An analysis on cultural connotations of color words between Chinese and English

尹 睿

Abstract: Color can not only help us express our feelings, but also enrich the language. There is difference between the west culture and the east culture in how to express with color. Language can embody its culture. While translating and speaking the color words, we should pay attention its special meaning in culture.

Key words: color words culture Chinese English

ⅠIntroduction

In the real world, people have a sense of existence of colors. Colors play an indispensable part in our life. Wassily Kandinsky, the founder of modern abstractionist art, points out in his book "On the Spiritual Art " that color has an effect on a person's affection squarely. In human languages, there are many signs used to record colors which are called the color words. These oft-used lexical items and expression are rich in affective meanings and cultural connotation.

What is worth mentioning is that in the process of trans-culture communication, because of the different historical and cultural background, the same color word contains different connotations in different culture.

ⅡDisscussion

Different color words carry with them different cultural connotations, and different cultures convey different meanings to colors. Some examples are as follow:

1.black and white

Black and white, symbolize dark and bright respectively in western culture. In Holy Bible, black suggests devil evil, painful and unfortunate, so it is also called "the color of death". White then is the symbol of god, angel, happiness and virtue. Wassily Kandinsky thought that white symbolizes happiness, joy and chastity, but black then stands for sorrow and death. Ralph Waldo Emerson has a famous saying: "the grey past, the white future". At "the Swan Lake", the classical ballet, the black swan repressents evil, cheating and hatred, the goose then suggects kind, chaste and happy.

In Chinese traditional culture, black and white belong to five colors, which are all pure colors. Kongyingda said: "so-called five colors are blue, red, yellow, white, and black, locate in five directions." The people in ancient times thought that white appearing the west means the approach of autumn, and black appeared in the north means the approach of winter. People harvested grain in autumn and stored food in winter. Although they had a good harvest, their mood gradually grieved and distressed, because weather was getting bad day by day, everything gradually withered and fall down, and people's scope of activities is also smaller and smaller. So black and white symbolize unlucky.

2.red

Red is the color of fire and blood. In English, red is used for expressing celebration. As the worship of the solar in ancient times, red was regarded as the symbol of lucky. High officals' housing was called "the vermilion gate". The clothing they wore was called "the vermilion clothes", and the vehicle they used was called "the vermilion carriage". In a drama, red facial makeup symbolizes loyalth and patriotis. The red double happiness, red candle, red clothing and bride's carlet jacket at the tradtional wedding ceremony, not only bring the jubilational atmosphere to the wedding ceremony, but also set human to associate with the prosoerity they will be from then on. Because red is related with blood, red light indicates that people forbided passing through.

3.purple

Purple is the color that blue and red mixed. In west, purple is the symbol of noble, grace, and authority. In English "be born in the purple" means "be born in the royal family or the high-ranking family". Mary JoMeadow, the psychology professor, has draw an analogy that: at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, God created two kinds of people which are purple and green, their appearances are extremely similar to each other, only can the green person multiply the descendant, but the purple stronger than the green. In the law of the jungle, the purple obviously occupies a dominant position. When God also wanted to turn to being human, he chose the purple without hesitation. This analogy reflects the cultural convention of venerating purple in west. In China, people in ancient times compares the purple faint star wall to the emerpor's dwelling, so the imperial palace is called "the forbidden city". The purple air comes from the east---a propitious omen. Since the Tang dynasty, the fact that people distinguished the official position by the color of clothing, have the "pingseyi" custom-made which means that the emperor takes yellow gown and the Princes and three grade take purple.

4.yellow

Yellow locates between green and orange in spectrum. The belief that Chinese regard yellow as respectable originates from the worship to the God of earth in ancient times. Since the idea of five elements was brougnt about, earth located at the central of them, so yellow became the central color, it's a God was Yellow Emperor who was also the ancestor of Huaxia race in the fable. This traditional idea is extremely suitable for feudalistic ruler's need, so esteemed and monopolized by all previous dynastical king, called "the king color". In west, the yellow is not as popular as in China. They have the phrase yellow journalism which lays too much emphasis on scandals or exaggerates the ordinary news to a sensational degree, sometimes even with distortion. It originates from the series of cartoon “yellow kid” which printed in yellow of “new york world” in 1895; “yellow streak” which means cowardice in sbs character.

Ⅲ Conclusion

In brief, the influence that the social culture have on the meaning of the color word's meaning is lasting and ingrained. Each kind of color word has the bright national cultural connotation in different nationalities, after all various nationalities are all displays their own cultural value in different ways. Therefore, understanding and grasping the cultural context, the historical status and historical background as well as the traditional custom of color words in the English and Chinese respectively, we can have the certain significance in promoting the cultural exchange and the bilingual translation research in English and Chinese.