A Contrast Study on Cultural Connotation of Chinese and English Colorful Words英语论文.doc

A Contrast Study on Cultural Connotation of Chinese and English Colorful Words 1. IntroductionColorful field is an important field for human to recognize the world. Besides their physical intrinsic qualities, various colors contain different cultural connotations. 2. Nations in the world have some common points on natural colorsFor the effect of generality and permeation between cultures, nations in the world often endow a certain color with a same symbolized meaning. Generally speaking, red is an ardent color, meaning joy and happiness; green is called “the color of life ”, showing the vitality of youth and vigorous life; white is clean and elegant, with the meaning of being pure ,simple, and natural; blue, however, is peaceful and quiet, containing a profound implication and often make people carefree and pleasant. Another example is the flag of international Olympics. There are six different colors on the flag. The bottom color is white, symbolizing the pure friendship and straightforward competition between nations. Five colorful rings link with each other in the center: the blue one stand for Europe, yellow for Asia, black, Africa, green, Oceania, and red for America（张安德，2002:86）#. Linking with each other symbolizes the unity of five continents. This flag has been used for more than 90 years; its profound implication has been understood and widely accepted by people of different countries. 3. A contrast study on cultural connotation between Chinese and English colorful words with examplesHowever, even though Chinese and English nations have a nearly same understanding to natural colors, their distinguished cultural backgrounds cause them to have different feeling about the associative meaning, implication, and allusion of colors. There are so many factors: custom, geographical condition, way of thinking, religious belief, and national psychology, as well as the difference of language expression（金惠康,2002:34）. People have different emotion to color, in commendation or derogatory sense. All these factors form different colorful connotation with their own characteristic. The following are some examples of different colorful connotation of Chinese and English. 3.1. Red vs.“红”and their cultural connotationsAccording to Chinese tradition, red is a joyous color, meaning joy and happiness. For thousands of years, in spring festival in china, every family would put up “antithetical couplet” ( 红春联 ) on both sides of the door. Children would ask “bonus” ( #红包 ) from their parents. At a traditional Chinese wedding, the bride would be all in red, and the matchmaker is called“红娘”in Chinese . Red is the most commendation color for Chinese people. It symbolizes love, joy and other auspicious things. There are a large number of examples in both written and spoken Chinese to show Chinese nations favor of red:“开门红”（get off to a good start）“满堂红”(success in every field)“红榜”(honor roll)“红喜”(wedding)“红红火火”(flourishing/prosperous)“红运#”(good luck)sometimes Chinese people use “red ”to show ones success, good luck or fame in his/her career:“走红”，“红歌星”，“红及一时”，“红得发紫”and “大红人”. In English, “popular” is used for equivalent. In western culture, some important and joyous days are called “red-letter days”, people would “roll out the red carpet” when meeting the president or some other VIP at the airport, showing their warm welcome. While in china, “to roll out the red carpet ”means two young are holding a wedding; they are ready to get married.In Chinese , people say “红眼病”to describe one who is jealous for others wealth ,great power, and success. That is to say ,“red ”can express peoples psychology of “being jealous”, however ,in English people often say “green eye” for the same meaning .“Red eye ”in English means some sort of cheap whiskey#（李瑞华,1996:146）. Red in Chinese may also mean violence, “脸红脖子粗”， “杀红了眼”， “怒得满脸通红”. The alarm has been painted red to give a warning. In English culture , red has the same association:“ red battle ” ,“ red activities”, “ red rules of tooth ”, “red alert” , and “red see” which implies extremely furious. Both in Chinese and English red is associated with obscene affairs and female. What the difference lies is Chinese language is more tactful. “红杏出墙#”implies the wife s adultery with other men. “Red lady” means “street girl” ,another example is “red-light district”(红灯区).Generally speaking, most words with red“红” in Chinese are commendations.“根正苗红”，“红军”，“一颗红心” and “赤胆忠心”are all the examples. Things in English are opposite. Red in English is often in derogatory sense. Red is a color that western people dislike. It means vulgarity, debility, and illness. The following are some examples:“Red necked”(粗俗的红脖子乡巴佬)A“ red moon”（入不敷出）#“ Get to the red ”（开始亏损）“Catch somebody red- handed”（当场捉住某人做坏事）“Red parties”（政治术语，在西方媒体中有贬义）Besides , “red flag ”(红旗)in English means danger, while in Chinese it means advancement. 3.2. Yellow vs.“黄”and their cultural connotationsBoth in Chinese and English, yellow has something to do with illness. “面黄肌瘦”#in Chinese is used to describe one who looks unhealthy. In English, “yellow blight” (枯黄病)，“yellow fever ”（一种传染病）has the same association. Yellow could suggest a warning in competition or traffic system, too. “Yellow card”(黄牌) and “double yellow lines” （双黄线）are examples. In traditional Chinese culture, yellow is the color only for the king. In ancient china no one else is allowed to use yellow cloth to make coat. “黄袍加身”is describing some one became the king. While in English , “raise him to the purple” expresses the same meaning. However, in western culture, the color associated with the king, the crown, nobility, and power is blue（Larry,1998:78）#. Blue is for the royal family. They have “blue blood”, they are called “blue-blooded families”, and “Blue Book” means the official document given by the royal government.Yellow in Chinese can show ones loyalty and durability of being steadfast. “黄花闺女”describes a pure and chaste woman. Blue in English implies this sense. “True blue ”is used to praise ones loyalty. In Chinese, “黄毛丫头”and “黄口小儿”are used to describe the ignorance of a young girl or boy. But in English ,“green” is used when one is lack of experience because he is still too young（王福祥,1994:289）. English people often say “green hand”( 新手) and “as green as the grass” （缺乏经验，肤浅），showing the point. Another implication of yellow in English “cowardice”, for# example, “yellow belly” (懦夫，胆小鬼)and “too yellow to stand up and fight”（太软弱，不敢起来反抗）.In recent Chinese culture, yellow has some lascivious sense. “黄色书刊”，“黄色电影”，“黄色笑话”，and “打黄扫非”are used in both official document and peoples daily life. The equivalent in English is blue, “blue film”, “blue joke”, and so on.  3.3. Green vs.“绿”and their cultural connotationsGreen is often associated with spring, nature, and vigorous youth. For instance, “green old age”(老当益壮) and “the green years”（#青春年华）。In Chinese, green may also imply female and obscene affair. “绿帽子”means wife betray the husband. And in ancient china, “red-light district” is called “青楼”（邓炎昌,1989:68）， “红花绿柳”，“红红翠翠，莺莺艳艳”often refers to those lascivious women. Whereas green in English has another implication. “Green eye ”is implying jealous.Nowadays, green stands for the thought of protecting environment:“green lung”(城市中的绿化地带)“green food”（绿色无公害食品）“greenhouse”（#温室）“green finger”（园艺技能）“Green Peace”（“绿色和平”环保组织）“Green Parties”（支持环保的政治团体） 3.4. White vs.“白”and their cultural connotations#To a certain extent, white has a similar meaning in Chinese and English. It means “purity”, “elegance”, and “innocence”. But there are differences in its implication. White is thought to be auspicious, kind, pure, and innocent in English. There are many “white words” for example:A white day “吉日，好日子”A white lie“善意的谎言”White Christmas“白色圣诞”，下雪，预示着吉利的圣诞节White men “一个诚实忠诚的人”White hair boy“宠儿”White light“公正的裁判”#In a word , most words with white“白”in English are commendations. At a western wedding, the bride is always in white .she looks holy, pure, and beautiful. White stands for the couples pure and noble love. In contrast, white in Chinese means different things:“不白之冤”（unrepressed injustice）“一穷二白”(poor and blank)“白费劲”(waste of energy)“遭白眼”(receive a dirty look)“白手起家”(to build up from nothing)Another typical difference is “白喜#”(funeral) in Chinese（胡文仲,1997:354）. At a Chinese funeral, the relatives of the person who had passed away would be in white: white hat, white coat, even white belt, which is called “披麻带孝”in Chinese . Others attending to the funeral would wear a little white flower for memorizing. This is totally opposite to the western culture.“小白脸”in Chinese is a derogatory address. It often describes a man who looks beautiful but incapable. However, “white face” in English is used to describe animal or building. 3.5. Black vs.“黑”and their cultural connotationsBlack in English often suggests a sad, unlucky, or depressed mood:“black mood”（情绪低落，忧伤）#“black day”（凶日） “black dog”（不开心 ）“a black look”（怒视）“a black letter day”（倒霉的日子）“go black in the face”（气得脸色发青） Black means illegal in both Chinese and English : “black money ”(黑钱#)means the money earned in some illegal way. “Black market”(黑市) is a underground market managed illegal. In Chinese, black implies reactionary and derogatory sense:“黑帮”(reactionary gangs)“黑幕”(inside story of a plot )“黑手”(evil backstage manipulator)“黑心肠”(black-hearted/evil mind)For this implication, there are many examples in English ,too： “black hand” (黑手党)#，“black sheep” (害群之马)，“black deed”（恶劣行径），“black mail” (勒索信)and so on.What more, black in English is solemn. Black suit (黑色套装)and black dress（黑色礼服）are the most favorable and traditional costume on a formal occasion in western nations. The justice at the court is in black, symbolizing the dignity of the law. 3.6. Other colors and more examples#In the world of colors, there are still so many significant and different connotations:Brown sugar 红糖Brown rice糙米Purple with anger脸色铁青 Black and blue青一块，紫一块 Black art巫术 Black swan稀罕的事Green table赌桌 Green wound还未愈合的伤口Green power金钱的力量#Bleed white榨尽血汗 A white night不眠之夜 White sale床上用品大减价 In the purple在皇室中In the pink非常健康的状况  4. A brief analysis on the cause of the differences between Chinese and English culture4.1. Different geographical conditions Language, as an organic part of a nations culture, its vocabulary is sure to be affected by the natural geographical condition（王振亚,1999:46）#. So do the color words. For example, English nation thinks blue to be the symbol of crown and nobility. However, Chinese chooses yellow. The favor for blue of English nation originates from their living condition. The sea is around the Great Kingdom, blue, the color of the sea, became the most adorable color of the nation. Blue is endowed with the implication of nobility（包惠南,2004:187）. Chinese nation has been living along the yellow river for thousands of years. Drinking in their mother river, cultivating on the yellow earth, yellow becomes the nations color. 4.2. Different historical background and religious beliefMost westerners believe in Christ. In the psychology of western nation, blue is the color of the heaven, where the goodness lives. This causes them to think blue as holy and noble color. In 55A.D, Caesar and his army invaded into British Isles and then dominated England for 500years. Roman brought their customs into England. Romans adorable color is purple. In the following years, the Queen lived in purple palace and gave birth to the prince and prince less. This is the origin of “ being born to the purple”(出生于帝王之家).In recent china, red is a revolutionary color. Hence the spring out of a large number of “red words” such as “红旗”, “红军”, “红星#”,and “红色根据地”. 5. ConclusionThere are more than 7 millions colors in the world. The colorful nature offers human beings a more interesting living place, otherwise a dull world. Due to different geographical location, culture and tradition, different nations have different feelings and ideas about colors although they may share some common points on colors.In my view, culture connotation of colorful words reflects to a certain extent the culture and psychology of a certain nation. Therefore, to have a contrast study on colorful words is necessary. In this way we may get a deep insight in a different culture so that we can express our thoughts more exactly and avoid any possible errors and misunderstandings in communication with people from other parts of the world.