There are differences in the use of colors and color words between Chinese and English cultures. The different cultures bring different attitudes toward the same color because of different language habits, historical backgrounds, traditional customs and so on. Although the meanings of color words are restrained by cultures, they reveal wide connotation of cultures. We should pay attention to observing not only their basic meanings, but also the deep and broad symbolic meanings. The symbolic meanings of color words often have different features in different language cultures. And some of them even have become taboos and adornments since the meanings of the color words are extended and transferred. Meanwhile, the cultural exchanges and the color views have similar phenomenon and coincidence in the languages. This paper tries to illustrate the different symbolic meanings of color words in Chinese and English cultures by comparison and analysis of them.
Key Words
Color words; cultural differences; symbolic meanings; comparison
Abstract.............................................................................I
Key Words............................................................................I
摘要.................................................................................II
关键词...............................................................................II
Introduction.........................................................................1
I. Background........................................................................2
A. Color Words and Their Historical Backgrounds....................................2
B. Colors in Traditional Chinese Cultures..........................................3
II. Different Symbolic Meanings of Color Words in Chinese & English Cultures........5
A.Red ..............................................................................5
B. White...........................................................................6
C. Black............................................................................7
D. Yellow...........................................................................8
III. Similar Phenomenon and Coincidence of Color Words in Chinese & English Cultures10
A. Red and Black..................................................................10
B. White...........................................................................11
Conclusion..........................................................................12
Acknowledgements....................................................................13
Bibliography........................................................................14
