自考论文范文：英汉红色词义对比研究报告

..v自考本科《英语》毕业论文X文标题：英汉红色词义对比研究AbstractColourtermsareabundantinbothEnglishandChinese，suchasred,yellow,andblue.Inthisthesis,IhaveattemptedtomakeaparisonbetweenthesenseofredinEnglishandthatinChinesebystudyingtheexamplescollectedfromallthematerialsavailable.Thethesisisdividedintothreeparts.InChapterOne,IrelatecolourtermswithcognitionandcultureinEnglishandChinese.InChapterTwo,IlistalotofexamplesrelatedtoredinEnglishandChineseandanalysethemfromthreeaspectsintermsoftheirsenseexactequivalence,partialequivalence,noequivalence.InChapterThree,Ifindoutthefactorsthatcausethesesemanticsimilaritiesanddifferencesofredfromtheperspectiveofcognitionandculture.ThroughaparativestudyofthesenseofredinEnglishandChinese,IshedlightonthethreekindsofequivalentrelationshipofredtermsinEnglishandChinese.ThethreekindsofequivalentrelationshipindicatethatthereexistsimilarityanddifferenceinredtermsbetweenEnglishandChinese.Bothsimilarityanddifferenceareattributedtocognitivebasisandculturalinfluence.Ifpeopleknowthemwell,theycanachievebettercross-culturemunication.Keywordsthesenseofred;semanticequivalence;similarity;difference;cognition;culture摘要在英语和汉语中,存在着丰富的颜色词,如红色，黄色，蓝色。在这篇文章中，通过研究所获材料中的例子，我尝试着对英汉红色词义进行了对比分析。本文分为三个部分。在第一章中，我谈到了颜色词与认知和文化的关系。在第二章中，我列举了中英文里有关红色词语的许多例子，并且结合三种语义对等关系对它们进行了分析：英汉语义的完全对应，部分对应和不完全对应。在第三章中，我从认知以及文化的角度，阐释了导致这些红色词语在中英文里语义相似和不同的原因。通过对中英文中红色词义的对比研究，我揭示出红色词语在中英文里的三种对应关系。这三种对应关系表明在英汉两种语言里，红色词语的语义确实存在着相似性和差异性，而这些相似性和差异性都源于认知的基础和文化的影响。关键词：红色语义；语义对应；相似；差异；认知；文化1.IntroductionAccordingtoGeoffreyLeech(19819),“Thereareseventypesofmeaningsconceptualmeaning,connotativemeaning,socialmeaning,affectivemeaning,reflectedmeaning,collocativemeaning,andthematicmeaning.”Andhebinedconnotativemeaning,socialmeaning,affectivemeaning,reflectedmeaning,collocativemeaninginto“associativemeaning”.Sobesidestheliteralmeaning,colourwordshaveaffluentassociativemeanings.Differentnationsendowthemwithdifferentculturalconnotations.TheparativestudyofthesenseofredinbothEnglishandChinesewillbeabridgeforbothEnglishandChineselearnerstounderstandthesimilaritiesanddisparities;otherwise,thesedisparitiescancauseambiguityandleadtomisunderstanding.“Obviously,connotationsareapttovaryfromagetoageandfromsocietytosociety”(Ibid12).paredwithconceptualmeaning,associativemeaningisunstablebecauseassociationsvaryconsiderablyaccordingtoculture,historicalperiod,andtheexperienceofindividuals.SoitisquitenecessarytomakeaparisonbetweenassociativemeaningofredinEnglishandthatinChinese.Therehavebeenalotofstudiesaboutthemeaningsofdifferentcolours,thewaytotranslatesomephraseswithcolourterms,andtherelationshipbetweencolourandculture.Manyofthemfocusonseveralcolours,andsomefocusingononecolourtermonlylistlotsofexampleswithoutparingthemindifferentlanguages,soit’smeaningfultomakeaparisonbetweenthesenseofredinEnglishandthatinChinese.Ifweknowthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthesensebetweenthesetwolanguages,wecanlearnthesecondlanguagebetter,thusachievingthecross-culturemunication.ThethesisisabouttoanalyzesomeexamplesofredtermsinbothEnglishandChinese,trytofindthesimilaritiesanddissimilaritiesbetweenthemintermsofsemantics,andfindoutthefactorsthatcausethesesemanticsimilaritiesanddissimilaritiesfromtheperspectiveofcognitionandculture.2.ThegeneralviewofcolourtermsinEnglishandChineseColoursarecloselyrelatedtopeople’slife.Colourisanimportantfieldfromwhichpeoplecanrecognizetheworld.Letusseethefollowingexample(1)菩萨蛮·大柏地赤橙黄绿青蓝紫，谁持彩练当空舞.雨后复斜阳，关山阵阵苍。Red,orange,yellow,green,blue,indigo,violet.Whoisdancing,wavingthiscolouredribbonagainsttheskyThesunreturnsslantingaftertherain.Andhillandpassgrowadeeperblue.(包惠南2003128)InExample(1),ChairmanMaousessevencolourtermstodescribethecoloursofarainbowintheskyafterasummerstorm.TheyareidenticalwiththesevencoloursthatareusedtodescribetherainbowinEnglishEncyclopedia.Withoutcolours,therewillbenocolourfullife.Natureprovidesuswithmanybeauties,suchastherisingsun,thewhitemoonlight,thebluesea,andthegreenwheatwave.Theyareallthatweshouldcherish.2.1ColourtermswithcognitioninEnglishandChineseLanguagehastwomeanings.Oneisitsconceptualmeaningwhiletheotherisitsassociativemeaning.Whenweusecolourtermstodescribethecolourofacertainsubject,theirconceptualmeaningisapplied.Whenweassociatecolourtermswithabstractconcepts,theirassociativemeaningisapplied.“TheoryofSemanticFeature-cancellation”(王寅2001308)makesitpossibleforustousewordswhicharesupposedtodescribeconcretethingstoexpressabstractconcepts.Cognitivesemanticsviewsmeaningsasamentalphenomenonwhichisbasedonbodyexperience.Theyaretheresultofinteractionbetweenhumanbeingandtherealworld.Theprocessoftheformingofmeaningsistheprocessofconceptualization.Andtheprocessofconceptualizationisacognitiveonewhichisbasedonbodyexperience.(Ibid181)Thecognitiveprocessisaveryplexone.Thecognitionofcoloursisavisualcognitiveprocess.Allthevisualinformationiscarriedtothecortexoverthemajorvisualpathway.Thediscussionofcolourtermswilltakeoneonajourneyfromtheeyetothecortex.One’sbrainservesasacolourprocessor.Thecognitionofcoloursalsoinvolvesone’ssubjectivity.Thus,onecolourreflectsnotonlyobjectivefeaturebutsubjectivefeatureaswell.Thesubjectivefeatureisusuallyformedthroughsynesthesia,whichmeanswhetherthecolourmakesyoufeelwarmorfeelcold.AsGeoffreyLeech(1981235-26)putit,“Therelativeuniformityofcoloursemanticsindifferentlanguageshasmuchtodowiththeuniformityofthehumanapparatusofvisualperception.”Whateverlanguageapersonspeaks,heisapttoregard“certainfocalcolourstimuli”asmoreimportantthanothers.Amongmanycolours,redistheeasiesttoperceive.2.2ColourtermswithcultureinEnglishandChinese“Cultureisanintegralwholewhichembracesknowledge,beliefs,moralities,laws,customsandotherabilitiesandhabitsamanhasacquiredasamemberofsociety.”(quotedin陶丽200617)Languageisapartofculture.Languageisamirror,infrontofwhichcultureisreflected.Thedifferenceofthe“innercontentofthenation”(解海江and章黎平2004263)isafundamentalfactorcausingdifferentunderstandingofculturalconnotationsofcolours.Peopleindifferentculturesmayhavetotallydifferentunderstandingoftheassociativemeaningwhichthesamecolourconveys.Culturalassociativemeaningisdeterminedbyonenation’scustom,geography,andreligion.Thesamecolourmaygiverisetodifferentassociationinone’smind.Thisiscausedbyculturaldifference.Thesimilarityistheresultofculturalmensurabilityandmutualpenetrationofculture.Inmostcultures,redisrelatedtoenthusiasmandunrestraint.Butthereexistgreatdifferencesincustom,geography,andreligionbetweendifferentnations.First,colourtermsinChineseembodyfeudalhierarchicalculture.Inmanydynasties,certaincolourswereusedbycertainpeople.Theyrepresentdifferentsocialstatus.Second,colourtermsembodywesternreligiousculture.Asthesymbolofpurity,whiterevealsthereligiousplexofthewesternpeople.Soabrideinwesterncountrieswearsawhitedressinsteadofaredone.Third,anationhasapreferenceforcertaincolours.WeChinesepeopleconsiderredasabeautifulcolour.Agoodcaseinpointisthatweuse红颜todescribeaprettygirl.WhileredisnotsopopularamongtheEnglishpeople,itspositivemeaningisusedlessthanthatinChinese.3.SemanticequivalenceofredinEnglishandChinese3.1ExactequivalenceTheviewoftheworldis“aculture’sorientationtowardGod,humanity,nature,theuniverse,life,death,sickness,andotherphilosophicalissuesconcerningexistence”(quotedin陶丽200647).Howoneviewstheworldwillaffecthisperceptiontowardtheworld---theprocessbywhichheattachesmeaningstosocialeventsheencountersinhisenvironment.Ithelpspeopleinterpretandevaluatewhatisrightandwrong,whatisgoodandbad,whattodoandnottodo,andsoon.That’sthesameincolourperception.BothinChinaandEnglish-speakingcountries,redisusuallyassociatedwithcelebrationsandjoyfuloccasions.InChina,peopleusuallyuseredthingstocreatehappyatmospheretoawedding,abirthdayandimportantfestivals.RedisprevalentonatraditionalChinesewedding.Peoplestickred喜喜onwindowsanddoors,useredlinens.Thebrideisdressedinredfromheadtofeetreddressesandredshoes.Thatnotonlybringshappyambiencetothewedding,butalsomakespeoplerecalltheirhappydaysaftertheirmarriage.Whentheirbabyisone-monthold,thehostfamilywillsendredeggstotherelatives,friendsandneighbourstocelebratetheingofthenewlife.Underfestivecircumstances,theeldersendtotheyoungredpacketswithmoneyenclosedtoprayforhappinessandhealth.Similarly,bossessendtotheiremployeesredpacketswithmoneyenclosedtoprayforprosperity.Besides,Wehaveaveryfamoustrademarkforacigarette,thatis,红双喜whichisasymbolofgoodfortune.Oncalendars,wecanfindthatholidays,suchastheSpringFestival,areprintedinred,whileordinarydaysareinblack.InEnglish,redisalsousedforcelebratingevents.Ithastheculturalassociativemeaningofhappiness,suchasinredletterday.Importantdaysareprintedinredoncalendarsratherthaninblackforordinarydays.Forwesternpeople,aredletterdaymeansadaywhenagoodeventhappens.InChina,wehavethecustomtorolloutaredcarpettoextendourwarmthtosomeimportantguests,thatis,to“rollouttheredcarpettohonoravisitingheadofstate”,or“togivesomeonetheredcarpettreatment”.Forexample,(2)Amothersaid,‘Itwasarealredletterdayformewhenmysoncamehomefromthreeyearsinthenavy.Werolledouttheredcarpettowelehimhome.’(我儿子在海军服役三年了。他回家的那天，对我来说真是一个大喜的日子。我们把他当贵宾一样来欢迎。)(宋伟华2006109)Fromthecase,wecanfindthat“torollouttheredcarpet”canalsobeappliedtoanordinaryperson.Besides,“topaintthetownred”means“tocelebratewildly,toenjoyoneselftoone’sheart’scontent”.Likewise,inthewest,onChristmasDay,SantaClausestodispatchpresentstoinnocentchildren.Heisinred,makingthedayfullofmysteryandhappiness.What’smore,thereexistsbasicsimilarityinconceptualmeaningofredinEnglishandChinesesuchasblood-red(血红色),orange-red(橘红色),redwine(红葡萄酒).3.2PartialequivalenceButintheprocessoftranslatingonesourcelanguageintoanothertargetlanguage,themeaningmaychange,especiallywhencolourtermsareinvolved,althoughthetranslatortrieshisorherbesttobefaithful.Thereexistsacloserelationshipbetweencolourandemotion.ThiscanbewellillustratedbythefollowingexampleMr.Brownhasbeenfeelingbluelately.TheactualinformationthissentenceconveysisthatMr.Brownhasbeenverydepressedlately.Onlywhenweknowitsconnotationscanweunderstandacolourtermcorrectly;otherwise,wewillfeelveryconfused.Likewhite,redisalsoassociatedwithcertainemotions,angerandembarrassmentincluded.ThesetwokindsofemotionexistbothinEnglishandChinese.Let’sseeanexample.Herfaceturnedredwhenbombardedwithsuchanembarrassingquestion.Wecaneasilyguessthemeaningofredandthemeaningofthissentence,forthereisanChineseequivalenceforit——脸红.Thereherfaceturnedredbecauseshefeltembarrassedandshefeltsobecauseoftheembarrassingquestion.InEnglish,wecanuseeitherturnredorbeered-facedtoshowone’sembarrassment.ButwemustknowthatinEnglishtherearemanyexpressionstodescribeaperson’sfaceturningredtoblush,toflush,toredden,tocolourup,etc.“Manyobjectsthatwouldbelabelledbythe‘red’terminonelanguagewouldnotbelabelledbythe‘red’terminanotheraccordinglythe‘red’terminonelanguagewouldnotbeinfalliblytranslatedbythe‘red’terminanother”(GeoffreyLeech1981235).Somethingsandobjectshaveonlyoneortwowaysofexpressioninonelanguage,whileinanotherlanguage,theycanbeexpressedinseveralways.Thatistosay,theyhavemoresubtledifferencesinanotherlanguage.Letusseewherethesedifferencesarefromtheexamplesbelow.(3)“我有什么心事呢.”盛淑君满脸飞红地抵赖。（周立波：《山乡巨变》）“WhatcareshaveIgot”sheblushedasshedeniedthem.(4)他和甫两个虽然已经喝了半瓶黑葡萄酒，可是他们脸上一点也不红……（茅盾：《子夜》）HeandWangHo-fuhadgotthroughhalfabottleofportbetweenthem,buttheirfaceswerenotflushedintheleast.(5)周仲伟的脸上立刻通红了，真像一根“红头火柴”。（茅盾：《子夜》）ChouChung-wei’sfacereddenedlikeoneofhisownred-tippedmatches.(quotedin宋伟华2006109-10)InExample(3),wecanknowthattoblushisusedwhensomeonefeelsembarrassed,toflushinExample(4)isusedintheexciting,happy,orinebriatedsituation.ToreddenandtocolorupinExample(5)aremonlyusedinmostcases.SowhenwetranslatethesephrasesfromChinesetoEnglish,wemustconsidercarefullywhichwordtouse.Thoseareallaboutembarrassment.ThenwhataboutangerInChinese,wesay气得脸红脖子粗.InEnglish,wecanusetheexpressiontoseered,ortowavearedflag.Theyarepartlyequivalenttoeachother.Also,wecan’tdirectlytranslatethetoseeredinto见红，whichmaycausemisunderstanding,becauseinChina,itimpliesawoman’sbleedingwhensheisgivingbirthtoababy.Neithercantowavearedflagbedirectlytranslatedinto挥动一面红旗.Ifitisthustranslated,wewillhavedifficultyinunderstandingthewholemeaningofatextinwhichitisused.Letusseethefollowingexamples(6)Heclenchedhisfistandwentveryred.(7)Ifoundhewasredwithanger.(8)Whenhecriticizedmywork,Ireallysawred.(9)Themerementionofhisenemy’snameislikewavingaredflagtohim.Ifwearenotfamiliarwiththephrase—tobered,wecanguessitsmeaningtosomeextentbecausethecontextshavealreadybeensethere.WecanknowredinbothExample(6)andExample(7)impliesanger.ButwhatonearthisthemeaningofsawredinExample(8)andwavingaredflaginExample(9)Bothofthemsuggestanger.Theformermeanstobeeveryangrywhilethelattermeanstocausequickangerinsomebodybydoingsomethingoffensive.3.3NoequivalenceBesidesthesetwokindsofrelationshipIhavementionedaboveintermsofred,therealsoexistsnoequivalencebetweenEnglishandChinese.Letusseesomeexamples.WeChinesesay红糖，butinEnglishitequalsbrownsugar.WeChinesesay红茶，butinEnglishitequalsblacktea.红榜istranslatedintohonorroll;红豆istranslatedintolovepea;红运,goodluck;红利,dividend.RedruininEnglishrefersto火灾inChinese；aredbattle,血战；redtape,官僚作风.Ablueskyreferstoaskywhosecolourisblue,butaredskyisnotrelatedtoaskywhosecolourisred,butreferstocolourfulcloudsinthesky.LetusseeExample(13)(10)Redskyatnight,shepherd’sdelight,Redskyinthemorning,shepherd’swarning.早霞不出门，晚霞行千里。(quotedin蒋林200226)Redskycan’tbedirectlytranslatedinto红天.Ifitistranslatedinsuchaway,weChinesecan’tunderstanditclearlybecausewedonothavesuchanequivalenceinChinese.Tounderstanditbetter,wehavetotranslateitliberally.Inthisway,theliberaltranslationapproachisrequiredwhensuchsemanticvacancyappears.InChinese,weuse红眼病toexpressthefeelingofbeingjealous.ButinEnglish,weusegreeneyetoexpressthismeaning.Ifitonlyreferstoakindofdisease,thenitshouldbetranslatedintopinkeyes.Thecoloursaresoflexiblyusedhere.Ifwewanttounderstandthemcorrectly,wemusthaveagoodmandofcolourterms.Thedifferentsemanticmeaningsofcolourtermsthuscanbeseen.Itisbecauseofthesedisparitiesthattranslatorsareverycarefulwhendealingwithcolourterms.TakeDavidHawker’stranslatingversionof《红楼梦》asanexample,toavoidthenegativeassociativemeaningofred,hetranslatedthenameofthisclassicalnovelintoTheStoryoftheStone.And怡红院wastranslatedintotheHouseofGreenDelights,and怡红公子,GreenBoy.JiaBaoyulovesthered,butredheresymbolizesgirls.Hesympathizedwiththegirlsfortheirmiseries.JiaBaoyuandLinDaiyu’stragedywastheresultofthefeudalsocietyinwhichtheylivedandwhattheywerelookingforwardtocouldn’tetrue.Sosuchanametranslatedinthiswayissoordinaryandcan’tbesatisfactory,unabletoconveytheauthor’sintendedmeaning.Anditisveryinappropriatetotranslatetheredintothegreen.(Ibid26-7)InChinese,wehaveanidiom红白喜事.RedistheprincipalcolourofChinesetraditionalweddingsandwhiteistheprincipalcolouroffunerals.Butinwesternweddings,bridesalwayswearwhitedresses,givingothersafeelingofeleganceandholiness;whileatfunerals,peoplewearblacksuits.Soherecareshouldbetakenintranslatingthephrase红白喜事.Toavoidmisunderstanding,wecanputitsimplyasweddingsandfunerals.Whenwetalkaboutredandwhite,thereisaninterestingcoincidenceinChineseandEnglish.InChinese,thosewhoarepopularandfindfavourwiththeirbossesarecalled红人.ButIrishpeoplecallthemthewhite-headedboy.Obviously,wetwonationshavedifferentcultures.Inaddition,inancienttimesofChina,红颜or红粉wasusedtocallbeautifulgirls.Itstemsfromthetraditionthatwomeninoldtimesmonlyrougedtheircheeks.ButinEnglish,reddoesnothavetheconnotativemeaningofgirls,sowhentranslated,theredamidhastobeavoided.Then红颜canbetranslatedintoabeautifulgirloraprettyface.红粉canbetranslatedintoagailydressedgirl.红楼isalady’sroom.TheseareallChineseelements.InChinese,redisalsothesymbolofsocialismandrevolutionusedinapositivesense.Thetypicalwordsaretheredarmy,redflag,redstarandsoon.Intherevolutionarytimes,红symbolizesrevolutionasin红军,红色政权or红色根据地while白impliesdecadenceandreactionasin白区，白色政权，白军，白匪or白色恐怖.ThePeople’sLiberationArmywascalled红色长城.What’smore,wehave红代会,红卫兵.Thephrase又红又专isoftenadoptedtodescribeapersonwhoisnotonlyloyaltotherevolutionarycausebutalsotohisprofession,thatis,bothsocially-mindedandprofessionallyqualified.WhereasinEnglish,redmeansextremeness,danger,indignation,andexigency,insuchphrasesasredlightdistrict,redalertandsoon.4.ReasonsforthesemanticsimilaritiesanddifferencesofredinEnglishandChinese4.1ReasonsforthesemanticsimilaritiesofredinEnglishandChineseLanguagehastwomeanings.Oneiswithinthelanguage;whiletheotherisbeyondthelanguage.Thefirstlevelofmeaningiswhatthelanguagepossessesitself.Thesecondoneisendowedbypeople.“Conceptsinhumans’minddeterminehowtheyperceivetheworld,whattheyperceive,andhowtheyrelatetoothers”(常宗林2005255-6).Sowhenoneperceivestheoutsideworld,hisknowledge,hisexperience,etc.willaffecthisperception.Meaningoriginatesfromtheinteractionbetweenhumanbeingandtherealworld.Howpeopleviewtheworldwillaffecttheuseoflanguage,thusaffectingthemeaningoflanguage.Duringtheprocessoftheformofmeanings,theexternalstimuliareconceptualized.Thiskindofconceptualizationisbasedonbodyexperience.Thecognitiveprocessisveryplicated.“It’swellknownthatcolourvisionisanimportanttoolofhumancognition”(赵艳芳200141).What’smore,theresearchesoncolorandthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionshowthatthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionisconstantacrossallraces.Itisgenerallythecasethatregardlessofthenumberofcolortermsinalanguage,thefocalhueisremarkablyconsistentacrosslanguages.(quotedin李丽雪200324)Withthisviewinmind,letusreturntored.Redistothehumaneyethemostsalientofcolorexperiences.Atnormallightlevels,redstandsoutinrelationtoallotherhuesbyvirtueofareciprocal,heighteningeffectbetweensaturationandbrightness…(Forley2001163)Soredbringspeoplestrongvisualshock.Theroleofredasawarningsignisrelatedtothecolour’shighvisibility.Peoplethinkofthecolouroffireasred.Forexample,Birrennotesthat“TheJewishhistorianJosephusinthefirstcenturyADassociated…redwithfire”.InChineseculture,“Weshallsetdown…redforfire”.(quotedin陶丽200634)Firebringspeoplewarmth,sopeoplethinkofredasawarmcolour.Fireisalsodangerous,soredisusedasasymbolofdanger.Flashingredlightsdenotedangeroremergency.Stopsignsandstoplightsareredtogetthedriver’sattentionandalertthemtothedangersoftheintersection.“Metaphorsaresometimesusedwithoutusers’beingconsciousoftheirmetaphoricalcharacter”(常宗林2005255).Thesamephenomenonwillappearwhenweusecolourterms.Manyassociationsaregroundedsodeeplyinmonhumanexperiencethatweseldompayspecialattentiontothemwhenweusetheassociativemeaningofcolourterms.Inadditiontotheperceptualbasis,colortermsaredeeplyrootedintheirculturalbasis.ThisiswellsummarizedasfollowsInotherwords,whatwecall“directphysicalexperience”isneveramatterofhavingabodyofacertainsort;rather,everyexperiencetakesplacewithinavastbackgroundofculturalpresuppositions…Culturalassumptions,values,andattitudesarenotaconceptualoverlaywhichwemayormaynotplaceuponexperienceaswechoose.Itwouldbemorecorrecttosaythatallexperienceisculturalthroughandthrough,thatweexperienceour“world”insuchawaythatourcultureisalreadypresentintheveryexperienceitself.(LakoffandJohnson198057)ItisknownthatbullfightersinSpainuseapieceofredragtoexasperatebullstowageawar,forbullfightingisatraditioninwesterncountriesandbullsareapttogetangrywhentheyseesomethingred.Sopeopleuselikearedragtoabulltoexpressone’sanger.It’salsoacolourfordanger.Thewesternpeoplerelateredtoblood.Theyassociateredwithviolenceanddanger.Oncalendars,wecanfindthatholidaysareprintedinred,whileordinarydaysareinblack.That’sthesameintwocountries.AlsoaccordingtoKovecses(2002165),onelanguagecouldborrowsomethingfromanother.Like红灯区,赤字,theyaretranslationsfromtheirEnglishequivalentsred-lightdistrict,inthered.Andtheuseofredinintheredesfromthecoloroftheinkusedinkeepingaccounts.Soduetotheinfluenceofcognitiveaccordanceofpeopleandthemutualpenetrationofculture,wehavethosesimilarities.4.2ReasonsforthesemanticdifferencesofredinEnglishandChineseOntheotherhand,peopletendtohavedifferentviewsandunderstandingofthesameobjectbecauseofthediversityofpoliticalrules,religiousbeliefs,ethicsandvaluesofdifferentnations.Everynationhasitsownethnicpsychology.CulturehasbeenaveryimportantsourceforconstructingconnotativemeaningsofcolourtermsinEnglishandChinese.Thus,itleadstoculturaldifferencebetweensourcelanguageandtargetlanguageofcolourterms,thatistosay,thenon-equivalencereflectedintheirconnotativemeaning,socialmeaning,affectivemeaning,reflectedmeaning,collocativemeaning,andthematicmeaning.Chinesephilosophyfocusesonemptiness,whilewesternculturepursuesentity.Chineseculturepaysattentiontolikenessinnature,whilewesterncultureisfastidiousaboutscienceandpreciseness.Thiskindofculturalcharacteristicisalsoreflectedintheuseofcolourterms.Forexample,Chinesecolourterm碧canbeexplainedas绿or蓝.Sometimes,peopleofdifferentnationsusedifferentcolourtermstodescribethecolourofthesameobjects.Forexample,brownsugaristranslatedinto红糖inChinese.ThisexactlyembodiesthegreatimportanceofredinChineseculture.Inaddition,brownsugarisgoodforone’shealth,soitismendedas红糖.Infact,thecolourofthiskindofsugarisclosertobrown.ItsbeingcalledbrownsugarinEnglishismoreprecise.Blackteaistranslatedinto红茶.Infact,thecolourofthiskindofteaisclosertoblack.Butwecallit红茶,matchingitwithgreentea.ThesetwoteanamesfullyembodythelanguagetraditioninwhichChinesecultureisfastidiousaboutsymmetricbeauty.Thus,wecanseethatforChinese,theuseofcolourtermsisapttobevague,tobeopaque；however,forEnglish,theuseofcolourtermsisapttobeprecise,tobereal.Itistheresultofculturaldifference.4.2.1DifferenceinaesthetichabitChinesepeoplepreferred,whileEnglishpeoplepreferwhite.Thiskindofdifferenceinaesthetichabitcausesthedifferenceinpragmaticmeaning.Redisassociatedwithhappyoccasions,harvest,etc.Becauseofthis,inChina,menoflettersinancienttimesandtodayprefertouseredtosymbolizehospitality,warmth,energyandyouth.Itcanbeseenfromthefollowingexamples(11)“霜叶红于二月花”——杜牧(12)“红杏枝头春意闹”——宋祈(13)“日出江花红胜火,春来江水绿如蓝。”——白居易(14)“试问卷帘人——却道海棠依旧。知否，知否.应是绿肥红瘦！”(15)“落红不是无情物，化作春泥更护花。”——龚自珍InExample(11)andExample(12),twopoetsuse红todescribethecolourofleavesandapricotsrespectively.InExample(13),thepoetuses红tosymbolizetheredflowersnearthebankreflectedbythefirstraysofthemorningsun.Heuses绿tosymbolizeapoolofgreenwaterblownbythebreezeinspring.Suchavividmetaphorbringsthespectacularscenerytousreaders.绿肥红瘦inExample(14)meansgreenleavesarefreshbuttheredflowersarefading.落红inExample(15)referstofallenflowers.Theimportancethecolourtermshaveinliteraryworkscan’tbeunderestimated.Theappropriateusageofcolourtermsisformoreefficientexpressionofcontexts.InancientChineseliteraryworks,红男绿女isoftenusedtodescribeyoungandbeautifulwomenandhandsomemen,sowhatwejustneedtodoistotranslateitintogailydressedmenandwomen.AlthoughredisalsousedforcelebratingeventsinEnglish,therearestillmanyphrasesrelatedtoredthatarederogatory,suchasred-handed(当场抓获),red-tape(官僚作风),red-blooded(狂热，固执),seered(怒不可遏),intothered(每况愈下的经营状况),inthered(负债累累).Allthese