A Comparative Study of Cultural Connotations of Color Terms in English and Chinese

Chen+Lu

Abstract：In cross-cultural communication， color terms are endowed with various cultural connotations. This paper analyzes the differences of color terms in English and Chinese from three aspects. They are religion and custom， history and political attitude， psychology and thinking mode. The cross-cultural communication can be realized only if we put these color terms into different cultural context.

Key words：color terms；cultural connotations；cross-cultural communication

Different nations have totally different personalities. The conceptions of color vary with the changes of thoughts， geography， politics， religion， history， custom， etc. Bao Huinan once regarded color terms as culture-bound words. He said that a certain kind of color may convey different cultural psychology and thus causing different associative meaning， which finally equipped this color with a brand new cultural connotation in different nations （Bao Huinan， 2001：141）.

1. Difference Made by Religion and Custom

In both English and Chinese， there are many color terms related to religion and custom. We can hardly comprehend their real meanings except we make clear the specific social custom and religion in advance.

“Red” is a favorable color in Chinese culture. It originates from the sun， toward which our ancestors had an instinctive worship. So “red” symbolizes health， auspiciousness and happiness. Things have something to do with good luck， prosperity are all expressed with “red”， such as “紅火”， “红包”， “满堂红”. In traditional Chinese wedding， a bride usually wears in red and a bridegroom a red cloth flower on the chest. In “开门红”， the red color is symbolic of good fortune， so the whole phrase means “to begin well， to make a good start” （Deng Yanchang & Liu Runqing， 2010：58）. When some people become successful and popular， we say “走红”， and we say “满面红光” to express some one who is healthy. However， in Christian tales， the devil Satan appears in red， thus westerners have different views on “red” from that in Chinese. In English， “red” is often associated with blood， war， horror， anger and danger， such as “red battle”， “red alert”. In 19th century， American writer Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. In this book， “scarlet” symbolizes lewd and unfaithful.

In the Bible， “Black” is associated with devil， evil， pain and misfortune. The bad character wears black clothes in old English stories. According to legends， a witch comes out in the form of a black cat， so in western culture， people regard black cat as a bad omen. Friday， in Western religion， denotes the Friday before Easter when Jesus died. As a result， Western people use “black Friday” to denote dangerous and ominous days. And in western culture， people attendant the funeral should dress in black to show their lamentation. However， in Chinese funeral， people use white color to show their grief.

In the Bible， “white” symbols god， angel， joy and virtue， so westerners think “white” is pure and elegant， representing peace and happiness. Their babies are dressed in white for christening， and while we Chinese new couple wear red for their wedding， the western brides wear white in traditional church weddings. English expressions like “a white Christmas”， “a white day” belong to this category. In Chinese， “white” sometimes means noting to do with color at all， such as “白丁”“白開水”“坦白”“白痴”.

2. Difference Made by History and Political Attitude

Many words related to color come into being under certain historical and political background. Putting those words under certain history period can help understand both their denotative and connotative meaning.

In ancient China， “yellow” was regarded as the royal color， which represented imperial power， such as “黄袍加身”， “黄历”， “黄马甲”. The common people were not allowed to choose yellow cloth for their clothes on their own. And because the color of yellow is quite similar with that of gold， so “yellow” in Chinese also symbolizes wealth and glory. In English， however， “yellow” has no relationship with royal and dignity. Instead， it is the color that Judas dressed in. So “yellow” in English is symbolic of betrayal and cowardice. In Western culture， “blue” conveys the noble meaning as “yellow” does in Chinese. It is often associated with high social position. For example， “He is a real blue blood” means this person is from an aristocratic family. And “a blue book” refers to a book with the names of well-known persons， especially government officials. （Deng Yanchang & Liu Runqing， 2010：60）.

In ancient China， “red” also symbolized noble. The houses of the high officials and noble lords were called “朱门”， their clothes “朱衣” and their gharry “朱轩”. “Red” is also the color of revolution， progress and communism. This kind of expressions are common to see since the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party， such as “红军”， “红色政权”， “红卫兵”. However， “red” has nothing to do with progress in English.

In Chinese， “black” and “white” have a distinctive meaning， which is “reactionary”. There are many examples to testify this idea， such as “黑五类”， “黑帮”， “白军”， “白色恐怖”， “白区”. In Western Middle Ages， theologians hated too many colors， which were believed to contribute to danger， then people began to favor the color black. As a consequence， “black” expresses solemn and dignified. That is why westerners prefer to dress black suits on formal occasions.

3. Difference Made by Psychology and Thinking Mode

From the perspective of psycholinguistics， some words in English and Chinese have the ability to arouse human perception and memory about the signified， then people try to find the corresponding objects in their own culture. In Chinese， people associate “yellow” with obscenity， such as “黄色电影”， “黄色书刊”. However， we can not apply this meaning into English “yellow press”， because in Western culture， “yellow” does not indicate obscenity， instead， “blue” does. So in English， we use “blue film” to express Chinese “黄色电影”. Similarly， Chinese “黄色笑话” is translated into English “blue jokes”.

Thinking mode is an important component of the inner structure of culture and it is also tightly connected with language. People under different culture background hold different thinking mode， thus they comprehend objects from different angles and make different descriptions （Jin Huikang， 2002：282）. In English and Chinese， people use two different words to describe jealousy. The westerners use “green” whereas Chinese choose “red”. So Chinese “眼红” should be translated into English “green-eyed” or “green with envy”. English “red eye” means cheap whiskey.

In China， people use “戴绿帽子” to express the meaning of being a cuckold， but we should not translate it literally into “wearing a green hat”. Because in English， “green” means lacking in experience， training or knowledge， such as “greenhorn”， “green paper”. But “green” in Chinese has no such meanings. The last example is about tea. Interestingly， the corresponding English for Chinese “紅茶” should be “black tea”. That is because English people pay more attention to the color of tea itself， while we Chinese emphasize the color of the water when tea was infused.

4. Conclusion

English and Chinese are two ancient languages， and each of them has accumulated plentiful cultural connotations during their long social development. As the important components of language， color terms are engraved with different ethnic cultural characteristics. Those who involved in intercultural communication should be aware of the differences in English and Chinese in order to avoid cultural conflicts.

【References】

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【作者简介】

陈璐（1988—），女，湖北省十堰市人，硕士学位，湖北汽车工业学院外国语学院助教，主要研究方向：英美文学。