Chapter 1
Does language shape culture or does culture shape language? In my view, language is a mirror, in front of which culture is reflected. As a student majoring in Chinese as a foreign language, I’d like to take this advantage to discuss the cultural differences between Chinese and English. In the following passage, I am going to elaborate on the cultural differences reflecting in colors.
There are many color words in our language, such as red, white, black, yellow, purple and so forth, which are used frequently. In the first place, I’d like to introduce the common usages of the color words.
1.adj.+color word
(1)"deep/dark+color words": indicating the strong color
e.g., deep blue; deep green; dark brown; dark red.
(2)"light/pale+color words": indicating the light color
e.g., light yellow; light blue; pale grey; pale white.
(3) "bright/rich/vivid+color words": indicating the bright color
e.g., bright/rich/vivid red; bright/rich/vivid yellow.
(4) "dull/dirty+color words":indicating the dark color
e.g., dull yellow; dull gold; dirty grey; dirty white.
2. "color words+-ish"
This group indicates the different shades of the color. An adjective followed by -ish means "slightly…"
e.g., whitish sky, yellowish book leaves; reddish face…
3. "color words+color words"
This pattern indicates the mixture of the color. The former stands for the main color, while the latter functions as modification.
e.g.,red green; green yellow; grey blue…
4. "color words+and+color words"
Two colors coexisting in something without being mixed form a design and color.
e.g., The dog is black and white.
She has a yellow and black car.
Chapter 2
English abounds with phrases containing color words. Colors may convey different messages to people of different cultures. Due to the respective cultural background and tradition, some phrases containing color words have far surpassed their original meanings, forming different connotations.
What does see red mean? If he is in a blue mood, what kind of mood is he in? Is he happy, sad, or what? Obviously, red and blue do not mean just the color. Each has additional meanings-certain cultural associations-that are hidden behind the word. The following part will be devoted to the discussion of cultural differences of certain color words.
2.1 Red
In both Chinese and English, red is usually associated with happy occasions. On calendar, we can find that holidays such as Spring Festival are printed in red, which is called “red-letter days”, while ordinary days are in black. Besides, “to paint the town red” is to celebrate wildly, to enjoy oneself to one’s heart’s content. Another example is to “roll out the red carpet for someone”, meaning to give a hospitable and formal reception.
Similarly, Chinese people traditionally cut red couplets and applique to celebrate occasions like wedding and New Year. Besides, We have a very famous trademark “double red happiness” (
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