【Abstract】Due to different social customs， natural environments， religious beliefs， politics and economics， color words induce different feelings and associative meanings in different cultures. With the final goal of trying to clarify the different cultural connotations and associative meanings of two basic color words and assisting learners to overcome the obstacles encountered in inter？鄄cultural communications concerning these two color words， this paper endeavors to do a comparative study on the associative meanings and cultural connotations of basic color words in English and Chinese.

【Key words】 basic color words;  cultural connotations;  associative meanings

【中图分类号】G64 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2014）09-0031-02

1.Introduction

It is from the direct response of peoples physiological mechanism and the optic nerve system to the various colors outside that the color words originated. Similar associative meanings are attached to color words to a certain extent. However， as the history， social mechanisms， religious beliefs， arts， social customs， value systems， ways of thinking， ways of living and geographical features vary from culture to culture， people from different cultures tend to have more different associative meanings of colors， and thus the cultural conno？鄄tations of color words in different cultures are different. In order to be more successful in inter？鄄cultural communications， it is absolutely necessary to clarify these similarities and differences.

2.Definition and classification of basic color words

Ambiguity and confusion abound when it comes to the defini？鄄tion and classification of basic color words. However， among several given definitions， the most authoritative and acknowledged is given by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay in their famous book： Basic Color Terms： Their University and Evolution， in which they mentioned four principles of determining whether a word belongs to basic color words. On the basis of these principles， the conclusion they have drawn is that basic color words include white， black， red， green， yel？鄄low， blue， brown， purple， pink， orange and gray[1]. According to Fengxin Wang， a Chinese learner， there are only nine basic color words because “pink” should be put in the category of “red” and “orange” be put in the category of either “red” or “yellow”[2]. From what has been discussed above， we can see that there exists disagree？鄄ment even in terms of the definition and classification of basic color words.endprint

3.Basic Color Words： “Black” and “White” and Their Connotations

（1）“红”and red

Both in English and Chinese， red can be used to express joy and happiness[3]. For example， in English there are expressions like “a red？鄄letter day” and“roll out the red carpet for somebody”. In Chinese， there are expressions like “开门红”、“走红运”、“红火”etc. Furthermore， red can be used to express feelings. For example， in English， there are phrases such as “see red”、 and “become red？鄄faced”. In Chinese， there are expressions such as “眼红”、“脸红”.

In Chinese， commentary meanings are associated with red. It symbolizes passion， happiness， luck and success. This originates from the worship of the sun in ancient China[4]. The color red is always associated with holidays， such as the Spring Festival during which the main color is red. There are expressions in Chinese such as “红对联” and “红灯笼”. Red is also associated with politics and sym？鄄bolizes revolution and justice in Chinese， such as “红军” and “一颗红心”. The associative meanings of the color red in English are op？鄄posite to the meanings in Chinese to some extent. It is associated with derogatory meanings. For example， there are expressions like “have red hands”. Red induces the meaning of lewd and vulgar taste， such as “Red Light District”. In English， red is also associated with politics， but with derogatory meanings. In English， red is a syn？鄄onym of communism. There are expressions like “red activities” and “red revolution” which means radical revolutions.

（2）“黑”and black

In terms of its cultural connotations and associative meanings， there exist more similarities than differences. Firstly， as black is al？鄄ways associated with something bad， dirty， evil， and disgusting， derogatory meanings are linked with it. Both in Chinese and Eng？鄄lish， an evil person is called “black guard” or “恶棍”， evil behaviors are called “black deeds” or “恶行”. Secondly， black symbolizes death， misfortune， anger， sorrow and depression. For example， westerners wear black dress and the Chinese wear black armband on funerals. They regard black as “the color of death”. It is from its link with death that black derives meanings such as misfortune and de？鄄pression. Thirdly， black is associated with something that was done privately， secretly and illegally. For example， in English， expressions such as “black money”， “black market”， “blacklist”. There are also similar expressions in Chinese like “黑钱”、 “黑市”、“黑名单”、 “黑道” and “黑客”.

In Chinese， black is the color with certain political flavors， it is the indication of counter？鄄revolution. For example， in Chinese， there are expressions like “黑后台”、 “黑爪牙”、and “黑幕”. In English， during the 60s of the 20th century， with the Civil Rights Move？鄄ment， black gradually became the color of which some people were proud. Therefore， there appeared lots of expressions with com？鄄mendatory meanings such as “”black English” 、“black culture” 、“black studies” “black nationalism” etc.endprint

（3）“白”and white

In both languages， white symbolizes purity， perfectness and happiness. In English， the white wedding dress and the white veil indicates purity. In Chinese， there are four？鄄character phrases such as “阳春白雪” and “白玉无瑕” which embody the meaning of ele？鄄gance and purity. White is also associated with justice， and fairness. For example， we call money made in legal and decent ways as “白色收入”， and the markets where people do businesses legally are called “白道” and “白市”. In English， there are sayings such as “They treated us white.” and “white light”， which all have the meaning of justice and fairness.

In traditional Chinese culture， white is also associated with mis？鄄fortune and terror.. Politically， the color white is regarded as the op？鄄posite of red， for example， “白区” 、“白军”、 and “白色恐怖”. In daily life， we call someone who is acting evil as “唱白脸” and when we want to show dissatisfaction to others， we give them “白眼”. There are no such cultural connotations of the color white in English.

4.Conclusion

From what has been discussed above， we may find different associative meanings and cultural connotations are linked with the same color due to different religious beliefs， social customs and value systems. With abundant examples and rich expressions， this paper has done a thorough study on both different and similar associative meanings and cultural connotations of the basic colors. On the one hand， this will help us to eliminate the obstacles and misunderstandings concerning the use of colors in intercultural communications. On the other hand， this will greatly accelerate the interchange and mélange of different cultures.

Bibliography：

[1]Berlin， B. & Kay， P. Basic Color Terms： Their University and Evolution [M]. Berkeley： University of California Press， 1969.42

[2]王逢鑫. 论色彩词——汉英色彩词语义比较[J].北京大学学报（英语语言文学专刊）， 1991（2）.66-74

[3]邓炎昌，刘润清.语言与文化[M].外语教学与研究出版社，1989

[4]杨丽波. 跨文化交际视域下英汉文化中的察“颜”观“色”[J].邵阳学院学报（社会科学版），2010（10）：74-77

作者简介：

赵建霞（1988.3-），女，甘肃岷县人，成都理工大学外国语学院，外国语言学及应用语言学专业，硕士研究生，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。endprint