The-Cultural-Differences-of-Color-Words-in-Chinese

TheCulturalDifferencesofColorWordsinChineseandEnglishAbstractThisarticleaimstoprobeintoandanalyzetheculturalfactorsforthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishcolorwords.Therearemanydifferencesintheuseofcolorsandcolorwordsaswellasintheunderstandingandmasteringthesamecolorforreasonsofdifferentnaturalenvironmentsandhistoricalbackgrounds,politicalbackgroundsandsoon；Finally,itendsupwithaconclusionthatthecolorsarecloselyconnectedtohumanlifeandhavenotonlyphysicalnaturesbutalsorichculturalconnotations.Keywords:colorwords,Chinese,English,culturaldifferencesChapter1.IntroductionColorwordsandexpressionsarenotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoaculturalphenomenon.Colorwordshasimplyandassociativemeanings.Butpeopleofdifferentnationshavedifferentfeelingsaboutthesamecolor.Fromthescientificdefinition,colorisavisualphenomenonlaunched,reflectedorcausedthroughcertainlightwavebytheobject;itisonekindofvisualessentialfeaturesofhumaneye[3].Whileonthebasiccolorwords,thereisnotsomuchdifferenceinEnglishandinChinese,inChinese,thereare赤(chi)、橙(cheng)、黄(huang)、绿(lv)、青(qing)、蓝(lan)、紫(zi)，andinEnglishtherearered,yellow,green,blueandpurple,blackandwhite,colorwordsineachnation’slanguagedifferfromoneantherintheworld.Chapter2.TheDifferencesbetweenEnglish-ChineseColorWordsEnglishandChinesereflectdifferentcultures．Bothlanguagesexpresstheirowncolorconceptsintheirownwaysaccordingtotheirconventionalhabits．Sometimesthecolorwordisdifferentfromthecolorofthethingtheydescribe．ThemaincolorsofEnglishandChinesearesameorsimilar，butsomecolorwordsinonelanguagecanrefertomoreonecolorinotherlanguageSotheEnglishandChinesecolorwordsarenotalwayscorrespondingword.Theredbasicadvocatingcolorofourculture,itreflectstheChinesepeople'spursuitofthespiritualandmaterial。Itisasymbolofgoodluck,happy.However,Westerncultureintheredisaverystrongwordinaderogatorysense,fire,bloodoftheassociation,itisasymbolofcrueltyandbloodshed.Suchas,Theredrulesoftoothandclaw,aredwasteofhisyouthandaredbattle.InChineseculture,incontrasttothewhiteandred,isabasictaboowordreflectstheChinesepeopleinmaterialandspiritualabandonanddisgust.ButWesternersthinkelegantpurewhite,soitisadvocatingcolorinWesternculture.Itsymbolizesinnocence,Forexample,whitemenandawhitesoul.Whenwetalkaboutblack,InChineseculture,blackheavysenseofmystery,isasolemnandserioustones.BlackthebasictaboocolorinWesternculture,embodiesthespiritofabandonanddisgustofWesterners.Itisasymbolofdeath.Suchas,towearblackforherfather,ablackletterdayandablackdeed.Whenitcomestogreen,itmeansspringandsummer,leave,youth,humiliation,female,andpowerinchina.GreencanbeexpressedinEnglish“jealous”,forexample,greenwithenvy，greenasjealousy，green-eyedmonster.Meanwhile,AsthedollarbillisgreencolorSogreenreferstothemeaningofmoney,banknotes,theeconomicstrengthintheUnitedStates.EnglishGreenalsousedtoindicatelackofexperience,lackoftraining,knowledgeshallowmean.TheyellowextendedmeaningofthedifferencesintheEnglishandChinese.yellowchinaissymbolofRightsandstatus.However,italsomeansillness,sadness,anddeath.Westernculture,yellowhavebadsymbolism.Suchasyellowdog,yellowstreak,yellow-liveredandYellowPages.Thelastisblue,blueisaveryrichmeaningofcolorwordsinEnglish.BlueintheWesternmeaningofdepressionandbadmood.Forexample,inabluemood,havingtheblues,outofblue,blueribbonandsoon.Butinchina,itmeanshumbleness,impurityandshrewdness.Chapter3.TheReasonsforDifferentCultureConnotationbetweenEnglishandChineseColorWords3.1NaturalEnvironmentsWeknowalltheweatherofEnglandisalwayswarmandthewoolspinningindustryhasdevelopedrapidlyinEnglandfromearlytime．So，Englishpeopleoftenusesheeporwoolasanalogue.Forexample，thereiswoolsowhitebutadyercallmakeitblack(羊毛虽白，染之则黑)[1]．Whenwesternersholdawedding，thebridedresseswhitemarriageceremonialdress，whichstandsforchastityandpure,butChinesebridedressredclothes，whichstandsforhappinessandauspicefromancienttimes,originatedfromtheworshipforsun.InChina，festivalcoupletsmustbewritteninredpaper；lanternshangingundereavesmustbemadeofredpaper．3.2HistoricalBackgroundsInChinese,“绿帽子”(lvmaozi)isametaphor,whichmeanstobeacuckold.ThiskindofusageappropriatelybeganinTangdynasty.Atthattime,themaleinbrothelshouldwearagreenhattorepresenttheiridentity.Chineseancientsviewedgreenasanimpurecolorandrepresentslowclass.Therefore,theonewhosewifehasaparamouriscalled“戴绿帽子”.Whilewesterncountrieshavenosimilarhistoricbackground,theydon’tunderstandthemeaninginside.Intranslation,itcannotbesimplytranslatedinto“Hewearsagreenhat”,but“acuckoldhusband”[2]。3.3PoliticalBackgroundsPoliticalculturalpsychologyandtendencyisalsooneofthesignificantfactorsthatcausingdifferentcultureconnotationbetweenEnglishandChineseColorWords.InChinese,redhasthemostpronouncedpoliticalcolor,andisfrequentlyusedtostandforrevolutionandprogress.ThefirstregimeoftheCommunistPartyis“红色政权”(hongsezhenquan),andthefirstarmedforcesis“红军”(hongjun),“红色革命”(hongsegeming)meansresistingdespoticrule.And“红卫兵”(hongweibing)theredguard,“红色根据地”(hongsegenjudi)theredbasearea.“Redbelt”meanstheEasternEuropeanbloccontrolledbySovietUnion;“redregime”meanscommunismregime;“