英汉语颜色词对比Word格式文档下载.docx

1、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 IntroductionEnglishandChinesearethetwomostpopularlanguagesrecently.Theybothhaveabundantvocabular

2、ies.BecauseofdifferentcustomsandculturesthesevocabularieshavedifferentmeaningsinEnglishandChinese.Colortermsarethebestevidences.Forinstance,wearelivinginabeautiful,wonderfulandcolorfulworld:thereisthebluesky,whiteclouds,redflowers,greentreesandsoon.Itisobviousthatcolorshavecloserelationshipwithourli

3、feandplayaveryimportantpartinourlife.Peoplesresearchoncolorshasneverbeenstopped,anditbecomesmoreandmoreefficient.TherangeofEnglishandChinesecolortermshascommonconcept.However,becausedifferentkindsofconditionsworkonourunderstanding,weneedtoknowthedifferentusagesofcolortermsbetweenEnglishandChinese.He

4、ncecomparisonandcontrast,involvedinthispaper,theyarethebasicmethodsthatwealwaysusetocomparetwodifferentthings,especiallytostudytwodifferentlanguagesandcultures.Acomparisonexplainshowthingsaresimilar,andacontrasttellsushowthingsaredifferent.SinceChineseandEnglisharetheverytypicallanguagesintheworld,t

5、heyarealwayscomparedwitheachother.ThepurposeofusingthismethodinthisthesisistofindthesimilaritiesanddifferencesintheirapplicationsbetweenEnglishandChinesecolorterms.Thispaperincludesthreeparts:first,theauthorwillgiveabriefintroductionofcolorterms,particularlythebasiccolorterms;thenshewillmakeasemanti

6、ccomparisonbetweenEnglishandChinesebasiccolorterms;finallyshewilltelltheinequalityofthesecolortermsinapplications.ComparisonofEnglishandChinesebasiccolortermsColorterms make up a group of words between English and Chinese which are particularly rich in their semantic meanings. It means that they can

7、 be used either literally to refer to different colors or metaphorically to convey their associative meanings. The conceptual meanings conveyed by color terms in English and Chinese are roughly the same, color terms in Chinese and their equivalents in English refer to roughly the same colors. But th

8、e same color terms in the two languages may have different cultural associations. It is common that English color terms may have cultural associations that are not transparent to Chinese. The following paragraphs analyze semantic comparison of six different kinds of basic color terms （red, black, wh

9、ite, blue, green and yellow） to make a better understanding of the cultural associations of English and Chinese basic color terms.1. Red It is true in both English-speaking countries and China that red is associated with celebrations and happy occasions. In western nations, red is the color of life,

10、 as well as the color of fire and blood. Thus, red can be used to represent life, birth, love, warmth, inspired passion and celebration. For example, the famous British poet, Robert Burns once wrote a poem, A Red, Red Rose （Li, 2002： 39）. It expressed his affection to his love in the image of red ro

11、se. The poem is very popular among readers all the time. 1）Red-blooded means a person who is energetic or strong. For example, he is a red-blooded man. In the following examples, a fine old lady, with a face as red as a rose, red refers to the health of body and face.2）A red-letter day means a day p

12、articularly looked forward to or to be remembered, when something remarkable and usually pleasurable will happen or happened. For example, it was a red-letter day in the history of Chinese Revolution. The expression is probably based on church customs, which comes from the fact that in calendars all

13、 holidays are printed in red and other days are printed in black.3） To paint the town red means to enjoy a lively, boisterous time in public places, often attracting the notice of or causing some disturbance to others. For example, these young men often painted the town red.On the other hand, red is

14、 associated with something unpleasant. It also conveys the meaning of war, loss of blood, the destructive power of fire and hatred. Therefore, it also acts as a sign of warning, danger, even death. Take the following cases：1） In the red means at a loss of profit. For example, they had to sell the fi

15、rm, because for years they had operated it in the red. This expression comes from the color of ink used in keeping accounts, figures indicating loss are usually written in red. Such as red figure, get out of the red. 2） Red flag conveys the meaning of a sign for danger, which warns people not to go

16、on. In the 1950s, a kind of tuber mustard from Si Chuan at the beginning was unsalable in foreign countries because of the red flag on the trademark. Then it became the bestseller when changed the trademark （Meng & Xu, 2001： 97）, it was mostly caused by the culture differences.3） Red-handed is used

17、for the criminals who are caught at the spot. For example, the thief was caught red-handed in the store when she wanted to escape. Such as a red battle and have a red hand.Red is also associated with certain emotions, like embarrassment, excitement of anger, for instance, see red means to get extrem

18、ely angry. That waving a red flag means doing something that could cause quick anger in other people. For example, the mere mention of his hated cousins name was like waving a red flag in front of him.Red meat is simply beef and mutton, in contrast with white meat which refers to chicken and other f

19、owl. While red caps refer to porters in American English or military policemen in British English. In English red is associated with revolution and communism. Snow wrote a book named Red Star over China which is about revolution.In China red is called赤，朱，丹 or simply 红. The color red plays a very imp

20、ortant role in Chinese peoples life. It is the color of luck and can refer to warmth, life and imply happiness and good fortune. It is used especially for festivals; it is also the color of weddings. In China 双喜 is either written in red or written on a piece of red paper to symbolize an event of spe

21、cial joy, such as a wedding , a birthday party or opening a business. 红喜事 specially refers to a wedding. 披红，挂红 is a traditional way to celebrate an event of happiness. Similarly 开门红means get a good start, which is the symbol of good fortune. Probably because of the atmosphere in the weddings, the co

22、lor gets another associative meaning ,which conveys prosperity or popularity, such as 大红大紫，红红火火，红运，红人or 走红 which means a good business. Red also symbolizes embarrassment, shyness or anger, for instance, 面红耳赤，脸红脖子粗.The color red is always associated with revolution in China, and it is the color of Ch

23、inese people like 红心，丹心 means a faithful heart，红军，红旗，红星，红色政权，红色娘子军 are all related to revolution. One more thing that needs mentioning is that red is also closely related to females, 红颜，红裙，红妆，红袖 which refer to pretty women or fair ladies. Red can refer to health, like 面色红润，红光满面. Red can express envy

24、, like 红眼病.2 Black The color black is often associated with negative qualities. Black is related to death, terror, impurity, evil, which is true in both English and Chinese. For example, black heart means evil, with a negative meaning. Black market means an illegal market, like black market price, b

25、lack money and things like that. Further examples in English may include a black spot, a black day, a black sheep, a black comedy, a black look, a black mood, black book. 1） Black spot is a place of area where unpleasant and unwanted things occur regularly and without much chance of improvement. For

26、 example, it is a black spot youd better not go there.2） A black day is a day, or some less specific point of time, when something sad or disastrous happens. For example, if you take the same hopeless attitude, it will be a black day for your country.3） A black sheep refers to that member （of a fami

27、ly or other groups） who is thought to be a disgrace to other members. For instance, poor Tom, who is always the black sheep of his family, is always in disgrace.4） A black comedy is a play in which comic elements are combined with more tragic or absurdly evil ones, with the latter on the whole predo

28、minating. For example, I saw a black comedy with my friends yesterday.5） A black look is the look of strong dislike, disapproval, etc. For example, I saw the wife giving the husband a black look when he brought out the third bottle of liquor. Black in English is also associated with melancholy, pess

29、imism, sorrow and unluckiness. Black ball means a vote, which is against someone or something, or a refusal to someones taking part in. Black art refers to magic or monstrous skill. Black Death refers to a deadly disease in the fourteenth century, while black leg refers to a cheat. A black lie means

30、 a lie, which is full of evil intentions. Black-letter day, which is opposite to red-letter day, means an unlucky day.Since the 1960s with the rise of American human rights movement, black has taken the place of Negro, which makes the black people feel proud. Accordingly, there appeared some new wor

31、ds such as black culture, black nation, Black English, black study and black power.In some English expressions, black has neutral associations. In black and white, it means something in writing or in print, as black letters on the white paper （especially as clarification or confirmation of something

32、 said verbally）. For example, the letter from your father saying he agrees to your coming with me, now we have it in black and white. The phrase also means absolutely wrong or right, without recognizing any more subtle variations. For example, we always taught children to tell the truth and never te