英汉红色词义对比研究英语毕业论文

PAGEPAGE24河北师范大学本科毕业论文（设计）题目（中文）：英汉红色词义对比研究（英文）：AComparativeStudyontheSenseofRedinEnglishandChinese学院外国语年级专业10级英语学生姓名学号指导教师完成日期2012年4月AComparativeStudyontheSenseofRedinEnglishandChineseWrittenbyYangJingSupervisedbyProfessorHaoHuizhenAThesisSubmittedtoShanghaiNormalUniversityinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofBachelorofArtsinEnglishEducationForeignLanguagesCollege,ShanghaiNormalUniversityApril2008AcknowledgementsThisthesisisdedicatedtoalltheteacherswhohavetaughtmealot,especiallytomysupervisor,whohashelpedtoworkouttheoutline,givingmeenlighteningadvicethroughoutthewholeprocessofthepresentthesis.Toher,Ioweaprofounddebtofgratitude.Theworkwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthehelpofmyroommatesandfriends,whogavemealotofencouragementwhenIwasataloss.Wediscussedalotandmovedforward.Iamparticularlyindebtedtomyfatherandmother,whoencouragedmetopersistandgavemethebesttheycouldoffer.Withoutallthesupport,Icouldnothavecompletedthistoughwork.AbstractColourtermsareabundantinbothEnglishandChinese，suchasred,yellow,andblue.Inthisthesis,IhaveattemptedtomakeacomparisonbetweenthesenseofredinEnglishandthatinChinesebystudyingtheexamplescollectedfromallthematerialsavailable.Thethesisisdividedintothreeparts.InChapterOne,IrelatecolourtermswithcognitionandcultureinEnglishandChinese.InChapterTwo,IlistalotofexamplesrelatedtoredinEnglishandChineseandanalysethemfromthreeaspectsintermsoftheirsense:exactequivalence,partialequivalence,noequivalence.InChapterThree,Ifindoutthefactorsthatcausethesesemanticsimilaritiesanddifferencesofredfromtheperspectiveofcognitionandculture.ThroughacomparativestudyofthesenseofredinEnglishandChinese,IshedlightonthethreekindsofequivalentrelationshipofredtermsinEnglishandChinese.ThethreekindsofequivalentrelationshipindicatethatthereexistsimilarityanddifferenceinredtermsbetweenEnglishandChinese.Bothsimilarityanddifferenceareattributedtocognitivebasisandculturalinfluence.Ifpeopleknowthemwell,theycanachievebettercross-culturecommunication.Keywords:thesenseofred;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ContentsAcknowledgements…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….….iAbstract…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….………….…ii摘要……………….iii1.Introduction………..12.ThegeneralviewofcolourtermsinEnglishandChinese……...22.1ColourtermswithcognitioninEnglishandChinese……..22.2ColourtermswithcultureinEnglishandChinese…………33.SemanticequivalenceofredinEnglishandChinese…………….53.1Exactequivalence………….53.2Partialequivalence………...63.3Noequivalence…………….84.ReasonsforthesemanticsimilaritiesanddifferencesofredinEnglishandChinese………………….114.1ReasonsforthesemanticsimilaritiesofredinEnglishandChinese……..114.2ReasonsforthesemanticdifferencesofredinEnglishandChinese………134.2.1Differenceinaesthetichabit……………….…………144.2.2Differenceinhistoricalbackground….…….………...155.Conclusion…………...17Bibliography…………………….……181.IntroductionAccordingtoGeoffreyLeech(1981:9),“Thereareseventypesofmeanings:conceptualmeaning,connotativemeaning,socialmeaning,affectivemeaning,reflectedmeaning,collocativemeaning,andthematicmeaning.”Andhecombinedconnotativemeaning,socialmeaning,affectivemeaning,reflectedmeaning,collocativemeaninginto“associativemeaning”.Sobesidestheliteralmeaning,colourwordshaveaffluentassociativemeanings.Differentnationsendowthemwithdifferentculturalconnotations.ThecomparativestudyofthesenseofredinbothEnglishandChinesewillbeabridgeforbothEnglishandChineselearnerstounderstandthesimilaritiesanddisparities;otherwise,thesedisparitiescancauseambiguityandleadtomisunderstanding.“Obviously,connotationsareapttovaryfromagetoageandfromsocietytosociety”(Ibid:12).Comparedwithconceptualmeaning,associativemeaningisunstablebecauseassociationsvaryconsiderablyaccordingtoculture,historicalperiod,andtheexperienceofindividuals.SoitisquitenecessarytomakeacomparisonbetweenassociativemeaningofredinEnglishandthatinChinese.Therehavebeenalotofstudiesaboutthemeaningsofdifferentcolours,thewaytotranslatesomephraseswithcolourterms,andtherelationshipbetweencolourandculture.Manyofthemfocusonseveralcolours,andsomefocusingononecolourtermonlylistlotsofexampleswithoutcomparingthemindifferentlanguages,soit’smeaningfultomakeacomparisonbetweenthesenseofredinEnglishandthatinChinese.Ifweknowthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinthesensebetweenthesetwolanguages,wecanlearnthesecondlanguagebetter,thusachievingthecross-culturecommunication.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,wavingthiscolouredribbonagainstthesky?Thesunreturnsslantingaftertherain.Andhillandpassgrowadeeperblue.(包惠南2003:128)InExample(1),ChairmanMaousessevencolourtermstodescribethecoloursofarainbowintheskyafterasummerstorm.TheyareidenticalwiththesevencoloursthatareusedtodescribetherainbowinEnglishEncyclopedia.Withoutcolours,therewillbenocolourfullife.Natureprovidesuswithmanybeauties,suchastherisingsun,thewhitemoonlight,thebluesea,andthegreenwheatwave.Theyareallthatweshouldcherish.2.1ColourtermswithcognitioninEnglishandChineseLanguagehastwomeanings.Oneisitsconceptualmeaningwhiletheotherisitsassociativemeaning.Whenweusecolourtermstodescribethecolourofacertainsubject,theirconceptualmeaningisapplied.Whenweassociatecolourtermswithabstractconcepts,theirassociativemeaningisapplied.“TheoryofSemanticFeature-cancellation”(王寅2001:308)makesitpossibleforustousewordswhicharesupposedtodescribeconcretethingstoexpressabstractconcepts.Cognitivesemanticsviewsmeaningsasamentalphenomenonwhichisbasedonbodyexperience.Theyaretheresultofinteractionbetweenhumanbeingandtherealworld.Theprocessoftheformingofmeaningsistheprocessofconceptualization.Andtheprocessofconceptualizationisacognitiveonewhichisbasedonbodyexperience.(Ibid:181)Thecognitiveprocessisaverycomplexone.Thecognitionofcoloursisavisualcognitiveprocess.Allthevisualinformationiscarriedtothecortexoverthemajorvisualpathway.Thediscussionofcolourtermswilltakeoneonajourneyfromtheeyetothecortex.One’sbrainservesasacolourprocessor.Thecognitionofcoloursalsoinvolvesone’ssubjectivity.Thus,onecolourreflectsnotonlyobjectivefeaturebutsubjectivefeatureaswell.Thesubjectivefeatureisusuallyformedthroughsynesthesia,whichmeanswhetherthecolourmakesyoufeelwarmorfeelcold.AsGeoffreyLeech(1981:235-26)putit,“Therelativeuniformityofcoloursemanticsindifferentlanguageshasmuchtodowiththeuniformityofthehumanapparatusofvisualperception.”Whateverlanguageapersonspeaks,heisapttoregard“certainfocalcolourstimuli”asmoreimportantthanothers.Amongmanycolours,redistheeasiesttoperceive.2.2ColourtermswithcultureinEnglishandChinese“Cultureisanintegralwholewhichembracesknowledge,beliefs,moralities,laws,customsandotherabilitiesandhabitsamanhasacquiredasamemberofsociety.”(quotedin陶丽2006:17)Languageisapartofculture.Languageisamirror,infrontofwhichcultureisreflected.Thedifferenceofthe“innercontentofthenation”(解海江and章黎平2004:263)isafundamentalfactorcausingdifferentunderstandingofculturalconnotationsofcolours.Peopleindifferentculturesmayhavetotallydifferentunderstandingoftheassociativemeaningwhichthesamecolourconveys.Culturalassociativemeaningisdeterminedbyonenation’scustom,geography,andreligion.Thesamecolourmaygiverisetodifferentassociationinone’smind.Thisiscausedbyculturaldifference.Thesimilarityistheresultofculturalcommensurabilityandmutualpenetrationofculture.Inmostcultures,redisrelatedtoenthusiasmandunrestraint.Butthereexistgreatdifferencesincustom,geography,andreligionbetweendifferentnations.First,colourtermsinChineseembodyfeudalhierarchicalculture.Inmanydynasties,certaincolourswereusedbycertainpeople.Theyrepresentdifferentsocialstatus.Second,colourtermsembodywesternreligiousculture.Asthesymbolofpurity,whiterevealsthereligiouscomplexofthewesternpeople.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2006:47).Howoneviewstheworldwillaffecthisperceptiontowardtheworldtheprocessbywhichheattachesmeaningstosocialeventsheencountersinhisenvironment.Ithelpspeopleinterpretandevaluatewhatisrightandwrong,whatisgoodandbad,whattodoandnottodo,andsoon.That’sthesameincolourperception.BothinChinaandEnglish-speakingcountries,redisusuallyassociatedwithcelebrationsandjoyfuloccasions.InChina,peopleusuallyuseredthingstocreatehappyatmospheretoawedding,abirthdayandimportantfestivals.RedisprevalentonatraditionalChinesewedding.Peoplestickred喜喜onwindowsanddoors,useredlinens.Thebrideisdressedinredfromheadtofeet:reddressesandredshoes.Thatnotonlybringshappyambiencetothewedding,butalsomakespeoplerecalltheirhappydaysaftertheirmarriage.Whentheirbabyisone-monthold,thehostfamilywillsendredeggstotherelatives,friendsandneighbourstocelebratethecomingofthenewlife.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.Werolledouttheredcarpettowelcomehimhome.’(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2006:109)Fromthecase,wecanfindthat“torollouttheredcarpet”canalsobeappliedtoanordinaryperson.Besides,“topaintthetownred”means“tocelebratewildly,toenjoyoneselftoone’sheart’scontent”.Likewise,inthewest,onChristmasDay,SantaClauscomestodispatchpresentstoinnocentchildren.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.Thiscanbewellillustratedbythefollowingexample:Mr.Brownhasbeenfeelingbluelately.TheactualinformationthissentenceconveysisthatMr.Brownhasbeenverydepressedlately.Onlywhenweknowitsconnotationscanweunderstandacolourtermcorrectly;otherwise,wewillfeelveryconfused.Likewhite,redisalsoassociatedwithcertainemotions,angerandembarrassmentincluded.ThesetwokindsofemotionexistbothinEnglishandChinese.Let’sseeanexample.Herfaceturnedredwhenbombardedwithsuchanembarrassingquestion.Wecaneasilyguessthemeaningofredandthemeaningofthissentence,forthereisanChineseequivalenceforit——脸红.Thereherfaceturnedredbecauseshefeltembarrassedandshefeltsobecauseoftheembarrassingquestion.InEnglish,wecanuseeitherturnredorbecomered-facedtoshowone’sembarrassment.ButwemustknowthatinEnglishtherearemanyexpressionstodescribeaperson’sfaceturningred:toblush,toflush,toredden,tocolourup,etc.“Manyobjectsthatwouldbelabelledbythe‘red’terminonelanguagewouldnotbelabelledbythe‘red’terminanother:accordinglythe‘red’terminonelanguagewouldnotbeinfalliblytranslatedbythe‘red’terminanother”(GeoffreyLeech1981:235).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2006:109-10)InExample(3),wecanknowthattoblushisusedwhensomeonefeelsembarrassed,toflushinExample(4)isusedintheexciting,happy,orinebriatedsituation.ToreddenandtocolorupinExample(5)arecommonlyusedinmostcases.SowhenwetranslatethesephrasesfromChinesetoEnglish,wemustconsidercarefullywhichwordtouse.Thoseareallaboutembarrassment.Thenwhataboutanger?InChinese,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.Theformermeanstobecomeveryangrywhilethelattermeanstocausequickangerinsomebodybydoingsomethingoffensive.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2002:26)Redskycan’tbedirectlytranslatedinto红天.Ifitistranslatedinsuchaway,weChinesecan’tunderstanditclearlybecausewedonothavesuchanequivalenceinChinese.Tounderstanditbetter,wehavetotranslateitliberally.Inthisway,theliberaltranslationapproachisrequiredwhensuchsemanticvacancyappears.InChinese,weuse红眼病toexpressthefeelingofbeingjealous.ButinEnglish,weusegreeneyetoexpressthismeaning.Ifitonlyreferstoakindofdisease,thenitshouldbetranslatedintopinkeyes.Thecoloursaresoflexiblyusedhere.Ifwewanttounderstandthemcorrectly,wemusthaveagoodcommandofcolourterms.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’tcometrue.Sosuchanametranslatedinthiswayissoordinaryandcan’tbesatisfactory,unabletoconveytheauthor’sintendedmeaning.Anditisveryinappropriatetotranslatetheredintothegreen.(Ibid:26-7)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.Itstemsfromthetraditionthatwomeninoldtimescommonlyrougedtheircheeks.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2005:255-6).Sowhenoneperceivestheoutsideworld,hisknowledge,hisexperience,etc.willaffecthisperception.Meaningoriginatesfromtheinteractionbetweenhumanbeingandtherealworld.Howpeopleviewtheworldwillaffecttheuseoflanguage,thusaffectingthemeaningoflanguage.Duringtheprocessoftheformofmeanings,theexternalstimuliareconceptualized.Thiskindofconceptualizationisbasedonbodyexperience.Thecognitiveprocessisverycomplicated.“It’swellknownthatcolourvisionisanimportanttoolofhumancognition”(赵艳芳2001:41).What’smore,theresearchesoncolorandthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionshowthatthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionisconstantacrossallraces.Itisgenerallythecasethatregardlessofthenumberofcolortermsinalanguage,thefocalhueisremarkablyconsistentacrosslanguages.(quotedin李丽雪2003:24)Withthisviewinmind,letusreturntored.Redistothehumaneyethemostsalientofcolorexperiences.Atnormallightlevels,redstandsoutinrelationtoallotherhuesbyvirtueofareciprocal,heighteningeffectbetweensaturationandbrightness…(Forley2001:163)Soredbringspeoplestrongvisualshock.Theroleofredasawarningsignisrelatedtothecolour’shighvisibility.Peoplethinkofthecolouroffireasred.Forexample,Birrennotesthat“TheJewishhistorianJosephusinthefirstcenturyADassociated…redwithfire”.InChineseculture,“Weshallsetdown…redforfire”.(quotedin陶丽2006:34)Firebringspeoplewarmth,sopeoplethinkofredasawarmcolour.Fireisalsodangerous,soredisusedasasymbolofdanger.Flashingredlightsdenotedangeroremergency.Stopsignsandstoplightsareredtogetthedriver’sattentionandalertthemtothedangersoftheintersection.“Metaphorsaresometimesusedwithoutusers’beingconsciousoftheirmetaphoricalcharacter”(常宗林2005:255).Thesamephenomenonwillappearwhenweusecolourterms.Manyassociationsaregroundedsodeeplyincommonhumanexperiencethatweseldompayspecialattentiontothemwhenweusetheassociativemeaningofcolourterms.Inadditiontotheperceptualbasis,colortermsaredeeplyrootedintheirculturalbasis.Thisiswellsummarizedasfollows:Inotherwords,whatwecall“directphysicalexperience”isneveramatterofhavingabodyofacertainsort;rather,everyexperiencetakesplacewithinavastbackgroundofculturalpresuppositions…Culturalassumptions,values,andattitudesarenotaconceptualoverlaywhichwemayormaynotplaceuponexperienceaswechoose.Itwouldbemorecorrecttosaythatallexperienceisculturalthroughandthrough,thatweexperienceour“world”insuchawaythatourcultureisalreadypresentintheveryexperienceitself.(LakoffandJohnson1980:57)ItisknownthatbullfightersinSpainuseapieceofredragtoexasperatebullstowageawar,forbullfightingisatraditioninwesterncountriesandbullsareapttogetangrywhentheyseesomethingred.Sopeopleuselikearedragtoabulltoexpressone’sanger.It’salsoacolourfordanger.Thewesternpeoplerelateredtoblood.Theyassociateredwithviolenceanddanger.Oncalendars,wecanfindthatholidaysareprintedinred,whileordinarydaysareinblack.That’sthesameintwocountries.AlsoaccordingtoKovecses(2002:165),onelanguagecouldborrowsomethingfromanother.Like红灯区,赤字,theyaretranslationsfromtheirEnglishequivalentsred-lightdistrict,inthered.Andtheuseofredinintheredcomesfromthecoloroftheinkusedinkeepingaccounts.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.Thisexactlyembodiesthegreatimportanceofre