“颜色”在语言中的运用.doc

《语言与文化--英汉语言文化对比》
邓炎昌 刘润清 著
第七章 “颜色”在语言中的运用 ——颜色的比喻和联想

    英语中 green with envy是什么意思？人们忌妒或羡慕时睑色真的变绿或发有吗？
英语中说 Paul was in a blue mood；Paul（保尔）是什么情绪？高兴、激动、悲哀，还是什么？
在上列两句中，green（绿）和blue（蓝）都不指颜色。两个词都有别的意思——某种文化方面的联想——从字面上看这种意思不明显。在词典上，green这个词有“（脸色）变绿”的意思，但green with envy是个固定词组，不过表示“十分嫉妒”而且。blue这个词与 mood之类的词连用体现某种情绪时，表示“沮丧的”、“忧郁的”，如：Paul was in a blue mood。（保尔情绪低落）
    本章将以汉语和英语如何运用表示“颜色”的词语为例，讨论某些颜色在不同文化中的联想。
    red（红色）：无论在英语国家还是在中国，红色往往与庆祝活动或喜庆日子有关。英语里有 red-letter days（纪念日，喜庆的日子），在西方一般指圣诞节或其他节日，因为这些日子在日历上是用红色标明的，所以red-letter的转义就是“可纪念的”、“喜庆的”。 （普通的日子印的是黑色，但 black－letter day却不是“平常的日子”，而表示“倒霉的一天”。）又如 to paint the town red表示“狂欢”、“痛饮”、“胡闹”，多指夜生活中的狂欢作乐，饮酒胡闹，不是“把全城染红”。此外，roll out the red carpet for sb. 的意思是：“（铺展红地毯）隆重地欢迎某人”。如： He was the first European head of state to visit their country，and they rolled out the red carpet for him．（他是第一个访问该国的欧洲首脑，他们用隆重的礼仪来欢迎他。） 
    以汉语中“红双喜”为例——这是传统的喜庆象征，原指举行婚礼时在门窗或墙上贴的“喜”字。，“开门红”中的“红”代表好运气。不过“开门红”这个用语不能按字面意义译成英语，、应释义为to begin well，to make a good start，表示“一开始就取得好成绩”。有时相当于汉语中的“旗开得胜”的转义： win victory in the first battle—— win speedy success．
    红色也用来表达某些感情。英语中的 become red-faced或Her face turned red同汉语中的“脸红”一样，表示“不好意思”、“难为情”或“为难”、“困窘”。不过，英语中有些包含“红色”字样的说法就不那么容易为中国人所理解。如 to see red，waving a red flag到底是什么意思，就不好懂。二者都与“生气”、“发怒”有关。前者的意思是：“使人生气”或“发怒”、“冒火”。后者中的 red flag指“使人生气的东西”，waving a red flag 指“做惹别人生气的事”，如；The mere mention of his hated cousin’s name was like waving a red flag in front of him；（只要一提他那个讨厌的表兄弟的名字，他就生气。）
    怎样把汉语中的“你红光满面”译成英语呢？显然不是You face is very red（你脸红了），否则表示对方“不好意思”或“处于窘境”。如果译成A ruddy complexion，虽带有“身体健康，面色红润”，但不表示汉语含有的困“精力充沛”（energy and vigor）而“红光满面”之义。可以说：You look so healthy and full of pep或 You look the very picture of health and energy．两者都表示“你红光满面”之义。根本不必把“红”字译出来。有的词典上把“红光满面”译作（one’s face）glowing with health; 或in ruddy health 都是从“身体健康而面色红润”这个角度来考虑的。
     红色象征革命和社会主义。在汉语和英语中都有用red（红）表示这种意义的词语，如：red guard （红卫兵）。英语中的Red （大写R）一词本身常用作“共产主义者”或“共产党员”的同义词，但有贬义。不过，有些带“红”字的汉语词语译成英语的red并表达原有的含义。例如，把“又红又专”译作red and expert 表达不出汉语词语的原义，不如译为both socialist-minded and professionally qualified。同样，把“一颗红心”译为a red heart, 不好懂，除非再解释一下，如loyal to the Party, having socialist virtues （忠于党，具有社会主义的道德品质）。
    White（白色）：对多数中国人和西方人来说，白色所引起的联想有一些是相近的：purity（洁白）, innocence（清白无辜）。但英语中的white lie 这个短语是什么意思呢？谎言还能“清白”、“无罪”、“天真”或“单纯”吗？回答是：a white lie 指“不怀恶意的谎言”。例如，姐姐会对妹妹和妹妹的男朋友说：“你们俩去看电影吧。今天晚上我还有许多事情要做。谢谢”。她知道他们两个人想单独去；邀请她不过出于礼貌，所以她以有事要做为借口。这就是white lie, 说这个谎毫无恶意，也没有骗人的意思。
    多数西方人对汉语中的“红白喜事”里的“白”字感到费解。最好根本不把“红”、“白”这两种颜色译出，只说weddings and funerals （喜事和丧事；婚礼和葬礼），因为西方人举行婚礼时，新娘总穿白色服装。把白色与丧事联系起来，会引起反感；而把funerals（丧事）说成是happy occasions（喜事），会使西方人感得吃惊，尽管这种说法反映了中国人对待死亡的达观态度。
    应当指出，在汉译英时，应注意有“白”字的汉语词语。在某些场合汉语的的“白”字指的是颜色，但在英语对应词中并无white一词：“白菜（Chinese cabbage），“白熊”（polar bear），“白蚁”（termite）。在另一些场合，“白”字与颜色毫无关系，表示“徒劳、（in vain），如：“白费事”（all in vain, a waste of time and energy），“白送”（give away, free of charge, for nothing）。此外，“白”字还可以表示“单纯的，不掺杂的”（plain, unadulterated），如：“白开水”（boiled water），“白肉”（plain boiled pork）。在某些场合甚至很难概括出某种函义。如：“坦白”（to confess, to make a clean breast of something），“白痴”（idiot），“白话”（vernacular）等等。应当记住的是：“白”字并不总是white。
    Black(黑色)：在英语和汉语中都有不少词语表明black（黑）与“不好的”、“坏的”、“邪恶的”特征相联系。如：blacklist（黑名单），black market（黑市），black-hearted（黑心的）等。
    有趣的是，在商业英语的in the black有好的意思，即“经营一项企业盈利”。如：Since he was made manager, the company has been running in he black.（自从他当了经理以后，公司一直盈利。）be in the black（赢利）的反义词是be in red（亏损，负债），这两个术语都来自记帐时所用墨水的颜色。In the red 显然已被汉语借用，即“赤字”。
    Blue（蓝色）：在英语中蓝色通常表示不快。除上述in a blue mood 或having the blues 表示“情绪低沉”、“忧郁”、“沮丧”、“烦闷”外，在a blue Monday（倒霉的星期一）中，blue 也表示类似的意思——过了愉快、幸福的周末，星期一又要上班或上学了，所以情绪不佳。如：It was blue Monday and he just didn't feel like going back towork.（又是倒霉的星期一，该上班了，他可真不愿意。）
    蓝色还常用来表示社会地位高、有权势或出身于贵族或王族。He's a real blue blood。（他是真正的贵族。）在美国英语中blue book（蓝皮书）是刊载知名人士，尤其是政府高级官员的名字的书。
        Green（绿色）：除了前面提到的green with envy，英语中还有green-eyed monster和green-eyed，都表示“嫉妒”。可是，常用来表示“嫉妒”的汉语却是“眼红”（或“害了红眼病”），英语直译为red－eyed,恰好与英语green－eyed相反。有趣的是，过去汉语有“戴绿帽子”（to wear a green hat）或“戴绿头巾”（wear a green head ban）的说法，如说“某人戴了绿帽子”，即指其人之妻与他人私通。
    英语中还常用绿色表示没有经验、缺乏训练、知识浅薄等。如：You are expecting too much of him。 He’s still green，you know.（你对他要求太高。他还没经验嘛）greenhorn 则表示“没有经验的人”或“新到个地方不了解当地习惯的人”，这一词语经常用于移民并带有轻微的贬义色彩。
    yellow（黄色）：汉语中有“黄色电影”、“黄色书刊”、“黄色音乐”等说法，译成英语怎么说呢？不能译为yellow movies；yellow books，yellow music，这种词语没人懂，因为英语中没有这样的说法。把“黄色”译成英语可用pornographic（色情的），trashy（无聊的，低级的），obscene（秽的，猥亵的），filthy（淫猥的）或vulgar（庸俗的；下流的），所以“黄色电影”可译为pornographic pictures，obscene movies，“黄色书刊”可译为filthy books，“黄色音乐”可译为vulgar music。
    但 yellow（黄色）这个词却用于英语yellow journalism这一短语中，指不择手段地夸张、渲染以招揽或影响读者的黄色新闻编辑作风，如突出社会丑闻，把普通新闻写得耸人听闻，有时甚至歪曲事实以引起轰动等。
    许多美国商店和家里都有一本厚厚的 Yellow Pages（黄页电话查号簿），这是按不同的商店、企业、事业、机关分类的电话簿。如按所有的食品商店、电子器材商店、娱乐场所，航空公司及医院等分类，列出电话号码。这是一本很有用的书，全书用黄纸印刷，所以称Yellow Pages，与汉语中的“黄色书”（filthy books）意思完全不同。
    其他颜色也可以引起某种联想，这里就不谈了。
应当指出，不同颜色在不同语言中表达的方式并不一样。多年来一直有人在研究这一问题，看来一切语言都有表示黑色和白色的词，大多数语言有表示红色的词，但也不是所有的语言都有。其次，最普遍的可能是黄色和绿色，然后是蓝色和褐色。有些语言表示颜色名称似乎是相同的，但显示在色谱上相邻颜色的划分却有所不同。汉语和英语中的主要颜色是相同的或相近的，但也有区别。例如：
    青[qing]:可以指绿色（green），如“青椒”（green peppe）；可以指蓝色，如“青天”（blue Sky）；也可以指黑色，如“青布”（black cloth）。
    黄[huang]上一般是指黄色，但也可以指褐色，如“黄酱”（soy bean paste）；可以指金色，如“黄金”（gold）。
    有趣的是，在不同的语言中对同一物体或现象却用不同颜色来加以描述。英国人喝的 black tea在汉语中不叫“黑茶”而叫“红茶”。美国人谈到皮肉受伤时说be brised black and blue, 而中国人则说“被打得青一块，紫一块”（直译为：be beaten blue and Purple，当然应译为地道的英语be beaten black and blue）。

Passage
In American culture, certain colors send certain messages. Black is considered morbid, dark, and mysterious. In fact, one of our allusions is to “white hats” (the good guys) and “black hats” (the bad). Red suggests exuberance, energy, and even rage. Green and blue are “cool” colors, or are associated with the environment. Green also symbolizes jealousy. Pink is considered feminine. And so it goes.
The same is true outside the United States — same in the sense that colors convey messages, but not necessarily the same messages. For example:
Green is the national color of Egypt, but it should not be used for packages.
The French, Dutch, and Swedes associate green with cosmetics and toiletries.
In the Orient, green suggests exuberance, but when agriculturalist Steve Renk visited northern China and distributed green baseball caps, he found that men refused to wear them. The reason? In that region, when a man wore a green hat, it advertised that his wife or sister was a prostitute.
Purple is the color of death and funerals in Brazil and Mexico. And yellow marigolds are the cemetery flower in Mexico, meaning they are presented only for decorations at cemeteries.
White is the color of death and rebirth in Japan, so it may be seen at both funerals and weddings.
In the Orient, bright red envelopes are used to present gifts of money.
White can represent purity and is therefore the predominant color in the United States for wedding dresses; however, in India, bright red or yellow fabrics are preferred.
1. In American culture, red suggests all of the following EXCEPT _______.
A. luxuriant growth        B. vigor               C. being feminine        D. furious anger
2. _______ flowers are considered most appropriate for funerals in Brazil and Mexico.
A. White                 B. Black                C. Purple                    D. Yellow
3. In the Orient, a man wearing a green hat signifies that he has _______.
A. a sister                                      B. an unfaithful wife
C. a faithful wife                          D. an inexperienced sister
4. White is not the right color for brides in _______.
A. Japan                 B. China               C. America                D. India
5. The main idea of the passage is that _______.
A. meanings associated with specific colors vary from culture to culture
B. there is a great difference in understanding colors between the west and the east
C. certain colors send different messages in American culture and in Chinese culture
D. it is important to know what associations colors have in a culture

练习题：（选择题复习范围之一）
1) He’s just a green recruit fresh from college. inexperienced
2) One day, out of the blue, a girl rang up and said she was my sister. unexpectedly
3) The new office block has unfortunately become an expensive white elephant. 贵而没用的东西
4) Mary was always regarded as the black sheep of the family. 害群之马
7) Can you see the green in her eyes? 嫉妒
8) The mere thought of her husband with the secretary made her see red. angry
9) I got some black looks from the shopkeeper when I cancelled my order. angry
10) When I’m feeling blue, all I have to do is take a look at you, and then I’m not so blue.
11) Don’t tell me any white lie to make me feel good. 善意的谎言
12) His type of humor is a bit too blue for my tastes. 黄色
13) He based his judgment on headlines and yellow journalism.指不择手段的夸张，渲染以招揽或影响读者的黄色新闻编辑作风。如突出社会丑闻，把普通新闻写得耸人听闻，有时甚至歪曲事实以引起轰动等
14. What a fabulous car一 I’m very jealous.
A) red with envy B) blue with envy C) green with envy D) white with envy
15. The cake that Susan made tasted terrible, but I knew that she made it because she wanted to please me, so when she asked if I liked it, I said it was good so as not to hurt her.
A) I told a white lie. B) I told a kind lie. C) I told a grey lie. D) I told a green lie.
16. Adam has just graduated from the university, he is a green hand in the marketing management.
A) works hard B) has a skill in growing plants
C) is inexperienced D) is very experienced
17. I don’t think you can depend on Jack to do that job by himself. He’s too green.
A) shy B) inexperienced. C) timid D) naive
18. That was only a harmless lie. I didn’t want to hurt her. I know if she knew the truth, she would do something silly.
A) a green lie B) a white lie C) a gray lie D) a blue lie
19. The new office block has become an expensive white elephant.
A) a thing that is rather large and eye-catching
B) a thing that is useless and expensive to maintain
C) a value gift that shouldn’t be given away
D) a thing whose symbolic meaning is profound and far-reaching
20. One day, out of the blue, a girl rang up and said she was my sister.
A) dressed in blue B) very-happily C) unexpectedly D) very sad

Some statements about intercultural communication.（选择题复习范围之二）
1. It is right to ask children or teenagers their age. But it is not normally polite in English speaking societies to ask an adult their age - and never a woman!
2. Maybe it’s asking too much of you to follow the idea of ‘love me love my dog’, but at least you should tolerate my love for jazz. (love everything about me because you love me)
3. Nowadays in England, people usually call each other by their first name.
4. The biggest difference between the Chinese way of child-rearing and the Australian one is that the former fosters dependence and the latter independence.
5. The traditional, primary relationship in a Chinese family is usually that between parents and children.
6. Normally, when hearing compliments, a typical Chinese reaction is to show modesty and humility.
7. We Chinese are brought up to initially refuse friendly offers to demonstrate politeness in seeming not to wish to put our host to any trouble.
8. “I understand you have a job interview tomorrow. Break a leg!” (Good luck!)
9. In the West, it is regarded polite to open gifts as soon as they are given to express appreciation.
10. In cultures that tend toward individualism, competition, personal goals, individual rights are encouraged.
11. In a typically traditional Chinese family, children are expected to show respect and obedience to parental wishes.
12. Body language can sometimes lead to misunderstanding since people of different cultures often have different forms of behavior for sending the same message or have different interpretations of the same signal.
13. In Britain, if you do not look at the person in a conversation, it could imply a number of things, including fear, contempt, uneasiness, guilt or indifference.
14. If you were invited to an American friend’s house for dinner, what would be the best time to arrive? On time or 5 minutes late.

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