英漢紅色詞義對比研究英語畢業(yè)論文

PAGEPAGE24河北師范大學本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）題目（中文）：英漢紅色詞義對比研究（英文）：AComparativeStudyontheSenseofRedinEnglishandChinese學院外國語年級專業(yè)10級英語學生姓名學號指導教師完成日期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摘要在英語和漢語中,存在著豐富的顏色詞,如紅色，黃色，藍色。在這篇文章中，通過研究所獲材料中的例子，我嘗試著對英漢紅色詞義進行了對比分析。本文分為三個部分。在第一章中，我談到了顏色詞與認知和文化的關(guān)系。在第二章中，我列舉了中英文里有關(guān)紅色詞語的許多例子，并且結(jié)合三種語義對等關(guān)系對它們進行了分析：英漢語義的完全對應，部分對應和不完全對應。在第三章中，我從認知以及文化的角度，闡釋了導致這些紅色詞語在中英文里語義相似和不同的原因。通過對中英文中紅色詞義的對比研究，我揭示出紅色詞語在中英文里的三種對應關(guān)系。這三種對應關(guān)系表明在英漢兩種語言里，紅色詞語的語義確實存在著相似性和差異性，而這些相似性和差異性都源于認知的基礎(chǔ)和文化的影響。關(guān)鍵詞：紅色語義；語義對應；相似；差異；認知；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)菩薩蠻·大柏地赤橙黃綠青藍紫，誰持彩練當空舞？雨后復斜陽，關(guān)山陣陣蒼。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陶麗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紅顏todescribeaprettygirl.WhileredisnotsopopularamongtheEnglishpeople,itspositivemeaningisusedlessthanthatinChinese.3.SemanticequivalenceofredinEnglishandChinese3.1ExactequivalenceTheviewoftheworldis“aculture’sorientationtowardGod,humanity,nature,theuniverse,life,death,sickness,andotherphilosophicalissuesconcerningexistence”(quotedin陶麗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,紅雙喜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.’(我兒子在海軍服役三年了。他回家的那天，對我來說真是一個大喜的日子。我們把他當貴賓一樣來歡迎。)(宋偉華2006:109)Fromthecase,wecanfindthat“torollouttheredcarpet”canalsobeappliedtoanordinaryperson.Besides,“topaintthetownred”means“tocelebratewildly,toenjoyoneselftoone’sheart’scontent”.Likewise,inthewest,onChristmasDay,SantaClauscomestodispatchpresentstoinnocentchildren.Heisinred,makingthedayfullofmysteryandhappiness.What’smore,thereexistsbasicsimilarityinconceptualmeaningofredinEnglishandChinesesuchasblood-red(血紅色),orange-red(橘紅色),redwine(紅葡萄酒).3.2PartialequivalenceButintheprocessoftranslatingonesourcelanguageintoanothertargetlanguage,themeaningmaychange,especiallywhencolourtermsareinvolved,althoughthetranslatortrieshisorherbesttobefaithful.Thereexistsacloserelationshipbetweencolourandemotion.Thiscanbewellillustratedbythefollowingexample:Mr.Brownhasbeenfeelingbluelately.TheactualinformationthissentenceconveysisthatMr.Brownhasbeenverydepressedlately.Onlywhenweknowitsconnotationscanweunderstandacolourtermcorrectly;otherwise,wewillfeelveryconfused.Likewhite,redisalsoassociatedwithcertainemotions,angerandembarrassmentincluded.ThesetwokindsofemotionexistbothinEnglishandChinese.Let’sseeanexample.Herfaceturnedredwhenbombardedwithsuchanembarrassingquestion.Wecaneasilyguessthemeaningofredandthemeaningofthissentence,forthereisanChineseequivalenceforit——臉紅.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？”盛淑君滿臉飛紅地抵賴。（周立波：《山鄉(xiāng)巨變》）“WhatcareshaveIgot?”sheblushedasshedeniedthem.(4)他和甫兩個雖然已經(jīng)喝了半瓶黑葡萄酒，可是他們臉上一點也不紅……（茅盾：《子夜》）HeandWangHo-fuhadgotthroughhalfabottleofportbetweenthem,buttheirfaceswerenotflushedintheleast.(5)周仲偉的臉上立刻通紅了，真像一根“紅頭火柴”。（茅盾：《子夜》）ChouChung-wei’sfacereddenedlikeoneofhisownred-tippedmatches.(quotedin宋偉華2006:109-10)InExample(3),wecanknowthattoblushisusedwhensomeonefeelsembarrassed,toflushinExample(4)isusedintheexciting,happy,orinebriatedsituation.ToreddenandtocolorupinExample(5)arecommonlyusedinmostcases.SowhenwetranslatethesephrasesfromChinesetoEnglish,wemustconsidercarefullywhichwordtouse.Thoseareallaboutembarrassment.Thenwhataboutanger?InChinese,wesay氣得臉紅脖子粗.InEnglish,wecanusetheexpressiontoseered,ortowavearedflag.Theyarepartlyequivalenttoeachother.Also,wecan’tdirectlytranslatethetoseeredinto見紅，whichmaycausemisunderstanding,becauseinChina,itimpliesawoman’sbleedingwhensheisgivingbirthtoababy.Neithercantowavearedflagbedirectlytranslatedinto揮動一面紅旗.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紅糖，butinEnglishitequalsbrownsugar.WeChinesesay紅茶，butinEnglishitequalsblacktea.紅榜istranslatedintohonorroll;紅豆istranslatedintolovepea;紅運,goodluck;紅利,dividend.RedruininEnglishrefersto火災inChinese；aredbattle,血戰(zhàn)；redtape,官僚作風.Ablueskyreferstoaskywhosecolourisblue,butaredskyisnotrelatedtoaskywhosecolourisred,butreferstocolourfulcloudsinthesky.LetusseeExample(13):(10)Redskyatnight,shepherd’sdelight,Redskyinthemorning,shepherd’swarning.早霞不出門，晚霞行千里。(quotedin蔣林2002:26)Redskycan’tbedirectlytranslatedinto紅天.Ifitistranslatedinsuchaway,weChinesecan’tunderstanditclearlybecausewedonothavesuchanequivalenceinChinese.Tounderstanditbetter,wehavetotranslateitliberally.Inthisway,theliberaltranslationapproachisrequiredwhensuchsemanticvacancyappears.InChinese,weuse紅眼病toexpressthefeelingofbeingjealous.ButinEnglish,weusegreeneyetoexpressthismeaning.Ifitonlyreferstoakindofdisease,thenitshouldbetranslatedintopinkeyes.Thecoloursaresoflexiblyusedhere.Ifwewanttounderstandthemcorrectly,wemusthaveagoodcommandofcolourterms.Thedifferentsemanticmeaningsofcolourtermsthuscanbeseen.Itisbecauseofthesedisparitiesthattranslatorsareverycarefulwhendealingwithcolourterms.TakeDavidHawker’stranslatingversionof《紅樓夢》asanexample,toavoidthenegativeassociativemeaningofred,hetranslatedthenameofthisclassicalnovelintoTheStoryoftheStone.And怡紅院wastranslatedintotheHouseofGreenDelights,and怡紅公子,GreenBoy.JiaBaoyulovesthered,butredheresymbolizesgirls.Hesympathizedwiththegirlsfortheirmiseries.JiaBaoyuandLinDaiyu’stragedywastheresultofthefeudalsocietyinwhichtheylivedandwhattheywerelookingforwardtocouldn’tcometrue.Sosuchanametranslatedinthiswayissoordinaryandcan’tbesatisfactory,unabletoconveytheauthor’sintendedmeaning.Anditisveryinappropriatetotranslatetheredintothegreen.(Ibid:26-7)InChinese,wehaveanidiom紅白喜事.RedistheprincipalcolourofChinesetraditionalweddingsandwhiteistheprincipalcolouroffunerals.Butinwesternweddings,bridesalwayswearwhitedresses,givingothersafeelingofeleganceandholiness;whileatfunerals,peoplewearblacksuits.Soherecareshouldbetakenintranslatingthephrase紅白喜事.Toavoidmisunderstanding,wecanputitsimplyasweddingsandfunerals.Whenwetalkaboutredandwhite,thereisaninterestingcoincidenceinChineseandEnglish.InChinese,thosewhoarepopularandfindfavourwiththeirbossesarecalled紅人.ButIrishpeoplecallthemthewhite-headedboy.Obviously,wetwonationshavedifferentcultures.Inaddition,inancienttimesofChina,紅顏or紅粉wasusedtocallbeautifulgirls.Itstemsfromthetraditionthatwomeninoldtimescommonlyrougedtheircheeks.ButinEnglish,reddoesnothavetheconnotativemeaningofgirls,sowhentranslated,theredamidhastobeavoided.Then紅顏canbetranslatedintoabeautifulgirloraprettyface.紅粉canbetranslatedintoagailydressedgirl.紅樓isalady’sroom.TheseareallChineseelements.InChinese,redisalsothesymbolofsocialismandrevolutionusedinapositivesense.Thetypicalwordsaretheredarmy,redflag,redstarandsoon.Intherevolutionarytimes,紅symbolizesrevolutionasin紅軍,紅色政權(quán)or紅色根據(jù)地while白impliesdecadenceandreactionasin白區(qū)，白色政權(quán)，白軍，白匪or白色恐怖.ThePeople’sLiberationArmywascalled紅色長城.What’smore,wehave紅代會,紅衛(wèi)兵.Thephrase又紅又專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”(趙艷芳2001:41).What’smore,theresearchesoncolorandthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionshowthatthephysiologyofhumancolorvisionisconstantacrossallraces.Itisgenerallythecasethatregardlessofthenumberofcolortermsinalanguage,thefocalhueisremarkablyconsistentacrosslanguages.(quotedin李麗雪2003:24)Withthisviewinmind,letusreturntored.Redistothehumaneyethemostsalientofcolorexperiences.Atnormallightlevels,redstandsoutinrelationtoallotherhuesbyvirtueofareciprocal,heighteningeffectbetweensaturationandbrightness…(Forley2001:163)Soredbringspeoplestrongvisualshock.Theroleofredasawarningsignisrelatedtothecolour’shighvisibility.Peoplethinkofthecolouroffireasred.Forexample,Birrennotesthat“TheJewishhistorianJosephusinthefirstcenturyADassociated…redwithfire”.InChineseculture,“Weshallsetdown…redforfire”.(quotedin陶麗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紅燈區(qū),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綠or藍.Sometimes,peopleofdifferentnationsusedifferentcolourtermstodescribethecolourofthesameobjects.Forexample,brownsugaristranslatedinto紅糖inChinese.Thisexactlyembodiesthegreatimportanceofre