconveysprosperityorpopularity,suchas大红大紫，红红火火，红运，红人or走红whichmeansagoodbusiness.Redalsosymbolizesembarrassment,shynessoranger,forinstance,面红耳赤，脸红脖子粗.ThecolorredisalwaysassociatedwithrevolutioninChina,anditisthecolorofChinesepeoplelike红心，丹心meansafaithfulheart，红军，红旗，红星，红色政权，红色娘子军areallrelatedtorevolution.Onemorethingthatneedsmentioningisthatredisalsocloselyrelatedtofemales,红颜，红裙，红妆，红袖whichrefertoprettywomenorfairladies.Redcanrefertohealth,like面色红润，红光满面.Redcanexpressenvy,like红眼病.

2Black

Thecolorblackisoftenassociatedwithnegativequalities.Blackisrelatedtodeath,terror,impurity,evil,whichistrueinbothEnglishandChinese.Forexample,blackheartmeansevil,withanegativemeaning.Blackmarketmeansanillegalmarket,likeblackmarketprice,blackmoneyandthingslikethat.FurtherexamplesinEnglishmayincludeablackspot,ablackday,ablacksheep,ablackcomedy,ablacklook,ablackmood,blackbook.

1）Blackspotisaplaceofareawhereunpleasantandunwantedthingsoccurregularlyandwithoutmuchchanceofimprovement.Forexample,itisablackspotyou’dbetternotgothere.

2）Ablackdayisaday,orsomelessspecificpointoftime,whensomethingsadordisastroushappens.Forexample,ifyoutakethesamehopelessattitude,itwillbeablackdayforyourcountry.

3）Ablacksheepreferstothatmember（ofafamilyorothergroups）whoisthoughttobeadisgracetoothermembers.Forinstance,poorTom,whoisalwaystheblacksheepofhisfamily,isalwaysindisgrace.

4）Ablackcomedyisaplayinwhichcomicelementsarecombinedwithmoretragicorabsurdlyevilones,withthelatteronthewholepredominating.Forexample,Isawablackcomedywithmyfriendsyesterday.

5）Ablacklookisthelookofstrongdislike,disapproval,etc.Forexample,Isawthewifegivingthehusbandablacklookwhenhebroughtoutthethirdbottleofliquor.

BlackinEnglishisalsoassociatedwithmelancholy,pessimism,sorrowandunluckiness.Blackballmeansavote,whichisagainstsomeoneorsomething,orarefusaltosomeone’stakingpartin.Blackartreferstomagicormonstrousskill.BlackDeathreferstoadeadlydiseaseinthefourteenthcentury,whileblacklegreferstoacheat.Ablackliemeansalie,whichisfullofevilintentions.Black-letterday,whichisoppositetored-letterday,meansanunluckyday.

Sincethe1960’swiththeriseofAmericanhumanrightsmovement,blackhastakentheplaceofNegro,whichmakestheblackpeoplefeelproud.Accordingly,thereappearedsomenewwordssuchasblackculture,blacknation,BlackEnglish,blackstudyandblackpower.

InsomeEnglishexpressions,blackhasneutralassociations.Inblackandwhite,itmeanssomethinginwritingorinprint,asblacklettersonthewhitepaper（especiallyasclarificationorconfirmationofsomethingsaidverbally）.Forexample,theletterfromyourfathersayingheagreestoyourcomingwithme,nowwehaveitinblackandwhite.Thephrasealsomeansabsolutelywrongorright,withoutrecognizinganymoresubtlevariations.Forexample,wealwaystaughtchildrentotellthetruthandneverte