颜色词的翻译方法总结

A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Colour Terms andTranslation TechniquesAbstract: With the development of globalization and the intensified international contacts, it is more and more necessary to learn cultures of different countries. Colour terms in Chinese and English are influenced by the cultural development in their societies. Because of the complexity and variety of both vocabularies, the disposition of colour terms in translation from Chinese into English and vice versa is undoubtedly a matter of great importance. Moreover, mastering colour terms’ translation improves the abilities of translation practice and promotes cross-cultural communication. This thesis, targeting at improving translation proficiency and promoting cross-cultural communication, makes a careful analysis of colour terms, including its definition, history in English and Chinese, translation difficulties and translation techniques.Key Words: culture differences; translation techniques; colour termsⅠ.IntroductionColor is an important area for people to understand the world. Colour has not only the physical attributes, but has cultural connotations. Language is a product of culture, while colour terms are closely related to the characteristics of the national culture. Different ethnic groups in the development of a long historical evolution formed different national customs, social psychology, thinking and behavior habits, and so on, which lead to the cultural differences. Therefore, different nationalities have their own colour preferences, their feelings of the colour are not entirely consistent, and their use and expression of the colours also have some certain differences. Sometimes, the same colour has different meaning because of special surroundings and different cultures. This paper attempts to make a comparative study of the translation of the colour terms in Chinese and English. Only by deepening the understanding of the differences of the colour terms expression between Chinese and English, can the accurate translation be reached.―Colour term‖ indicates the word which is used to stand for a kind of colour. This definition is well known throughout the word, but ―colour terms do not necessarily mean the same thing as colourful terms. Colourful English may appear as idioms or in figurative expressions, while colour terms are words which simply show different colours. Like the onomatopoeic word, a colour term has little merit in itself. Only when it suggests the image of the original, or fortifie s the sense in the version, it has value in translation.‖. (Xiao Junshi, 1982, 173) Obviously, as a part of words, colour terms are used in writing to transmit information. In physics, it stands for the colour reflected by objects. There are two main kinds of colour terms: basic colour terms and object colour terms. Basic colour terms mean ―words used to describe the colour of objects when they appear‖. (Lu Hongmei, 2006, 135) Basic colour terms come from the language of Anglo-Saxon, including seven kinds o f colours. In Chinese, they are ―赤、橙、黄、绿、青、蓝、紫‖. In English, they are ―red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet‖. Although basic colour terms contain only a few words, they can be used with other words to indicate more colours. They are very active. Object colour terms mean ―te rms used toindicate colours which are the names of objects‖. (Lu Hongmei, 2006, 135) Lots of these words exist in English, such as ―gold and silver‖.Ⅱ.Comparisons of Popular-used English and Chinese Color WordsThere are so many color words with a lot of different meanings in English and Chinese. Here are some popular-used ones to simply analyze the same and different cultural connotations of English and Chinese color words.1. RedRed is a basic color in Chinese culture, it reflects the pursuits of Chinese people of spirit and material. It symbolizes fortune and happiness. By literal translation, ―红‖ is red in English. Its meanings in English and Chinese have some same similarities. Firstly, in both culture, red carries a sense of warmth, celebration and shyness. As we know, in China, people always use red flags, red lanterns, and red slogans to decorate celebrations. In Chinese weddings, bride and bridegroom should wear red dresses decorated with red flowers , having ―红鸡蛋‖(red eggs)for relatives or frien ds to eat. People call weddings, children bearing , and birthday party as ―红喜事‖(red happy days). English are also fond of red, but not as much as Chinese. When guests come, they lay red carpet to show the grandness of occasions. In English, the red-letter days are important days printed on calendar. Secondly, in both culture, red is connected with anger, danger and violence. For example, some Chinese terms describing violence, ―白刀子进，红刀子出‖(means that killing someone with a knife), ― 刺刀见红‖(kill or injure somebody with a bayonet). In China, fire engines are painted red, and warning light is red. In English culture, red battle refers to a bloody war; red activities are violent ones; seeing red is that one is in anger. Thirdly, red, in both English and Chinese culture, is about obscenity, health, nobility. ―Western people think red has a sex-stimulating effect , belonging to sexy color ‖(Hu Wenzhong, 1995, 323). In Chinese, ―红杏出墙‖means that a wife is not loyal to his husband. ―依红偎翠‖means that a married man has many lovers outside. In English there are also some terms like red-light district, which means an area providing pornographic service. ―Is she really so red?‖ equals to ―is she really so obscene?‖ However, compared with the shade and light of red-expressing pornographic meaning , Chinese prefers pink(粉色) , for example, calling prostitute as ―粉头‖or ―粉姐‖. English are fond of scarlet, they call street woman as scarlet woman. Moreover, red means health, power and nobility. ―满面红光‖ equals to ―red-blooded‖ in English when describing a man, ―红顶商人‖ refers to a businessman with great power and wealth. At the same time, red in Chinese and English takes on some diffe rent senses. ―红军‖ is a revolutionary army, ―红火‖ and ―开门红‖ are used to describe someone’s career successful. Therefore, ―红‖ in Chinese has a positive meaning. However, in English, meanings of red are mostly negative, such as ―going to the red‖ means to run on deficit.2. Yellow―黄‖ in Chinese equals ―yellow‖ in English. Yellow in both cultures has two main senses. One is about disease and warning. ―面黄肌瘦‖ refers to people’s health is in bad conditions. In English, yellow blight is a kind of disease; yellow fever refers to a kind of disease originated from tropical virus. Besides, yellow cardused in sports games means warning. Another is the symbol of decline, depression, and death. Because yellow is always concerned with fall, and when autumn comes, leaves fall, and everything declines. For example, in Tang dynasty, a very famous poet wrote a poem–―岁去人白头，秋来树叶黄。