浅析英汉颜色词的异同.doc

ABSTRACTOwing to the differences in cognition and cultural backgrounds, the associative, symbolic and implied meaning of the English and the Chinese color terms are different. This article makes a comparison of the similarities and differences between the English color terms and the Chinese ones, with the purpose to raise the awareness of the color terms and provide a better understanding of the Chinese and different cognitive ways and cultural background, which will play an important role in the cross-culture communication.Key word: color terms; cognition; culture; similarities and differences中文摘要 颜色与人们的生活息息相关，对颜色的认知也是人类的基本认知之一，人类的色彩感知用自然语言表达和固定下来就是自然语言中的各类颜色词语。颜色词作为词汇中的重要组成部分，在人们的生活和交际中起着重要的作用。受语言共同属性的影响，汉英颜色词在产生发展及功能用法上都表现出了强大的共性。但是汉英两种语言毕竟孕育于不同的文化，在发展的过程中又受到各种背景的影响，其差异也是不言而喻的。本文将分析和归纳汉英颜色词的相通性和差异性，以及造成这种相通性与差异性的原因，从而让人更好地理解汉英颜色词背后所蕴含的汉英两民族不同的观察视角和文化历史背景，对汉英跨文化交流起着巨大的帮助作用。 关键词：颜色词; 认知; 文化; 相通性和差异性Chapter One Introduction According to cognitive linguistics, the development of human cognition and language is closely related with the perception and experience of the things in the outside world with our organs. As one of the most basic cognition of the objective world, color perception is closely linked with human life and experience. The research of the Chinese and English color terms can effectively help improve the understanding of different cognitive habits and cultures. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the similarities and differences between the Chinese and English color terms as to effectively understand and bridge the gap and bring about smooth communication.This article is divided into four parts.Part I (Chapter Two) introduces the findings of the domestic and foreign researches concerning the origin and development of color terms, the gap and orientation of the study.Part II (Chapter Three) compares the English color terms with the Chinese ones.Part III (Chapter Four ) Explores the differences between Chinese and English color terms.Part IV (Chapter Five ) concludes the result of the study.Chapter Two Literature Review2.1 Studies by Western scholarsThe study of human perception of color started a long time ago. In Western countries, the study of the link with the outside world and color perception started in the ancient Greece. In the beginning of the 20th century, Western scholars began to study the difference and particularities in naming color terms in different languages. (Yao Xiaoping，1988)The British scholar W. Gladstone made the first discussion of color words. He compared the color terms in two ancient Greek epic works “The Iliad” and “Odyssey” and found that in the Homeric Age, there were just a minimum of color terms, nevertheless, their meaning were often unclear nonsense. He though this was because the ability of ancient Greeks organ defective color vision were weaker than the modernists. His idea was proved by the German ophthalmologist H. Mangus by the research of the cross-cultural color perception. Since then many anthropologists and linguists begun to investigate the color words in different languages. They came to the conclusion such a theory: Objective material and human perception of color spectrum is a continuous entity, for all nationalities are the same, but different countries, different cultural backgrounds, and different languages, lead to the differences in the division of color spectrum and named. (Yao Xiaoping，1988) In the Mid-20th century, the American Anthropologists B. Berlin and linguists P. Kay cooperated to study the human color perception and color word expression. They made a far-reaching work. They work though the investigation and test reviews of the literature of the worlds 98 kinds of basic color terms of language systems. In 1969, they worked out the Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution which can be concluded into following two basic point:There are 11 basic color terms in all languages constitute a system of universal basic color words.These 11color terms have a strict order in the evolution of different language. The sequence can be summarized as the following seven stages: The meaning of the figure is , if there is a color term on the right side of the symbol “” in one language, there must be a color term on the left of the symbol “”, for example , if a language has a color term “red”, it must also has the color terms “white” and “black”.（B. Berlin & P. Kay ,1969） The discovery made by two scholars has made a good support to the linguistic universal.In 1978, P. Kay worked together with McDaniel to make some additions and adjustments form the view point of humans physiological structure and the fuzzy theory. They pointed out that color terms system in a fuzzy set, which tie up with the humans psychological perception and physiological structure. And the nervous physiology of human bodys determined that there are six basic color categories. They are red, yellow, green, blue, black, and white. Others are based on the composites out of these. But there is one majority lacking in B. Berlin, P. Kay and McDaniels research. They did not point out what is the meaning of the color terms and what determine the meaning of the color terms. They just simply equated the meanings to the physiological structures but ignored the language features of the color terms and the effect by the social and cultural factors.In 1990, the Polish linguist Anna Wierzbicka relocates the order of the basic color terms from the cognitive linguist. She disagrees with P. Kay and McDaniel in “the nervous physiology of human bodys determining the color categories”. She believes that color perception is all the same for the mankind, but the concepts of color are different for the differences of culture, however, this difference can not be overweight. Wierzbieka pointed out:“ In order to obtain the knowledge and concepts of colors, human beings had to put their attention to the outer world which they had shared. They fixed the color concepts into some kind of universality of human experience, like the day, the night the fire, the sun, the sky and the earth. She reorganized the semantic structure from the view point of the cognitive linguists, and divided the structure into following four kinds: 1. an ostensive component; 2. a “color” component; 3.a negative component; 4. a prototypical component or components. (A. Wierzbicka, 1990: 99-150) The research made by A. Wierzbicka let us notice that the color terms system are different in different language. Only can be probed though the researching in the single terms semantic structure. 2.2 Studies by Chinese Scholars Color terms research also attracted the attention of Chinese scholars. As early as 40s in the 20th century, the Chinese scholar Hu Pu-An had once analyzed the development of the five ancient color “白， 赤，黄，黑，青”. According to his research, he made the conclusion that that the development was based on a certain order, first began from the cognitive subject. The creation of the ancient color terms were closely linked with human beings capacity for differentiating colors and life experience. And obeying the rule of “近取诸身，远取诸物”. His research shows us the generation and development of the ancient color terms. (Hu Pu-an, 1941) And the Chinese scholars had spent a great effort in comparing the Chinese and English color terms. Most research had listed several differences of the Chinese- English color terms. Through the study of the color terms by Chinese and Western scholars we can find, there is a huge similarity in the origin and development of the Chinese and the English color terms. This is due to the influence of the universe of linguistic. But little study is made on the Chinese- English color terms, while the Chinese scholars focus more on the difference of colors. Therefore, this article intends to summarize the similarities and differences between the Chinese and English color terms and their reasons.Chapter Three a Comparison of the English Color Terms with the Chinese Ones3.1 Similarities of the cognitive objects - the same physical basisIn Western countries, the study of the link of the outside world with color perception was started is the ancient Greece, by the Western scholars. In order to obtain the knowledge and concepts of colors, human beings had to put their attention to the outer world which they had shared. （Yao Xiaoping，1988） They fixed the color concepts into some kind of universality of human experience, like the day, the night the fire, the sun, the sky and the earth. (A. Wierzbicka, 1990: 99-150) Meanwhile, in China, colors were linked with the nature elements in the ancient time. There are “five ancient color” in the ancient Chinese, they are “白、赤、黄、黑、青”.According to the Chinese Philologist Hu Pu-an, the creation of the ancient color terms were closely linked with human beings capacity for differentiating colors and life experience. Color is a kind of nature objective phenomenon. The objective things and their similarities in colors are the fundamentals color system. Based on this, we can find each color term and its corresponding objective thing in the dictionary, such as:白：像霜或雪的颜色White：The color of snow 黑：像煤或墨的颜色Black：Having the color of coal; dark 红：像鲜血的颜色。Red： The color of blood or fire 黄：像水仙，蛋黄或熟柠檬外皮的颜色Yellow：The color of the daffodil, egg yolk and the rind of ripened lemons蓝：像晴天天空或深海的颜色Blue：The color of the clear sky or of the deep sea on a fine day Through the definition listed above, we can see both in Chinese and English, each color term is linked with a specific thing. Nevertheless, both languages display high uniformity. Obviously, human beings cognition of colors is always linked with the objective world. And the common material world leads to the common cognition of colors, resulting in the original meaning and some implied meaning of each color term existing in some commonality. First, both in Chinese and English, color terms are often used to describe the characteristics of a certain thing. For instance, yellow skin, red rose, blue sky, black box and so on. This is the most common and most direct use of color terms. Second, to distinguish similar objects from each other. In Chinese, there is a great variety of beans, so people use the color of the surface to name each one. Such as, “红豆, 绿豆, 黑豆, 黄豆”, are all named in this way. Third, the metaphor of the color terms. Whether Chinese or English, color words have been given some implication. In the development of color terms, color terms were linked with human beings cognitive experience. Take the color term “Green” for instance. The original meaning of “green” is “The color of growing grass.” So the color “Green” is put together with the implication meaning of “newborn; immature; inexperienced”. Therefore, there is a term “green hand”.3.2 Similarities of the physiological responses to the cognitive subject the physiological basisIn the formation of color terms, human beings play a very important role. Because of the physiological basis of human consistency, color terms have a common meaning. People focus on the color that appear in the physiological phenomena, therefore, both in Chinese and English exist the color terms applied to the expressing of human beings physical, psychological phenomena. First of all, mankind itself has the color of the physical features, such as, skin color, hair color, and eye color. That it has become a distinction between different ethnic. For instance, both Chinese and English use color terms “white, black, yellow” to represent the different ethnic. Secondly, the color shown in human body or face usually becomes a mirror to humans health condition, therefore, both in Chinese and English, a “yellow face” or “yellow eye” both mean that people are hungry. “Blue in the face, purple bruise，purple scar” are all used to express the physical health condition. And from the physical terms, humans color will change with the growing age, so both Chinese and English use the color of hair to tell the age. Such as “ 青丝, 白发,” in Chinese, “ gray hair” in English both indicate the age. Fourthly, the performance of humans emotions. Although such as shy, anger, embarrassment, etc. are psychological phenomenon, they usually display through the face, especially through the color of the face. So both Chinese and English use various of color terms to express the emotion. For instance, in Chinese, “翻白眼” means to dissatisfy with somebody, the same case as “黑着脸”, and “面红耳赤” means very nervous. Meanwhile, in English, “white-knuckle” is the same as “面红耳赤” in Chinese, and “in a black mood” or “in a blue mood” means very depressed. 3.3 Similarities of the cognitive system the mental basis.From the cognitive view, metaphor and metonymy are common extensible way of mankinds thinking, and both of them play a very important role in commonplace in character of Chinese-English color terms.First of all, Chinese and English color words with metaphorical associations exist in the mechanism resulting color words, showing the same understanding of peoples thinking and experience of color vision and its significance in the color of words in common the formation of a decisive role. Take the color “white” for instance. In humans psychology, “white” has an abstract meaning of “flawless, no weakness, beautiful” for its expression of pure. So both Chinese and English use the color “white” to descried niceness. Such as “whit stars, white sky, white lie, white smile”. And then take another color, for example, the color “black”. People have common psychological impressions that black means “dark, sightless”. So, in one hand, people often perceive those impressions with the persons reputation, quality, etc. Linking the abstract field, established metaphor association, such as black mark, black spot on ones record, black heart, black art and so on. On the other hand, “black” in linked with illegal and sightless, such as “black market, black money” etc. “Gray” in the visual perception has the characteristics of fuzzy and poor transparency, giving rise to a kind of dull, depression, vague feeling. Such as “a gray day, gray and emotionless, gray area, the gray economy”. Secondly, due to the connection between the objective and psychological associations, color terms play an important role in metonymy. For instance, both Chinese and English use the color terms exemplifies people in particular occupations. Such as “white-collar, white-collar worker, white-collar family” and “blue-collar, blue-collar worker”, “white house”. Green plants play an important role in protection of the environment, so the color term “green” is linked with the “environment, environmental protection, health” for the words metonymic usage. Such as “green food, green revolution, green