1、1本 科 毕 业 论 文（设 计）题目（中文）： 英汉红色词义对比研究 （英文）：A Comparative Study on the Sense of Red in English and Chinese 学 院 年级专业 学生姓名 学 号 指导教师 完 成 日 期 2014 年 4 月2A Comparative Study on the Sense of Red in English and ChineseA Thesis Submitted to Shanghai Normal Universityin Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements f
2、or the Degree of Bachelor of Artsin English EducationForeign Languages College, Shanghai Normal UniversityApril 2014Acknowledgements3This thesis is dedicated to all the teachers who have taught me a lot, especially to my supervisor, who has helped to work out the outline, giving me enlightening advi
3、ce throughout the whole process of the present thesis. To her, I owe a profound debt of gratitude. The work would not have been possible without the help of my roommates and friends, who gave me a lot of encouragement when I was at a loss. We discussed a lot and moved forward.I am particularly indeb
4、ted to my father and mother, who encouraged me to persist and gave me the best they could offer. Without all the support, I could not have completed this tough work.4AbstractColour terms are abundant in both English and Chinese，such as red, yellow, and blue. In this thesis, I have attempted to make
5、a comparison between the sense of red in English and that in Chinese by studying the examples collected from all the materials available. The thesis is divided into three parts. In Chapter One, I relate colour terms with cognition and culture in English and Chinese. In Chapter Two, I list a lot of e
6、xamples related to red in English and Chinese and analyse them from three aspects in terms of their sense: exact equivalence, partial equivalence, no equivalence. In Chapter Three, I find out the factors that cause these semantic similarities and differences of red from the perspective of cognition
7、and culture. Through a comparative study of the sense of red in English and Chinese, I shed light on the three kinds of equivalent relationship of red terms in English and Chinese. The three kinds of equivalent relationship indicate that there exist similarity and difference in red terms between Eng
8、lish and Chinese. Both similarity and difference are attributed to cognitive basis and cultural influence. If people know them well, they can achieve better cross-culture communication. Key words: the sense of red; semantic equivalence; similarity; difference; cognition; culture5摘要在英语和汉语中, 存在着丰富的颜色词
9、, 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
10、词： 红色语义；语义对应；相似；差异；认知；文化6ContentsAcknowledgements . iAbstract . ii摘要. iii1. Introduction 12. The general view of colour terms in English and Chinese . 22.1 Colour terms with cognition in English and Chinese 22.2 Colour terms with culture in English and Chinese 33. Semantic equivalence of red in Engl
11、ish and Chinese. 53.1 Exact equivalence. 53.2 Partial equivalence. 63.3 No equivalence. 84. Reasons for the semantic similarities and differences of red in English and Chinese.114.1 Reasons for the semantic similarities of red in English and Chinese 114.2 Reasons for the semantic differences of red
12、in English and Chinese 134.2.1 Difference in aesthetic habit. 144.2.2 Difference in historical background. 155. Conclusion . 17Bibliography . 1871. IntroductionAccording to Geoffrey Leech (1981: 9), “There are seven types of meanings: conceptual meaning, connotative meaning, social meaning, affectiv
13、e meaning, reflected meaning, collocative meaning, and thematic meaning.” And he combined connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning, collocative meaning into “associative meaning”. So besides the literal meaning, colour words have affluent associative meanings. Differ
14、ent nations endow them with different cultural connotations. The comparative study of the sense of red in both English and Chinese will be a bridge for both English and Chinese learners to understand the similarities and disparities; otherwise, these disparities can cause ambiguity and lead to misun
15、derstanding. “Obviously, connotations are apt to vary from age to age and from society to society” (Ibid: 12). Compared with conceptual meaning, associative meaning is unstable because associations vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of individuals. So it is
16、 quite necessary to make a comparison between associative meaning of red in English and that in Chinese. There have been a lot of studies about the meanings of different colours, the way to translate some phrases with colour terms, and the relationship between colour and culture. Many of them focus
17、on several colours, and some focusing on one colour term only list lots of examples without comparing them in different languages, so its meaningful to make a comparison between the sense of red in English and that in Chinese. If we know the similarities and differences in the sense between these tw
18、o languages, we can learn the second language better, thus achieving the cross-culture communication. The thesis is about to analyze some examples of red terms in both English and Chinese, try to find the similarities and dissimilarities between them in terms of 8semantics, and find out the factors
19、that cause these semantic similarities and dissimilarities from the perspective of cognition and culture.2. The general view of colour terms in English and ChineseColours are closely related to peoples life. Colour is an important field from which people can recognize the world. Let us see the follo
20、wing example:(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.Who is dancing, waving this coloured ribbon against the sky?The sun returns slanting after the rain.And hill and pass grow a deeper blue. (包惠南 2003: 128)In Example(1), Chairman Mao uses seven col
21、our terms to describe the colours of a rainbow in the sky after a summer storm. They are identical with the seven colours that are used to describe the rainbow in English Encyclopedia. Without colours, there will be no colourful life. Nature provides us with many beauties, such as the rising sun, th
22、e white moonlight, the blue sea, and the green wheat wave. They are all that we should cherish. 2.1 Colour terms with cognition in English and ChineseLanguage has two meanings. One is its conceptual meaning while the other is its associative meaning. When we use colour terms to describe the colour o
23、f a certain subject, their conceptual meaning is applied. When we associate colour terms with abstract concepts, their associative meaning is applied. “Theory of Semantic Feature-cancellation” (王寅 2001: 308) makes it possible for us to use words which are supposed to describe concrete things to expr
24、ess abstract concepts. 9Cognitive semantics views meanings as a mental phenomenon which is based on body experience. They are the result of interaction between human being and the real world. The process of the forming of meanings is the process of conceptualization. And the process of conceptualiza
25、tion is a cognitive one which is based on body experience. (Ibid: 181) The cognitive process is a very complex one. The cognition of colours is a visual cognitive process. All the visual information is carried to the cortex over the major visual pathway. The discussion of colour terms will take one
26、on a journey from the eye to the cortex. Ones brain serves as a colour processor. The cognition of colours also involves ones subjectivity. Thus, one colour reflects not only objective feature but subjective feature as well. The subjective feature is usually formed through synesthesia, which means w
27、hether the colour makes you feel warm or feel cold. As Geoffrey Leech (1981: 235-26) put it, “The relative uniformity of colour semantics in different languages has much to do with the uniformity of the human apparatus of visual perception.” Whatever language a person speaks, he is apt to regard “ce
28、rtain focal colour stimuli” as more important than others. Among many colours, red is the easiest to perceive. 2.2 Colour terms with culture in English and Chinese“Culture is an integral whole which embraces knowledge, beliefs, moralities, laws, customs and other abilities and habits a man has acqui
29、red as a member of society.” (quoted in 陶丽 2006: 17)Language is a part of culture. Language is a mirror, in front of which culture is reflected. The difference of the “inner content of the nation” (解海江 and 章黎平 2004: 263) is a fundamental factor causing different understanding of cultural connotation
30、s of colours. People in different cultures may have totally different understanding of the associative meaning which the same colour conveys. Cultural associative meaning is determined by one nations custom, geography, 10and religion. The same colour may give rise to different association in ones mi
31、nd. This is caused by cultural difference. The similarity is the result of cultural commensurability and mutual penetration of culture. In most cultures, red is related to enthusiasm and unrestraint. But there exist great differences in custom, geography, and religion between different nations. Firs
32、t, colour terms in Chinese embody feudal hierarchical culture. In many dynasties, certain colours were used by certain people. They represent different social status. Second, colour terms embody western religious culture. As the symbol of purity, white reveals the religious complex of the western pe
33、ople. So a bride in western countries wears a white dress instead of a red one. Third, a nation has a preference for certain colours. We Chinese people consider red as a beautiful colour. A good case in point is that we use 红颜 to describe a pretty girl. While red is not so popular among the English
34、people, its positive meaning is used less than that in Chinese. 3. Semantic equivalence of red in English and Chinese3.1 Exact equivalenceThe view of the world is “a cultures orientation toward God, humanity, nature, the universe, life, death, sickness, and other philosophical issues concerning exis
35、tence” (quoted in 陶丽 2006: 47). How one views the world will affect his perception toward the world-the process by which he attaches meanings to social events he encounters in his environment. It helps people interpret and evaluate what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, what to do and not to
36、 do, and so on. Thats the same in colour perception. Both in China and English-speaking countries, red is usually associated with celebrations and joyful occasions. In China, people usually use red things to create happy atmosphere to a wedding, a birthday and important festivals. Red is prevalent o
37、n a traditional Chinese wedding. People stick red 喜喜 on windows and doors, use 11red linens. The bride is dressed in red from head to feet: red dresses and red shoes. That not only brings happy ambience to the wedding, but also makes people recall their happy days after their marriage. When their ba
38、by is one-month old, the host family will send red eggs to the relatives, friends and neighbours to celebrate the coming of the new life. Under festive circumstances, the elder send to the young red packets with money enclosed to pray for happiness and health. Similarly, bosses send to their employe
39、es red packets with money enclosed to pray for prosperity. Besides, We have a very famous trademark for a cigarette, that is, 红双喜 which is a symbol of good fortune. On calendars, we can find that holidays, such as the Spring Festival, are printed in red, while ordinary days are in black. In English,
40、 red is also used for celebrating events. It has the cultural associative meaning of happiness, such as in red letter day. Important days are printed in red on calendars rather than in black for ordinary days. For western people, a red letter day means a day when a good event happens. In China, we h
41、ave the custom to roll out a red carpet to extend our warmth to some important guests, that is, to “roll out the red carpet to honor a visiting head of state”, or “to give someone the red carpet treatment”. For example,(2) A mother said, It was a real red letter day for me when my son came home from
42、 three years in the navy. We rolled out the red carpet to welcome him home. (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) From the case, we can find that “to roll out the red carpet” can also be applied to an ordinary person. Besides, “to paint the town red” means “to celebrate wi
43、ldly, to enjoy oneself to ones hearts content”. Likewise, in the west, on Christmas Day, Santa Claus comes to dispatch presents to innocent children. He is in red, making the day full of mystery and happiness. Whats more, there exists basic similarity in conceptual meaning of red in English and Chin
44、ese such as blood-red (血红色), orange-red (橘红色), red wine (红12葡萄酒). 3.2 Partial equivalence But in the process of translating one source language into another target language, the meaning may change, especially when colour terms are involved, although the translator tries his or her best to be faithfu
45、l. There exists a close relationship between colour and emotion. This can be well illustrated by the following example: Mr. Brown has been feeling blue lately. The actual information this sentence conveys is that Mr. Brown has been very depressed lately. Only when we know its connotations can we und
46、erstand a colour term correctly; otherwise, we will feel very confused. Like white, red is also associated with certain emotions, anger and embarrassment included. These two kinds of emotion exist both in English and Chinese. Lets see an example. Her face turned red when bombarded with such an embar
47、rassing question. We can easily guess the meaning of red and the meaning of this sentence, for there is an Chinese equivalence for it脸红. There her face turned red because she felt embarrassed and she felt so because of the embarrassing question. In English, we can use either turn red or become red-f
48、aced to show ones embarrassment. But we must know that in English there are many expressions to describe a persons face turning red: to blush, to flush, to redden, to colour up, etc. “Many objects that would be labelled by the red term in one language would not be labelled by the red term in another: accordingly the red term in one language would not be infallibly translated by the red term in another” (Geoffrey Leech 1981: 235). Some things and objects have only one or two ways of expression in one language, w
