中英颜色词的文化内涵及翻译

OUTLINE

Abstract

Key Words

I.Introduction

1.1 Definition of Basic Color Terms and Cultural Connotations

1.2 Background of Research on Color Terms

1.2.1 Research on Basic Color Terms in Foreign Countries

1.2.2 Research on Basic Color Terms in China

II. Basic Color Terms

2.1 Chinese Basic Color Terms

2.2. English Basic Color Term

III. Cultural Connotations of Basic Color Terms in English and Chinese

3.1Black

3.2White

3.3Red

3.4Yellow

3.5Green

3.6Blue

3.7Purple

3.8Gray

IV. The Translation of Color Terms

4.1Translation and Culture

4.2Literal Translation

4.3Annotation and Contextual Amplification

4.4Free Translation

4.5Zero Translation

V. Conclusion

Bibliography

中文标题、摘要、关键词

The Cultural Connotations and the Translation of Color Terms

in Chinese and English

Author：Number：Tutor：

Abstract: We live in a colorful world. There are many color words in the world. Color words have rich cultural connotations. Resulting from different social cultures, historical processes and geographic conditions, English and Chinese color terms reflect the difference in the cultural aspects such as social values, customs, color preference etc. Therefore, it is of significance to have a study on the cultural connotations of basic color terms between English and Chinese. The thesis deals with cultural connotations of basic color words in English and Chinese and introduces several translation methods by several examples. By the contrastive study of cultural connotations of basic color terms between English and Chinese, we can know more about what is going on in people's mind, in their language and culture. Therefore, in translation practice, what is important is to break the cultural barriers and convey the source cultural faithfully and effectively.

Keywords: color terms; cultural connotations; translation

I. Introduction

1.1 Definition of Basic Color Terms and Cultural Connotations

We live in a colorful world. To satisfy our daily necessities, people use a great number of color terms to represent colors. For instance, it is seemed that there are over three thousand color words in English. Moreover, our eyes can be able to distinguish seven million colors, for most of which we do not have any expressions available at all.

Generally speaking, the color words in English can be divided into two categories: basic color terms and object color terms. There are so many color terms in English and Chinese that we cannot discuss all of them, thus in this thesis, the discussion will focus on the field of basic color terms.

However, it’s difficult to give a accur ate definition to basic color terms. There are many versions of definition to basic color terms, among which the most acceptable is given by Berlin and Kay. In their Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, Berlin and Kay lay out four basic criteria to judge whether a color word is basic or not.