study on the differences of the application of colour terms in crosscultural communication 跨文化交际中颜色词运用差异研究 毕业论文 .doc

Study on the Differences of the Application of Colour Terms in Cross-cultural Communication 跨文化交际中颜色词运用差异研究 Class: 999 Student: Supervisor: Chongqing University June, 2012 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Different connotations of colours in the east and west 3 2.1 The different connotations of red 3 2.2 The different connotations of white 4 2.3 The different connotations of black 5 2.4 The different connotations of yellow 5 3 The causes for these differences 7 3.1 Association 7 3.2 Environment 8 3.3 Religion and belief 9 3.4 Philosophy 10 3.5 Other causes 10 4 The influences of different connotations of colour terms 11 4.1 Different colour preferences in different cultures 11 5. Conclusion 14 5.1 Major findings of the study 14 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research 15 References 16 1 Introduction Webster defines culture as “the values, beliefs, attitudes, customs and behaviours of a particular social, ethnic or age group” in the “Webster’s Third New International Dictionary” (p.382). Culture can have effects on everything around us. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When we interact with people from our native cultures, culture behaves as a framework of understanding. However, when we interact with people from different cultures, this framework will no longer work because of cross cultural differences. Therefore, we need smooth cross cultural commuciation, which can build up common frameworks for people of different cultures to communicate with each other more easily and smoothly to reach the final target of helping minimise the negative impression of differences cross cultures. Moreover, within an increasingly international and globalizational society, the former trading barriers between nations gradually graduated away in the contemporary age. Being aware of the substantial potential for expansion and profit the international markets pro