英语本科毕业论文-论色彩词汇在英汉互译中的应用.doc

毕业论文（设计）诚信声明 本人郑重声明：所呈交的毕业论文（设计），题目论色彩词汇在英汉互译中的应用 是本人在指导教师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果。对本文的研究做出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式注明。除此之外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品成果。本人完全意识到本声明的法律结果。 毕业论文（设计）作者签名： 2015 年 月 日19 AbstractWith the further promotion of the economic globalization, the language areas of communication between western and eastern are expanding, and the communications importance is also constantly strengthened. Although the basic cognition of color words in different languages similar, there is still much difference about translation based on the influence of different factors. This paper probes into both cultural similarities and differences in English and Chinese color terms translation. Through the proper cultural comparison, an excellent translator should take flexible approaches in translating English and Chinese color terms and related expressions. 【Key Words】 color terms; cultural comparison; translation ContentsAbstractiChapter One Introduction12.1 The Definition of Color Words22.2 The Classification of Color Words3Chapter Three Different Factors in Translation of English and Chinese Color Terms53.1 Cultural and Historic Difference53.2 Political and Religious Factors63.3 Habits and Customs Difference73.4Emotional and Mental Difference8Chapter Four Discussion of Several Significant Color Words104.1 The Connotation of White in Chinese and English Translation104.2 The Connotation of Black in Chinese and English Translation114.3 The Connotation of Red in Chinese and English Translation12Chapter Five Approaches in Translating Color Words165.1 Literal Translation165.2 Free Translation165.3Annotation Translation17Chapter Six Conclusion18Works Cited19Acknowledgement20Chapter One Introduction The studying of color terms has a very long history in English-speaking countries. Nearly 2,500 years ago, the color words were systematically studied as a basic cognitive domain for the first time. It is Plato who originated the exploration on colors. Since that time, many scholars studied color terms out of different but various perspectives, such as philosophy, ethnography, psychology, linguistics, social linguistics and so on. In China, a book is named The Color Beauty of Chinese Language(刘云泉1990), in which gave an overall account of categories and functions of the Chinese color terms. In the past ten years, the studies on the Chinese basic color terms made a great progress that a cognitive approach to Chinese color metaphors was analyzed, which can help us to know the color words more conveniently.Chinese and Western cultures have similarities as well as differences, which brings about a great influence on language translation. At the same time, color is one of the most pervasive influence on man, affecting what he learns, how he feels and acts. Color words are playing a very very important role in international communication, especially in bilingual communication. Color is an integral part of which has various words and complex connotations so there are countless color words and each of which has its own symbolic meanings. Different people have different views about colors words, especially those who have different culture backgrounds. Therefore, it is a painstaking work for translators to translate color words accurately. On the one hand, as different peoples have different historical and religious backgrounds, different social customs, and different emotional and mental customs, the meanings of color words may be quite different or even opposite in languages. On the other hand, different peoples may have similarities in thinking and social activities, so they inevitably have similar color-words expressions. Then, how many kinds in the color words? Why there are many differences in the same kinds of color words about English-Chinese translation? How can we translate the color words more flexibly? How can we obtain such an ideal state of translating the color words? These are the problems we will explore throughout this paper.Chapter Two Basic Knowledge of Color2.1 The Definition of Color Words When we are speaking of the color words, we should get to know the definition of the color words. We know color words come from our nature, the peoples cognition and creation both come from the tips and help of our planet. However, only the human own feeling is the beginning of the language cognition. Thousands of different cultures are the mixture of the objective world and the subjective world. In the objective world, the light effects on the sensory organs through the nervous system and brain activity, so that mankind has a feeling and a basic understanding of things and phenomena of the world. While color is mixed with peoples feelings and the human perceptual together. The peoples feeling comes from the outside worlds stimulation and human consciousness refers to peoples memory, association, contrast and so on. At the same time, colors connotations tend to use peoples perception as the carrier so the colors meaning rarely exist independently. And that is to say, language is a mixture of peoples perception and feelings. In the objective world, we can learn many basic physical knowledge; while in the subjective world, we have different understanding of things and phenomena of the outside world, such as different customs, cultural backgrounds, history and so on. So, the perception of color words rarely exist independently, and they are always supported with the feelings of the color words. In China national standard GB5698-85, the colors definition is that color is defined as the light effecting on the human visual characteristics of the image caused by outside. According to this definition, the color is the visual characteristics when the light effects on the human, and the human visual characteristics are controlled by the brain. So at first it is a kind of psychological reaction. Then, we can draw a conclusion about the definition. Color is a human visual characteristic of light, but also restricted by time, space and surrounding environment, personal experience, memory, perception and visual impact sensitivity and so on. In cross-cultural communication, different peoples have different cultural backgrounds, and different perception and feelings about many color symbols. Therefore, in the study of linguistics, especially in the field of translation between English-Chinese color words, this kind of translation has become an independent research field.2.2 The Classification of Color Words Whether in Chinese or in Englishs language system, the expressions of colors are tens of thousands of, and some basic color words in Chinese and western translation largely share the same meaning, but most of the color words between English and Chineses translation can not find the exactly correct corresponding words. Therefore, in order to expand the scope of our English color words cognition and to improve our ability to translate different layers of colors in English and Chinese language, first of all, we should understand the classification of color words. There are two kinds of classification. According to the pigment of colors, the color can be divided into primary color words, binary color words and broken color words. Primary color words are also called there-primary color words, which are red, yellow and blue. Binary color words in English are also called the two colors words, such as red and yellow changing orange, red and blue changing purple, yellow and blue changing green. Therefore, orange, purple, green are the binary color words in the English language. Broken color words are also called compound color words, which is mixed with primary color words and binary color words. Broken color words are the most colorful words and its number is largest. The second classification is as following. Color words can be divided into three major categories by etymology: basic color words, object color words and emotional color words.Basic color words are words originally used to describe the colors of things in our life, such as brown, purple and pink, red, white, black, blue, green, yellow, brown, gray, pink, purple, etc. These words are mostly monosyllabic words, which are derived from the Anglo-Saxon, and its etymology is part of the foreign language and Romansh basic color terms, such as crimson (dark red), scarlet (scarlet). The number of these basic words is quite few but they are widely used, because they are short and easy to remember, and flexible collocation, we can use it to describe things. Object color words are the words which used as names of objects, have particular colors, such as mouse, chocolate, silver, violet, gold etc. To some extent, this kind of color words has figurative sense, because they come from the articles in our daily life. These color words often represent a particular color, and the number of this kind is quite huge, but their usage is limited. The last one is the emotional color words. These words are often carrying the national historical and cultural information, customs, religion and so on, so these words are often a symbol of culture. Due to different countries have different culture, the color words often convey specific information. Because of this, it is very easy for translators to make mistakes in cross-cultural communication, and these words have more study significance in translation. Chapter Three Different Factors in Translation of English and Chinese Color Terms 3.1 Cultural and Historic Difference Language is an important organic part of a countrys culture. There is no doubt that its vocabulary is deeply affected by the nations history and culture. So do the color words. For instance, the Chinese nation has special feelings for yellow, such as黄道吉日(an auspicious day). Firstly, we belong to the yellow race, have yellow skin, and we are all the descendants of the Yellow EmperorHuang Di, who is the 人文初祖(The ancestor of civilization). Secondly, in Chinas traditional history, yellow is the most honorable color, which symbolizes supreme power and status. To the Chinese, the yellow color is the symbol of emperors prestige and his nobility, because people think yellow is adopted the homonym of the emperor. For example, there is a Chinese saying 黄袍加身means somebody acclaimed to be an emperor. It is said that in China from Tang Dynasty yellow has become a special color for royal family, the under-class colors were red, green, cyan and so on. At that time, the emperor of dynasty was the only person who can enjoy the yellow color, and only the emperors palace and mausoleum were allowed to use yellow color. While the official mansions could only use green tiling. As for the common people, only black, gray and white tiling can be seen in their houses. (曾慧彬, 2013)And Chinese is a large agricultural country, which has living along the Yellow River for thousands of years, drinking our mother river and cultivating on the yellow earth. However, in English spoken countries, English nation choose blue. These countries people have not seen the yellow as their adorable color, because in their eyes, blue is the symbol of crown and nobility. For instance, European royalty is often called themselves as blue blood. According to legend, as early as in medieval times, people in upper society of European liked to use silver utensils during their dinning, so these peoples skin slowly showing light blue color because of silver absorbed overmuch(but this claim is short of scientific research). Then, they use blue-blood to praise them in noble blood. Thus, their language derived a lot of phrases like blue-ribbon which represents the highest honor; blue-book is a list of celebrities and so on. Next there comes another history about English noble colorpurple. In 55A.D., Caesar and his army invaded into British Isles and then dominated England for 500 years. Roman brought their customs into England, including their adorable color purple. In the following years, the Queen lived in purple palace and give birth to the prince and princess. (聂勇伟, 2014) So in English to be raised to the purple means to have ones ambition fulfilled. Thus, different history and culture backgrounds cause these differences between Chinese and Western.3.2 Political and Religious Factors Colors words always have strong political meaning. In China, red is the most typical one, and it is the symbol of revolution, Communist Party of China or proletarian. But the opposite word white means counterrevolution. Even after liberation, some political terms which connect with Chinas political history, such as 红色恐怖(red scare），红色政权(red political power) also exist in our language. In Western, people also endow colors with certain political meaning. In western society, there are different kinds of parties and political wings, and colors have been used to stand for political groups, such as Black Hand(黑手党), Red Brigades(红色族). Color words also have strong religious meaning. In medieval times, the church designated artists to use certain color when they are painting. For example, the Virgin Marys robe must be painted blue; during the baptism preparation, the clothes must be painted blue; when tempted out of ignorance, Christs clothes painted black; when they resurrect, it painted red or white. So why they must change the colors? These colors are associated with their religious imagination: blue is the color of the heaven, where the God lives, and this imagination cause them to believe blue as a holy and noble color; black represents misery the Christ have suffered; red and white represents the nature of Godwisdom and love. But in China, especially in Buddhist, yellow is the classic color, monks and Lama all in yellow robe. However Judas (the Bible character, being deceitful and betraying Jesus) wore yellow clothes which means rebellion, jealousy, cowardice. Owing to the differences between the two ethnic groups in religion, peoples view about the same color may have a great difference. This difference can sometimes cause ambiguity, misunderstanding or disgust when we are translating between different cultures.3.3 Habits and Customs Difference Language constantly enrich and strengthen in the development of human society. It is an inevitable result that the color words associated with different social customs and habits. The meaning of some certain basic color words, both in Chinese and English, are nearly the same. But because of the different customs and expression habits, several difference also exists in their semantic meanings. For example, in China，the color of hundred dollar bills is red, so people like to use the red tickets in spoken language to describe the 100 yuan; while the west is green, so Westerners use green power to show the power of money. For another example, in Chinese supermarket, people like to use the yellow board to display the discounted goods; while in the west, people use white sale to express the sale. That is because in the west, the bed sheets, pillowcases and other knitwear are white and they are always in sale, and gradually white sale means something for sale. Like white goods refer to some big and expensive electrical equipment such as fridges, washing machines, gas stoves and other kitchen facilities, most of which are in white paint. And televisions, stereos, recorders and some other electronic products are called brown goods. This is relevant to the living habits of English people. If say白色家电 or 褐色家电 in Chinese, no one can understand its meaning. (龙占红, 2008) Other examples like yellow books or yellow pages. At first glance, perhaps the beginners will translate them into pornographic books. But it is wrong. In English speaking countries, the phone book is divided into two kindsthe white books and the yellow books. The white one is used as private phone book; comparatively, the yellow one is used for public telephone book. Therefore, yellow pages does not refer to Chinas erotica. Next one about yellow. In the United States, American taxi sometimes are not named taxi, but yellow, as many of them are painted yellow color; also, in the United States, people had liked to use blue pencil to revise the manuscript, so blue-pencil means revise, edit (editor, censor). Like in the following sentence: The censor examined a book and blue-penciled some improper remarks in it. With the rapid expansion of globalization, nowadays, the communication between West and East becomes wider. As for this aspect, as is mentioned above, the meaning of some certain basic color words, both in Chinese and English, are nearly the same. Here comes an ideal example. Whatever in the East or the West, people like to connect the clothing with persons status and position. Exactly speaking, the grades of clothing are reflected not only on its style, but also on its color. Thus, the color of clothing plays an important role in international society colors can be employed to show persons occupation. We can learn about it from the following typical examples: white-collar worker(白领阶层)stands for the mental workers who had special education or training; blue-collar worker(蓝领阶层) refers to the common manual workers; gray-collar worker(灰领阶层) symbolizes the staff of service industry; pink-collar worker(粉红领阶层)stands for professional women group; golden-collar workers(金领阶层)is the workers who have both professional skills and understand the complex talent management. The physical characteristics of these color words have already weakened. Due to the living habits, people give them a special meaning. 3.4Emotional and Mental