Cultural differences of the color red between English and Chinese 英语专业毕业论文.doc

Cultural differences of the color red between English and Chinese Abstract: In human language there exist a number of color terms that make the world colorful. The color words not only express the color, but also imply the culture of each country, different cultures can reflect one country’s history, aesthetic taste and national psychology. It is noticed that different people have different cultures have different sense to colors. This paper deals with the cultural connotations of the color red in English and Chinese, which, to some extent, can help readers reduce embarrassment in communication and understanding. Key words: Culture Red Meaning English Chinese Ⅰ. Introduction In the long process of production and life, out of necessity, mankind has created color words. The history of color words has gone through a long-term change; now the color words not only express the color, but also imply the culture of each country, different cultures can reflect one country’s history, aesthetic taste and national psychology. It is the bright and colorful nature which provides the place for life and the foundation for developing. Color is a present from nature to human. The red sun, blue sky, green grassland, everything has its color. We can not imagine what the world would be if there is no color of great variety. From the English learning, we can find that different countries have different meaning of some color words. Color plays an important part in the culture. Almost everything can be described with color words, including economy, political, culture, and emotion. Sometimes we can not understand some English statements, because every language is rooted in its own culture. The paper mainly attempts to make a comparison of the color red between English and Chinese. Ⅱ. The meaning of red in the western countries In western countries, the red is the color of life, fire and blood. The red, like the fire and blood, has dual nature in the symbolic. Dazzling and centrifu