Abstract

As we live in a colorful world, the diversity of colors results in the diversity of color words. The color words occupy a very important position both in Chinese and in English. The color words not only express the color, but also possess different associative and connotative meanings due to several factors like environment, religion, mode of thinking and social convention. In some momentous occasions, as the important expressions of customs, red and white reflect different cultural backgrounds. This paper takes red and white for examples to compare the connotative meanings of color words in Chinese and English, and tries to analyze some different reasons for the differences between their connotative meanings. Then this paper can highlight the importance of deep understanding of cultural connotations of color words in trans-cultural communication and promote cross-cultural communication.

Keywords: color words; cultural connotations; red; white

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-1

3. The Color of “Bai” and “Hong” in Chinese culture-2

3.1 Images of “Bai”-2

3.2 Images of “Hong”-3

4. The Color of “White” and “Red” in Western Culture-4

4.1 Images of “White”-4

4.2 Images of “Red”-5

5. Comparison and Contrast of Color Words between Chinese and Western Cultures-6

5.1 The similarities of color words between Chinese and Western cultures-6

5.2 The differences of color words between Chinese and Western cultures-7

5.3 Reasons for the differences of color words between Chinese and Western cultures-8

6. Conclusion-12

Works Cited-14