Language and Culture
 语言与文化
Chapter 1  第一章
Does language shape culture or does culture shape language? In my view, language is a mirror, in front of which culture is reflected. As a student majoring in Chinese as a foreign language, I’d like to take this advantage to discuss the cultural differences between Chinese and English. In the following passage, I am going to elaborate on the cultural differences reflecting in colors.
是语言塑造文化还是文化形成语言呢？在我看来，语言是一面镜子,是其前文化的体现。作为一名学生，主修汉语作为一门外语，我想借此优势，讨论中英文之间的文化差异。在下面一段话，我将阐述的颜色词所反映的文化差异。
There are many color words in our language, such as red, white, black, yellow, purple and so forth, which are used frequently. In the first place, I’d like to introduce the common usages of the color words.
在我们的语言中也有很多颜色词，如红色，白色，黑色，黄色，紫色等等，这些颜色词是我们经常使用的。首先，我想介绍颜色词的几种常见用法
1.adj.+color word 形容词+颜色词
(1)"deep/dark+color words": indicating the strong color"深/暗+颜色词":表示强烈的色彩
e.g., deep blue; deep green; dark brown; dark red. 例如: 深蓝色，深绿色，深褐色，暗红色。
(2)"light/pale+color words": indicating the light color “光/苍白+颜色词“：表示浅色
e.g., light yellow; light blue; pale grey; pale white. 例如: 浅黄色，浅蓝色，浅灰色，淡白色。
(3) "bright/rich/vivid+color words": indicating the bright color “明亮/浓艳/鲜艳+颜色词”:表示颜色鲜艳
e.g., bright/rich/vivid red; bright/rich/vivid yellow. 例如:明亮/浓艳/鲜红;明亮/浓艳/鲜黄色.
(4) "dull/dirty+color words":indicating the dark color “暗淡+颜色词”;表示深色
e.g., dull yellow; dull gold; dirty grey; dirty white. 例如:暗黄色,浊金色,灰色,灰白色.
2. "color words+-ish" 颜色词+后缀ish
This group indicates the different shades of the color. An adjective followed by -ish means "slightly…"这样组成的词表示颜色深浅不同,形容词+ish表示”微带…色”
e.g., whitish sky, yellowish book leaves; reddish face…  例如: 白色的天空,黄色的书;红色的脸
3. "color words+color words" 颜色词+颜色词
This pattern indicates the mixture of the color. The former stands for the main color,  while the latter functions as modification. 这种模式表示两面种颜色的混合表达一种颜色。前者为主要的颜色，而后者作为修饰辅助的颜色.
e.g.,red green; green yellow; grey blue…  例如:红绿色、绿黄色、灰蓝色.
4. "color words+and+color words" 颜色词+and+颜色词
Two colors coexisting in something without being mixed form a design and color.设计两种不同的颜色以混合的形式共同存在于一些事物中.
e.g., The dog is black and white. 例如:这是只黑白色的狗.
She has a yellow and black car. 她有一辆黑黄相间的车.
Chapter 2  第二章
English abounds with phrases containing color words. Colors may convey different messages to people of different cultures. Due to the respective cultural background and tradition, some phrases containing color words have far surpassed their original meanings, forming different connotations.
英语中有很多含颜色词的词组。颜色词可传达不同的讯息，不同文化背景的人。由于各自的文化背景和传统，一些含有颜色词的词组都远远超过了其原来的含义，形成不同的内涵。
What does see red mean? If he is in a blue mood, what kind of mood is he in? Is he happy, sad, or what? Obviously, red and blue do not mean just the color. Each has additional meanings-certain cultural associations-that are hidden behind the word. The following part will be devoted to the discussion of cultural differences of certain color words.
红色有些什么内涵呢？如果他现在心里很郁闷，应该要用一种什么样的情绪来形容呢？是快乐，悲伤，还是什么？显然，红色和蓝色并不只是意味着颜色。每个词都有其隐藏在背后的额外的意思。以下部分将专门讨论某些颜色词的文化差异。
2.1 Red 红色
There are many color words in our language, such as red, white, black, yellow, purple and so forth, which are used frequently. In the first place, I’d like to introduce the common usages of the color words.
有很多颜色词在我们日常用语中会经常用到，如红色，白色，黑色，黄色，紫色等等。首先，我想介绍一些常见的颜色词及其用法
Red is also associated with certain emotions. Let us see a few examples.
红色也可以表示某些情绪.下面我们举几个例子来看看.
He clenched his fist and went very red. 他紧握的拳头变得通红.
Her face turned red when bombarded with such an embarrassing question.面对这样一个尴尬问题的轰击她觉得很难为情。
I can see that he is red with anger. 我看到他气得满脸通红.
When he criticized my work, I really saw red. 当他批评我的工作时, 我就冒火、发脾气。
The mere mention of his enemy’s name is like waving a red flag to him. 一提到他的敌人的名字他就变得很愤怒.
In the sentences above, we can guess the meaning of some, for there is an Chinese equivalent， while the others are not so easy to understand by Chinese. For instance, in English, her face turned red or to become red-faced shows one’s embarrassment, as it does in Chinese 脸红. But what is the meaning of see red and waving a red flag? Both suggest anger. The former means to become very angry while the latter means to cause quick anger in somebody by doing something offensive.
在上面这些句子中,有些句义我们能猜得出来.但是因为存在文化差异,另一些句子的意思我们很难理解.如在英语中, her face turned red or to become red-faced意味着“尴尬 不好意思”,这同汉语中的“脸红”是同样的意思.但是see red and waving a red flag又做何解呢?这两种说法都表示”气愤”.前者表示他”非常生气”,而后者表示“因失礼或不好的举动而导致某人生气”
“Government policy in interest rates, and on finance generally, has been marked by vacillation, wishful thinking, electoral expediency of the most shameful type towards the end of last year, contortions and contradictions, all to accommodate the redneck economics of the National Country Party. (Harsard Aug.27 1981)”
政府在利率以及财政方面的政策一直游移不定.痴心妄想.最可耻的选举类型发生在去年底的、曲解和矛盾，容纳国家乡村党的反动经济。（Harsard Aug.27 1981）“
In the example above, “redneck” is used as an adjective, meaning “reactionary”. “redneckery” deriving from “redneck” refers to “reactionary attitudes”. For instance, “...the redneckery of the Queenland government...(Garth Nettheim ABC Books and Writing Apr.21.1982)” The literal meaning of “redneck” is red-neck. How is it related to “reactionary”? “redneck” originally meant (AmE) Southern farmers of U.S.A., usually carrying a derogatory meaning. Now “reactionary”, the extended meaning of “redneck”, has something to do with its special historical and geographical background.
从上面的例中我们可以看出，当“redneck”用作形容词的时候，意思是“反动的”。而单词“redneckery”是由单词“redneck”派生来的，意思是“反动思想”。从字面上看，“redneck”的意思是“红色的脖子”那它又与“反动思想”这个单词有什么关联呢？ Redneck原是指“美国南部的农民；乡下佬”,通常用带有贬义。而如今，“redneck”引申出“反动的”这层意思，是跟南北战争时期的历史文化因素是不可分割的,有其特殊的历史和地理背景。
Another example.
“Ironically, it was Red Nose Day, the day when millions of Australians donned red noses to support research into sudden infant death syndrome. (New Idea. Oct.7 1989)”Red Nose Day refers to a day on which an appeal is made for donations for research into sudden infant death syndrome, marked by the distribution of plastic red noses to donors. In Chinese, however, there is no such connotation. 红鼻子日是为了研究婴儿猝死综合症而呼吁人们募捐的日子, 那一天会有成千上万的澳大利亚人带上红色鼻子来支持研究.红鼻子日以向捐赠者分发塑料做成的红鼻子为标志. 然而在中国,其实并没有这样的文化内涵.
Some Westerners take “red” as an evil omen or red for danger, stemming from the spirits of bullfighters. So the red rag (or red flag) that bullfighters use to provocate bulls is considered annoying. According to the Random House Dictionary, red further develops to be the synonym for political radical.
一些西方人视“红色”为恶魔或者的危险的预兆，这起源于斗牛的精神。因此，斗牛士在斗牛时所使用的红布（或红旗）被认为是恼人的能激怒公牛,使得它会趋前来攻击。根据兰登书屋词典中的解释，红色又被进一步发展成为政治的象征。
Furthermore, red has some extended meanings, such as cruelty, disaster。  此外，红色还有一些延深的意思:诸如“残酷的”、“不幸的”等。
2.2 White
To most Chinese and Westerners, white has some meanings in common. White suggests purity, innocence and honesty. 对大部分中西方人而言，白色的意思有许多相似之处。白色代表纯洁，清白和诚实。
e.g.,Mary is a white girl. (pure and innocent) 例如：Mary是个天真的女孩。
Tom is a very white boy. He never tells lies. (honest) Tom是个诚实的男生，他从不说谎。
But in this sense, what does the term a white lie mean? Can a lie be pure and innocent? Actually, a white lie is a harmless one, intended not to hurt someone. For example, your mother bought a dress for you that she was very satisfied with, and wanted to know if you liked it. Maybe in your mind, it was out of the fashion or the color was not to your taste. But you said, “Oh, I really like it” in order not to let her down. It was a lie, but a good-intentioned lie.
善意的谎言是什么意思呢？这种谎言可以是纯粹无辜的吗？其实，一个善意的谎言是一种无害的，不打算伤害别人。例如，你的妈妈给你买了新衣服，她非常满意，并希望知道你是否喜欢它。也许在你的心中，这衣服的款型和颜色并不是你想要的。为了不让她失望你却说：“噢，我真的很喜欢它。这是一个谎言，而且是一个善意的谎言。

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