王冰
Abstract:Differentnationshavedifferentorevenoppositeperceptionofcolor,whichresultsinnon-equivalenceofcolorwordsinmutualtranslationbetweenChineseandEnglish.Thispaperistodiscussnon-equivalenceofcolorwordsbetweenChineseandEnglishonthetwoaspectsandemphasizestheimportanceoftransmittingculturalmessageaccuratelyinthemutualtranslationbetweenChineseandEnglish.Studyingtheculturalconnotationsofthewordsisofgreatimportanceforsuccessfulcommunication.
Keywords:colors;non-equivalence;mutual;connotation
I.Introduction
Wordsareoneofthemostactiveelementsinalanguage.Theconnotativemeaningsofcolorwordscanbevarieddifferentlyfromculturetocultureduetodifferenthistoricalbackground,geography,andcustomsandtradition.Inawaythemeaningsofcolorwordscanreflectcertainaspectsofaculture.Bothaccurateinterpretationandexpressionofcolorwordsdependontheprofoundunderstandingofaculture.Therefore,translatorshavetobeawareoftheculturaldifferencesinbothlanguages.Thispaperpresentsaveryclearstructuresothatwecanmasterthetargetlanguagewell.
II.TheclassificationandthesemanticcomparisonofChinese-Englishcolorwords
Therearevariouskindsofcolorsinthenature,sothesignsstandingforcolorexistinhumanlanguages.ThecolorwordsinEnglishandChinesehavedifferentsymbolicmeanings,differentusesanddifferentvalues.
a.Colorwordsclassification
Thecognitionofcolorsisthebasiccognitivecategory.Althoughtherearemanydifferentkindsofcolorwords,theclassificationisnearlythesameinbothChineseandEnglish.Itcanbemainlypidedintothreeparts:basiccolorwords(基本颜色词或单色颜色词),colorwordswithcolorsofobjects(实物颜色词),colorwordsinshades(色差颜色词).
Basiccolorwords(基本颜色词或称单色颜色词)
Basiccolorwordsareusedtodescribethecolorfulthings.EnglishcolorwordscanbefoundouttheequivalentbasicwordsinChinese,butsomeofthemareconsideredwithnon-equivalence.
Equivalence
Red(红色)/yellow(黄色);blue(蓝色);white(白色)/black(黑色)/green(绿色)/purple(紫色)/brown(棕色)
Non-equitation
Sometimes,weuseEnglishcolorwordstodescribethethingsbutwedon’tuseChinese.Forexample:greenhills(青山)/brownsugar(红塘)/blacktea(红茶)/grayhair(白头发)/tobebrown(晒黑了)/whitecoffee(牛奶咖啡)/tobelookinggreen(苍白，脸上有病色)
Differentnationshavedifferentreactionofcolors.Whenwetranslatecolorwords,wemustpaymoreattention:tobeintheblues(闷闷不乐)/averywhiteman(非常忠实可靠的人)/ablacklook(恶狠狠地瞪一眼)(汉语中只说“白眼”)/tobeinthered(亏损，负债)(汉语中有“赤字”之说)/tobeintheblack(有盈余)(汉语中黑色无此象征意义)/green-eyed(嫉妒的)(汉语中只说“红眼病”)
Englishcolorwordshavetheirowntraits,forexample,ifthewordsareaddeddeep,dark,light,paleandsooninthefrontofthem,theywillshowusdifferentmeanings.Forexample:deepblue(深蓝色)/darkgreen(墨绿色)/brightred(鲜红色)/dullpurple(深紫色)
Iftwocolorwordsaremadeuptoone,wealwayscallitmixedcolor(混合色):yellowgreen(黄绿色)Or,twocolorwordsarelinkedby“and”,wewillcallitvarietyofcolors(花色).
Colorwordswithcolorsofobjects(实物颜色词)
Theobjectshavetheirownoutstandingcolorwords,theirnamesnotonlyexpresstheobjectsthemselves,butalsocanindicateakindofcolor.Itcanmakethelanguagecorrective,vividandvigorousandcandescribedifficulttonethatbasiccolorwordscouldn’tdo.Soweusethemfrequently.
Asfarasquantityisconcerned,colorwordswithcolorsofobjectsaremorethanbasiccolorwords,amajorityofEnglishcolorwordswithcolorsofobjectsalsocanbefoundouttheequivalentwordsinChinese.Forexample:
gold(金)-金黄色orange(橘)-橘色
grass(草)-草绿色silver(银)-银白色
sand(沙)-土黄色milk(牛奶)-乳白色
ash(灰)-苍白色fire(火)-鲜红色
Thesewordsshowcolorsinabasicanddirectway,andwealsousethemwidelyindailylifeandinliteratureworks.Forexample:
(1)“Forthatcolorsash?”askedbaoyu.
“Thatwouldgowellwithpeach-pink,”repliedying-er
“Allright.Domeonealsoinpeach-pinkandanotherinleek-green.”
译：宝玉道：“松花配什么？”
莺儿道：“松花配桃红。”
宝玉道：“也罢了。也打一条桃红，再打一条葱绿。”(曹雪芹：《红楼梦》)
(2)Mrs.WuSunfuinpink,agirlinapplegreen,anotherinlightyellow,allwerefranticallyleapingandwhirlingaroundhim.
译：粉红色的吴少奶奶，苹果绿色的一位女郎，浅黄色的又一女郎，都在那疯狂起跳。
Besides,thereisanotherwaytotranslate“object+colorwords”wementionedjustnow.Weoftentranslate“as+colorwords+as+objects”into“像……一样的颜色”.Forexample:
WhenhereachedthetemplehelookedsouthwardsandsawontheothersideofthelakethemountofathousandBuddha.Thereweretemplesandmonasteries,somehighandsomelow,scatteredamongthegrayed,pinesandgreencypresses;theredwereasredasfire,thewhiteaswhiteassnow,theblueasblueasindigoandthegreenasgreenasemerald,whilehereandtherewereafewredmaples.
译：……到了铁公祠前，朝南一望，只见对面千佛山上，梵宇僧楼，与那苍松翠柏，高下相见，红的火红，白的雪白，青的锭青，绿的碧绿，更有那一株的丹枫夹在里面。
b.ThecomparisonofChinese-Englishbasiccolorwords
ColorwordshavegainedveryrichlinguisticvaluesandculturalconnotationsinthedevelopmentoftheChineseandEnglish.ThepapertriestodiscusstheirlinguisticvaluesandculturalconnotationsofthecolorwordsinbothChineseandEnglishbymeansofcomparisonandcontrast.Besides,theauthortouchesuponthetechniquesforinter-translationofthecolorwords.Onlybyreallyunderstandingthelanguagetraditions,conceptsofvalues,localconditionsandcustomsinbothChineseandEnglishandgettingthemeaningsofcolorphrases,canweattaintheaccuratetranslationsandenhanceourcommunicationseffectively.
III.Thecolorwordexpandsconnotation
Thesymbolicmeaningsofcolorwordshavethegreatdiscrepancyindifferentnationalcultures.Basically,inChineseculture,thesymboliccolorisformedonthegroundsofChinesefeudalsystem,feudalsuperstition,primitivescienceandsituationsofeducation,soithasquitestrongtendentiousnessaboutpoliticandmysterious.
a.Colorexpressionfunction
Peoplelivedinthenatureandaredeeplyimpressedbythecolorfulworld,whereas,peoplethemselvesarefullofcolor.Apersonisangrywhenmeeting“sternvoiceandappearance”;happytimemeeting“happy”;satisfactorywhencan“benign”;somepeople“outwardlyfiercebutinwardlyfaint-hearted”;somepeople“maintaincomposure”;personyoungwhen“fullblackhair”;oldwhen“whitehairgray”;vigorousandhealthywhen“脸色红润”;fallsillwhen“thecomplexionwithersyellow”;excitedwhen“reddensallovertheface”;whenvitality“thecomplexionispale”.
b.Colorandnationalpsychology
Owingtotheeffectofcommoncharacteristicsofhumanculturalandtheinfluenceofcivilizationbetweeneachother,differentnationsalwaysendowedacertaincolorwordswiththesamesymbolicmeaning.Forexample,redshowsuswarmandfrankandsymbolizesjubilant;greenisthecoloroflifeandshowsusvigorofyouthandisfullofprosperous;whiteispureandclean,soitcontainsthemeaningofpurity;bluemakespeoplefeelcalmlyandinagloomymood…
c.Colorsocialattribution
Cultureistheimportantenvironmentofhumanlife.Allpeople’slifeisinfluencedbyculture,andvariesfromculturetoculture.Peopleliveinacolorfulworld;theyareinevitablyfeelingtheeffectofnationaltraditionculture.Colorwordsnotonlyreflectthephysiccategoryofitself,butalsoresponsethesocialsphereandthetendencyoftheday.Indifferentnationalcultures,thesamecolorexpressesthedifferentculturalpsychologyandproducesdifferentassociation,sowesaythatithasvariousmeaningsofculture.
Colorandpolitics
InChina,colorwordsalwayshavethegreatpoliticalcolors,thetypicalcolorisred,anditsymbolizestherevolution,CommunistPartyofChinaandSocialism.Butitsrelativeword“white”thatmeanscounterrevolutionary.Afterthewarofliberation,Chinausedphraseslike“红色政权”,“又红又专”,“黑五类”inpoliticallife,thesephrasesnotonlyappearedinthecertainofficialmagazinesornewspapers,butalsounavoidablygotintoliteratureworks.Forexample:blackHand(黑手党)(指在美国从事犯罪活动的意大利移民秘密组织)/greenPanther(绿豹党)(指激进派自然环境保护者)/redArmy(红军)(指前苏联或中国中央苏区领导的军队)
Colorandoccupation
It’sverypopulartousecolorwordstodescribetheoccupationinwesternsociety.Withtheexchangeofeasternandwesternculture,thesetermsbegintobecomemoreandmorepopularinChina.Herearesomeobviousexamples:white-collarworkers(白领阶层)(脑力劳动者)/blue-collarworkers(蓝领阶层)(体力劳动者)/pink-collarworkers(粉红领阶层)(职业妇女群体)/golden-collarworkers(金领阶层)(既有专业技能，又懂经营管理的复合型人才)
Colorisveryplentiful,themeaningsofChinese-Englishcolorwordsarealsoinmanyways,moreover,thesymbolicmeaningofonewordisnotone-sided,butmanifold,evencompletelycontrary.Sothetranslationofcolorwordsoftenneedtocombinewiththefact,tacklecautiousandexaminecarefully.
IV.Conclusions
Cultureisthebasicfactorofexistenceanddevelopmentinhumansociety.Infact,thesocietyisabigculturalsystem;languageisonlyapartofit.It’sasmallnumberofequivalencebetweensemanticandcultureintwolanguages.Thepaperstressesthenon-equivalencethatisreflectedbythedifferentbackgroundbetweenChineseandEnglishculture.Anditmainlydiscusseshowtomasterthelanguageandunderstandtheculturalinformation.Sotheexchangeofculturecanbepromotedandtheaimsofeffectivelanguageteachingbeachieved.
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作者单位：山西省孝义市孝义第五中学
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