论颜色词在英汉语言中的不同意义

The Different Meanings of Colors in Chinese and English

语言和文化有着密切的联系。语言不仅是文化的载体,也是文化不可或缺的一部分。而由于宗教信仰、地理环境、社会政治经济以及历史背景等不同因素的影响,各民族的文化也有各自的特点。颜色词,作为语言的一种符号系统,在语言和文化中有着丰富的内涵。尽管英汉颜色词有大致相同的地方,然而由于各自的文化背景和传统的影响,一些词语有些词义远超于它们的字面意思,有着更深的涵义。因此,更好的进行跨文化交际依赖于深入探讨英汉颜色词的词义以及它们所包含的更深一层的意思。所以我们在翻译颜色词的时候,还要正确把握它们的象征意义。只有这样,各国人民才能进行良好的跨文化交流。

Language has a close relationship with the culture. It is both a carrier of culture and an indispensable part of culture. However, because every country has different regions, geographical surroundings, social, political and economic systems, historical backgrounds and so on, the cultures have their own characters. Color words, as a semiotic system of a language, have a rich substance in culture and language. Although the basic color words are approximately the same, due to the respective cultural background and tradition, some phrases containing color words have far surpassed their original meanings, forming different connotations. Therefore, the smooth cross-cultural communication relies on discussing about the translation of color words and completely understanding on the substance which contains by the color words. So when we are translating these color words, we should master their deeper symbolic meanings correctly. Only in this way, can it be a great help for people in different cultures to communicate.