Color Words in Chinese and English Introduction Both

Color Words in Chinese and English

Introduction • Both Chinese and English are rich in words which are used to express different kinds of color. They not only have their own original meanings, but also have the wide-ranging symbolic meanings. • Besides, the symbolic meanings are not the same in different culture, but have their own characteristics. So some colors become adorable to people, but some become taboos.

• The definition of color • color is a visual phenomenon launched, reflected or caused through certain light wave by the object; it is one kind of visual essential features of human eye. • Seven Basic Colors • In Chinese, they are 赤、橙、黄、绿、青、 蓝、紫 • In English, they are red, white, black, green, yellow, blue and purple.

Purple • In China, purple is more often adopted by the feudal emperors and the Taoism(道教). They called the auspicious air 紫气, the Taoist（道教的） books are 紫� , the place which the deity living in is 紫台, the emperors’ palace is 紫禁城(the Forbidden City). • In English, purple shares the same connotation as in Chinese language. In the eye of Westerners, purple is the symbol of emperor and power. “to be born in the purple” means “to be born in a royal family”; “to be raised to the purple” means “to be promoted to the position as a pope（教皇）” 。 • 在英语中，purple还可以表示人的情感，表示生气，发怒 之意。例如：purple with rage气得脸孔发紫，狂怒。

Conclusion • A language can reflect the development of a nation’s history and culture. The symbolic meanings of color words have great distinction in different cultures. They are shaped in the longterm development of the society. • The colors bring us a wonderful and splendid world, and color words make it easier to express our thought, make our expression more apt and vivid. Correctly understanding colors and their deeper symbolic meaning will be a great help for people in different cultures to communicate.

Question 1. After our presentation, how much have you learned about colors and culture? 2. Can you express color words correctly?