a-study-on-color-words-in-chinese-and-english-cultures本科毕业论文.doc

A Study on Color Words in Chinese and EnglishCulturesName: Student code:Class: 2Telephone No.:E-mail: Supervisor: Date: April 9, 2013AcknowledgementI would like to show my deepest gratitude to my supervisor: Prof. ZhengqunQiang, a respectable, responsible and resourceful scholar, who has provided me with valuable guidance in every stage of the thesis. Without his enlightening instruction, impressive kindness and patience, I could not have completed my thesis. His keen and vigorous academic observation enlightens me not only in this thesis but also in my future study. Finally, I wish to extend my special thanks to the teachers who gave me valuable advice in the opening report debate. ContentsAbstract .1Chinese Abstract.21. Introduction. 32. Values and Meanings of Studying Color Words in Chinese and English cultures.33. The connotation of white.43.1 Chinese connotation of white. 43.2 English connotation of white. 43.3 Differences between Chinese white and English white.54. The connotation of black.54.1 Chinese connotation of black.54.2 English connotation of black64.3 Differences between Chinese black and English black65. The connotation of red.75.1 Chinese connotation of red.75.2 English connotation of red75.3 Differences between Chinese red and English red.86. The connotation of green86.1 Chinese connotation of green.86.2 English connotation of green96.3 Differences between Chinese green and English green97. The connotation of blue107.1 Chinese connotation of blue.107.2 English connotation of blue107.3 Differences between Chinese blue and English blue.118. Conclusion.12Bibliography.13A Study on Color Words in Chinese and EnglishCulturesAbstract: There are many different kinds of colors in our life, which connect closely with people. In human languages, color words are used frequently, and they are endowed with different emotion and cultural connotation. Like what Juri Lotman said:”Every language is rooted in some specific culture, and every culture is centered in the structure of a natural language.” So, when we talk about color words, we should not only talk about their own basic meanings, but also pay attention to their deep cultural symbolic meanings. Its because different languages have their different characters of symbolic meanings. In addition, because of the transition and extension of their meanings, some of the color words have become taboos. Thus, people in different cultures will have different feelings and expressions. In this thesis, the author will compare and analyze the different understandings of symbolic meanings of color words in both Chinese and English cultures.Key words: color words; cultural connotation; Chinese; English 中西文化颜色词汇的研究摘要：我们生活中有很多与我们息息相关不同的颜色词汇。在人类语言中，颜色词汇被广泛使用，并且被赋予了不同的情感和文化意义。正如朱瑞.罗特曼所说：“没有一种语言不是植根于某种具体的文化中的，也没有一种文化不是以某种自然语言的结构为中心的。”因此，我们在研究颜色词汇时，不应该只注重其本质含义，而且也要注重其深广的象征意义。因为它们的象征意义在不同的语言环境下有不同的特点。此外，由于其含义的延伸以及转移,有的颜色词汇已经变成禁忌语。这样一来，不同文化的人们对颜色词的理解和表达就会大相径庭。本论文中作者将针对中英方文化中人们对颜色词的不同象征意义产生不同的理解进行对比和分析。关键字：颜色词汇; 文化内涵;中国; 英语1.Introduction Color words can be used to describe different things in any language. According to the statistics, there are more than seven million colors can be recognized in nature. However, color names are very limited language, only some of them can be expressed in single-morpheme word. The number of color words is expressed by adding modifier. The symbolic meanings of color words have different features in different cultures because of the different history, background, psychology, and geography. From the scientific definition of color: Color is a visual phenomenon by reflecting a subject or through a certain light wave. This definition is easy to be accepted by westerners, because of its short feudalism and fast growing education and science. Westerners attach more importance to science, rationalism, and education, also they treat objective world with realistic attitude. So, from the perspectives of westerners, meanings of color words are more direct, usually, they define some abstract cultural meaning with the specific color words of objective things, so , it is easy to retrospect the semantic and logical theoretical basis. However, the definition of color words is blurry in Chinese feudal society. 2.Values and Meanings of Studying Color Words in Chinese and English CulturesIn human languages, color words reveal their own charms, which are well welcomed by some linguists. Because of the different location, natural phenomenon, historical background, valueChinese color words are also different from the western color words. From the scientific definition of color: Color is a visual phenomenon by reflecting a subject or through a certain light wave. This definition is easy to accept by westerners, because of its short feudalism and fast growing education and science. Westerners attach more importance on science, rationalism, and education, also they treat objective world with realistic attitude. So, from the perspectives of westerners, meanings of color words are more direct, usually, they define some abstract cultural meaning with the specific color words of objective things, so , it is easy to retrospect the semantic and logical theoretical basis. From the authors points of views, the time when people communicate with foreigners, people need to understand some basic knowledge of cross-cultural communication, and color words , the author think, is a basic point when communicating with foreigners, and the reason that the author write the paper is to draw readers attention to color words and avoid cultural shock. 3. The connotation of white3.1 Chinese connotation of whiteIn traditional Chinese culture, white is contrary to red, which is a basic taboo word. White symbolizes peoples discard and hate both materially and spiritually. White means drain, lifeless, death, and misfortune to people. For example, since the ancient times, when peoples relative died, the family have to wear the white mourning dress, then they set the white mourning hall for the dead, and when they hold a funeral procession, the family also have to hold white banners. People in the ancient times also regard white tiger as demon, so people call the woman who brings bad luck to man as “White Tiger Star”(白虎星). However, the connotation of white is influenced by political function during its developing process. It means rot, reactionary, and fall behind. For example, white road symbolizes failure, and foolish: and in a war, the loser will hold a “white flag”（举白旗）, which means “defeated and surrender.” The white in China also has the commendatory meaning. White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness.3.2 English connotation of white In english culture, peoples connotation of white is mainly about its color. They think white symbolizes elegance and purity, thus, westerners adore white very much. They describe a kind and pure person ”a white soul”, and westerners peel like to call their wedding “white wedding” since Victoria age, because at that time Victoria wore a beautiful white wedding dress married her sweetheart, then the white wedding dress was famous around the world, since now, it is very popular for it symbolizes purity and fidelity. Before Victoria Age, the brides wedding dress didnt pay much attention to its color. At Rome age, the reason of the bride wore the white wedding dress was that it was a symbol a celebration and it emphasized loyalty. Then from 1850-1900, white was a symbol of wealth. On the other hand, white symbolizes honest and upright, they have some expressions like “a white spirit” （纯洁的心灵）“white man” “white hands” （公正廉洁）and so on to praise someone. According Ralph Waldo Emersons famous saying“ The gray past ,the white future”（灰色的过去，充满希望的未来）, it is obvious that westerners think that white is the color full of future and happiness. For example, “white night”（不眠之夜） means insomnia, ”white lie” （善意的谎言）means that it is a lie of goodwill that nobody is hurt both materially and mentally. “a white day ” （吉日）means a lucky day. In a very famous fairy tale Snow white, the princess is called Snow White, she is the symbol of innocence beauty and smart. So in English culture, white often stands for the hope, peace, happiness and light, but it also has the derogatory connotation. Such as: white feather, which means the frightened and timid, this meaning is dated back to the “cock fight” game in ancient times. Because the Westerners think that the cock with white feathers at its tail is not brave and timid, afterwards, this meaning is used widely and accepted widely. Such as: “white flag” is the symbol of failure or surrender; “white trash” is used to despise the poor white people. All of these examples are the derogatory connotations of white in Western culture. It is clear that the westerners regard white as their favorite color. 3.3Differences between Chinese white and English whiteObviously, white, as a symbol of sanctity in western Christianity, reflects the westerners different religious complex, such as: the white wedding dress, the formation of white lily and so on. While in Chinese culture, it doesnt have those religious symbols, let alone some fantasy and derivative meanings. Although white has the same meaning of purity and innocence in both cultures, in western culture, It doesnt have the meaning of anti-government, which on this point, many westerners feel confused. So the connotation of white in both cultures is quite different. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. It also stands for the bright future and hope, which has almost the same meaning as English white at this point.4. The connotation of black4.1 Chinese connotation of blackIn traditional Chinese culture, black stands for justice and honesty, in the traditional Chinese Beijing opera, the honest man and good man always have black faces showing justice, just like a famous legendary Chinese officer BaoZheng（包拯）, whose face is black and he always concerns about the common people with his justice and upright personality. And the black color is the Emperors unique color of the clothes, the common people are not allowed to wear the black clothes. Black also means the evil omen, gloom, disgrace, misfortune, and extreme anger etc. in traditional Chinese culture. In Chinese funeral people usually wear a black armband to mourn the dead. Since the ancient times, people speak of the dangerous situation, cruel rule as “black cloud”（乌云） “black night”（黑夜）, in Chinese ,the white and black all symbolizes anti-revolution. In the book The Records of The Historian（史记）, the black color is connected with the person of the lowest social status or the foolish people.4.2 English connotation of blackIn English culture, black is regarded as an obedient color. In the Greek legend, black means death, so black is thought as a color that peoples cloth should be in the funeral. And westerners usually wear black cloth when attending the funeral. And black also symbolizes solemn, and dignity. Black suit and black dress are their favorite in a formal occasion, so the rich people, high officials and noble lords like to wear the black cloth. In addition, black is also a sign of darkness, devil and misfortune. In the Bible, bad people and riffraff are called “black sheep”（黑羊）. In the classic ballet swan lake, black swan stands for evil, hatred or enmity, while white swan stands for kindness love and purity. In the speech, the usage of black always makes people feel terrible, for example: black deeds (邪恶的行为), black death (黑死病), black flag (海盗旗， 死刑旗), black art (妖术), black shirt (纳粹黑衫队员), blackmail (敲诈勒索), and black people (usually makes people think about the racial discrimination美国黑人) etc. In English cultures, Black often has a close relation with the Christianity, Friday is the day that Jesus died, so according to this cultural background, westerners use Black Friday to symbolize great mystery, some examples like: a black letter day(凶日，倒霉的日子)， Black Tuesday（黑色星期二，1987年10月19日华尔街股市崩溃），the black news（噩耗）etc. All of those expressions are related to death, misfortune, and evil in English culture. 4.3 Differences between Chinese black and English blackThrough comparison, we can tell that in the Chinese culture, it only means the serious mystical feeling, which is a tone of grave and seriousness, but the symbolic significance appears more complex under the English cultures influence. On one hand, it symbolizes seriousness, on the other hand it means darkness and evil, it also expresses the crime. On this point, English black is different from Chinese black. The black in English culture is a basic taboo color. It means the death, the ill omen, and the disaster. And westerners always attach black with something bad, and Chinese tend to attach black as something fair. Although black has the same derogatory meaning in both cultures, they are still different in situations and translation. For example: In Chinese, black means anti-revolution or anti-government, so some words like “黑帮”, we should say “reactionary” rather than “black gang”, because it doesnt mean anti-revolution in English, some examples like “black sheep” “black lie” etc. are different in Chinese and English cultures, so people should pay attention to the differences in cross-cultural communications. 5. The connotation of red 5.1 Chinese connotation of redIn traditional Chinese culture, red symbolizes auspicious lucky and happy. In some important festivals like: wedding, or birthday etc .Chinese like using something red to add the happy atmosphere. In a wedding, everything is based on red, like the red double happiness, red candles, red curtain, the red cover side