Chinese and English Cultural Differences Reflected in the Color Terms

Chinese and English Cultural Differences Reflected in the Color

Terms

组员：倪晨莹J英语1004 3101142080

许丹J英语1004 3101142087

吴尚J英语1004 3101142076

贡淑娟J英语1004 3101142081

曹洋J英语1004 3101142091

Abstract

As we live in a colorful world, the diversity of colors results in the diversity of the equivalent color terms. Apart from expressing the most basic colors in the nature, colors, to some extent, represent some values and aesthetics of the mankind. In this kind of case, color terms no longer merely express the designative meaning of the objective colors. They are given different symbolic meanings. People with different cultural background have different perceptions and aesthetic experience about colors, in which similarities can be found.

This paper will select a few typical color terms to analyze the similarities and differences of color terms in Chinese and English cultures, discuss various reasons for these similarities, and touches upon their influence on the cross-cultural communication and exchanges and the solutions.

Cultural differences between Chinese and English from Color Words

As we know, color is deeply related to our daily life and it plays an important role in our researching about the world. Colors is a major topic when we researching language, culture and translation. Because colors not only have physical properties, but also have rich cultural connotation and extension of meaning .As there are lots of difference between the languages in the world. So there are lots of differences in the expression of the colors. And this is also reflecting the difference between China and British. It is practical for English learners when they work on Intercultural Communication and Translation if they know cultural background knowledge and grasp the color vocabulary in both languages deep meaning and associative meaning. In this paper, we have some discussion about Chinese color words cultural differences and the formation of the reasons for this difference and its impact on cross-cultural communication and solutions.

Different Connotations, Similarities and Differences about color words in Chinese-British cultural

In the East and West, there are a lot of color words. The most common and typical significance are white, red and yellow. These color words have commenced and difference in intention and associative meaning when they express something.

White

Chinese culture has a long history, this caused the phenomenon of Chinese people are more liking red while avoiding white. White is often used to be as derogatory term. It has a closely connection with death and funeral. In Chinese funeral, people are asked to wear white clothes and white flowers. Also, mourning hall is requested to decorate in white. Chinese people mourn the dead in a white way.

White is a color liked by western people. In their mind, white is a color that represents dignity, justice, lucky, and kind. For instance, a white light means a righteous judge, and a white lie means kind lie, and a white day represents a lucky day. Among western weddings, bride usually wears white wedding dress as it indicates purity and happy marriage.

Thus it can be seen, the color white has huge differences between Chinese and English culture. However, there also exist some similarities. They all have the meaning of purity, innocence, honesty, and clarity. For example, when it talks about

the color, the meaning between two cultures is quite similar. “Snow white” in both cultures symbolizes doctors and nurses’ unif orms color, which to represent the purity and justice of their work. In Chinese culture, a lucky day and a white day does not relate to each other. However, in modern times now, as the development and communication between Chinese and English culture, there is an increase for people to wear white when get married. Obviously this is absorbing from western wedding culture. It is a big success of importing some western culture and also approves that Chinese culture considers white to be purity.

Red

Red is the most meaningful color in the Chinese culture. First of all, red has been much-loved by Chinese people since antiquity. It is the symbol of joy, smoothness, success, warmness, prosperousness, or being valued, welcome, and so on. In the traditional Chinese wedding, people always use red. For example, the formal dress, the double happiness tag, the red eggs, and so on. Second, red also represents gain of fame and fortune, for example, “redskins”, “starting being successful”; in the economic area, it refers to the profit distributed to the shareholders in the corporate enterprise, for example,” bonus”.

However, in the English culture, red represents things related to blood, martyrdom and something unfortunate. It has many meanings like bloodiness, violence, terror, dilemma, carnality and so on. Red will make people think of something horrible like a red battle, see the red light, red rag, and see red. Languages can reflect national characteristics, containing a national value. For example, red in the English culture also refers to “liabilities” or “loss” which is the result of people’s habit of using red pen to register minus so that deriving some vocabulary or words like red ink, in the red, red balance, and so on.

The common point in Chinese language and English language is red has the meaning of violence and danger. Of the English, the red rules of tooth and claw means “massacre and club law”; to see the red light means “perceiving danger”. Of the Chinese, there are some phrases representing violence like “Whit e knives into red knife out” and “killed red eye”.

Yellow

Yellow is an extremely special color to Chinese people. Chinese think the color yellow is the most respected color. It represents supreme imperial power or authority. In ancient china, the use of the color yellow is strict by feudal rule. Yellow is only used by imperial family. Common people can’t use it abs olutely. The reason why Chinese people like yellow is that Chinese ancient people like gold. Gold is yellow-----it is the only phenomena that represent value orientation in the process of use color words.

In English, the use and extended sense of the word yellow is not complicated. In English, yellow pages refer to classified telephone directory. Here the word yellow only means the paper is yellow. Besides, yellow also means weak and cowardly. For example：He is a yellow man. It is easy to see that between Chinese and English

culture, the meaning of the word yellow is different.

Green

In Chinese traditional culture, green can represent "YiXia" such as "Robin Hood". However in Western culture, the meaning of green is complex. In some sense, green is a symbol of "peace and hope", such as Green Peace Organization, give sb. a green light.. It can also mean "jealous" and "hate" and so on. For example g reen with envy, green-eyed monsters, green-eyed also mean envy. But in Chinese “眼红”, “害红眼病”is a symbol of envy. Green can also mean to naive and inexperienced, such as green hand / green to his job. It is obviously thar in Western culture green also has a relationship with the color of grass. So it means youth, vitality and fresh too. For example a green old age, to remain green forever , in the green,a green wound.

The formation of Color Words in English cultural differences

Language is the carrier of culture, reflecting the characteristics of a nation, not only contains the nation's historical and cultural background, but also bears the nation's view of life, lifestyle and way of thinking. Color words as the language of an important part in different cultural contexts, the word has been given a special significance in cultures reflection, and thus causing the difference when the same word in different cultures. The formations of this difference have many reasons, and it is expressed in the following aspects.

1. The reasons for culture difference

In Chinese culture, yellow is the symbol of supremacy, while in Western culture was regarded as a noble color is blue (purple). This cultural phenomenon is not accidental presence. Geographically sense, color’s different cultural connotations clos ely related to the natural environment. Yellow and blue represent two different cultures and cultural personality psychology, ethnology color also has a sense of cultural implication.. In Chinese culture, the color of the symbol is based on the past, China's feudal rule, feudal superstition and primitive and backward scientific, educational status. So the symbolism of the color quite strong political and mystical tendency.. The symbol of Western culture, the color is more from the Western nation openness and scientific, educational penetration, its symbolism less mysterious, have become more rational, so semantics, semantic justification easier to track..

2. The reason of value orientation

Chinese people like yellow very much in ancient, because yellow represents respect, and only used by emperors. The reason why Chinese people pay more attention to yellow is that yellow is the color of gold. However, with the development of time, the representation of respect is becoming less important. Nowadays, it retains some lucky meaning.

In western culture, yellow makes people think of the clothes Judas wear who betrayed Jesus. So, in the west, yellow has bad representations. It shows low-grade newspapers and magazines, no-literature-value books (e.g yellow press, yellow journalism, yellow back ). It also means contemptible and timid. For example, yellow dog, yellow streak, yellow-livered.

All above is related to value orientation

3. The reason of thought patterns

As Carl Split Lamb has mentioned in his book Contradiction in Ways of Thinking, “It's the diversity of not only the languages but also the thinking patterns that hinder the mutual understanding and harmonious relations among all nations in the whole world. In another word, it's because of the differences that people usually confirm resources of knowledge and the orderly thought methods." Stimulated by the different factors in history, geography and humanity, thought patterns in China and the West have experienced different courses of evolution, and have their own typical characteristics. Due to the different ways of thinking, the two nations in China and the West hold different opinions about the understanding and application of the color terms.

4. Religious reasons

There is a word in English—“black Friday”. It has intimate connection with the symbolism of black in English and Christian. The word black in English is usually related with the meaning of unhappy, representing unfortunate, disaster, disgust, anger, melancholy, gloomy, and so on. “Friday” refers to the Friday before Easter day on which Jesus suffered disasters. According to this ethnic background and traditional convention, English people always use black Friday to mean great catastrophe which is specific in English culture. In Chinese folklore the emperor of heaven lived in the ZiWei palace(a kind of constellation), so the human emperor who believing the emperor of heaven as father and the Taoism consider purple as propitious sign. As the symbol of luck and nobleness, purple is more adopted by emperor and Taoism, for example, the palace is usually called the forbidden palace and the Forbidden City. The symbolism of purple in English is also related with monarch and religion which is an interesting culture coincidence like some words: “be born in the purple”, “marry in the purple” and “be raised to the purple”.

Conclusion:

There is difference between Chinese and English in color words, which makes us can’t translate some words directly when we meet intercultural communication. To some people who are not familiar with the cultural background, it is easy to make some mistakes. It is not beneficial to make intercultural communications.

With the development of society, formal and informal intercultural communication is becoming more and more frequently, especially in business. Negotiators who are from different countries and regions have different cultural background, values, way of thinking, way of act, way of communication, languages and customs. These factors have a direct effect to the result of international business negotiation. Words about colors are important part of English, and it will bring important effect to intercultural communicati on. If we can’t understand the deep meanings of the color words in different environment, it will interfere intercultural communication.

The cultural connotation in Chinese and English color words has many similarities. However, there are more differences. The formation of these cultural differences has a lot of reasons which are very complex and have a deep affection when we are making cross-cultural communications. We should understand their meanings and consider their usage well when we are using and translating color words. In addition, the

change of words is influenced by culture. Because of the constant communication and infiltration between Chinese and English culture, color words are also constantly given new connotation and then be merged together step by step. It’s a great promotion for English learners to understand and master the color words’ cultural background and some practical translation methods in Chinese and English language. It also makes certain significance to cross-cultural communications.