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” (红双喜) which is symbolic of good fortune.
Red is also associated with certain emotions. Let us see a few examples.
He clenched his fist and went very red.
Her face turned red when bombarded with such an embarrassing question.
I can see that he is red with anger.
When he criticized my work, I really saw red.
The mere mention of his enemy’s name is like waving a red flag to him.
In the sentences above, we can guess the meaning of some, for there is an Chinese equivalent， while the others are not so easy to understand by Chinese. For instance, in English, her face turned red or to become red-faced shows one’s embarrassment, as it does in Chinese 脸红. But what is the meaning of see red and waving a red flag? Both suggest anger. The former means to become very angry while the latter means to cause quick anger in somebody by doing something offensive.
“Government policy in interest rates, and on finance generally, has been marked by vacillation, wishful thinking, electoral expediency of the most shameful type towards the end of last year, contortions and contradictions, all to accommodate the redneck economics of the National Country Party. (Harsard Aug.27 1981)”
In the example above, “redneck” is used as an adjective, meaning “reactionary”. “redneckery” deriving from “redneck” refers to “reactionary attitudes”. For instance, “...the redneckery of the Queenland government...(Garth Nettheim ABC Books and Writing Apr.21.1982)”
The literal meaning of “redneck” is red-neck. How is it related to “reactionary”? “redneck” originally meant (AmE) Southern farmers of U.S.A., usually carrying a derogatory meaning. Now “reactionary”, the extended meaning of “redneck”, has something to do with its special historical and geographical background.
Another example.
“Ironically, it was Red Nose Day, the day when millions of Australians donned red noses to support research into sudden infant death syndrome. (New Idea. Oct.7 1989)”
Red Nose Day refers to a day on which an appeal is made for donations for research into sudden infant death syndrome, marked by the distribution of plastic red noses to donors. In Chinese, however, there is no such connotation.
Some Westerners take “red” as an evil omen or red for danger, stemming from the spirits of bullfighters. So the red rag (or red flag) that bullfighters use to provocate bulls is considered annoying. According to the Random House Dictionary, red further develops to be the synonym for political radical.
Furthermore, red has some extended meanings, such as cruelty, disaster, trivial formalities, etc.
red alert�alarming in emergency
a red battle�a cruel battle in which a lot of lives have been lost
be caught red-handed�be caught on site
