2.4 Blue
It seems that blue is a favorable word to Chinese�the blue sky, as often as not, can arouse us to yearn for a better future; the blue sea full of uncertainty induces boundless imagination. Naturally, we take it for granted that the famous song Love is Blue equals a romantic love story. In Western culture, however, blue does not associate with happiness and imagination, but gloom and depression.
He has been in a blue mood (or having the blues) since he knew that his failure in the entrance examination. In this example, those two terms mean a sad or gloomy mood. Similarly, a blue Monday carries the same feeling. Usually after the happy weekends, we are likely to feel reluctant to attend school or go back to work, thus coming the expression-a blue Monday that can be accepted and understood by both cultures.
Blue is also often associated with high social status or being aristocratic. He is a real blue blood means he is from an aristocratic family. In addition, in U.S., a book with the names of famous figures, especially top government officials, is called blue book. Here is more to complement the word list of blue.
blue about the gills�in depression
blue devils�depression and gloom
blue film�erotic film {In Chinese, we call it 黄色电影(a yellow film literally).}
once in a blue moon�occurring only once in a thousand years
blue in the face�look pasty
blue murder�horrible screaming and shouts
sing the blues�in low spirits; very depressed
out of the blue�a thunder from the clear sky; the sudden coming of something unexpectedEnglish has the term green-eyed or green with envy, both meaning jealous and envious. However, in Chinese, the expression used to describe the same feeling is 眼红 or 红眼病(literally red-eyed)�a totally different color for the same feeling!
In English, green also indicates lacking in experience, as seen in the phrase greenhand and greenhorn. The former suggests someone who is inexperienced and immature. The latter suggests an immigrant who is not familiar with local customs or untravelled.
By the way, the Chinese expression 戴绿帽子（literally to wear a green hat） means to be a cuckold. If we translate it word by word, misunderstanding or confusion will arise.
When paired with different words, its meaning is different. The following examples well illustrate its various usages.
green apple�unripe apple
green back�US dollars
green from the school�fresh from the school
green house�a warming house
give the green light to somebody�allow someone to do something
a green old age�bear one’s age well
green power�mighty power
green revolution�agriculture-related reform
green room�the drawing room for actors and actresses
go to the green wood�to be the hero in the wood
2.6 Yellow
Yellow appears in such Chinese expressions as黄色书刊，黄色电影，黄色音乐. Should they be translated as yellow books, yellow movies, yellow music? Of course not. We can replace 黄色 with filthy, obscene, or vulgar. In English, we have the phrase yellow journalism which lays too much emphasis on scandals or exaggerates the ordinary news to a sensational degree, sometimes even with distortion.
Similarly, we have Yellow Pages(黄页) both in Chinese and English. This is a book with the telephone numbers of different shops, businesses, organizations, etc., arranged in the order of different categories. Yellow Pages is a very useful handbook whose pages are yellow, but the content is not yellow in the Chinese sense.
Generally speaking, yellow is to some extent derogatory that carries the connotations of cowardice, jealousy, suspicion and contemptibility. Here is the proof.
yellow alert�alert in advance
yellow boy�gold coin
a yellow dog�a contemptible person
a yellow dog contract�a contract signed in the precondition that the employee will not join in the labor union
the sear and yellow leaf�an old age
yellow looks�suspicious looks
yellow streak�tending to be coward and chicken-hearted
2.7 Purple
In English, purple shares the same connotation as that in Chinese language. In the eye of Westerners, purple is the symbol of emperor and power. In particular, the purple refers to the throne of the emperor or the pope. “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”; “purple passages” means “too florid words”, etc. In Chinese, we have 红得发紫, meaning popular to the extreme. Here, purple indicates the degree of popularity (红).
Here is more:
marry into the purple�marry into a family of high social position
purple patches�pompous passages
turn purple with rage�fly into a fury
Purple Heart�(US)an insignia awarded to those wounded in the battle
2.8 Grey
Grey is often used to suggest darkness, sullen weather, blue mood or gloomy outlook. For instances, He looks grey and tired. The prospect of the market is grey. He is a grey-haired man now.
Grey also suggests wisdom and tact, as in the following expressions: grey wisdom, grey matter, and graybeard.
Other colors have some connotations as well, but will not be discussed here.
Chapter 3
According to the above comparison and analysis, we can see that there are distinct differences between the color words in Chinese and English. Sometimes, Chinese may not use the color words when they are used in English expressions and vice versa. Let us see a few examples containing the Chinese character－红.
红人�a favorite with somebody in power
红榜�honor roll
红利�bonus; extra dividend
红运�good luck
红光满面�one’s face glowing with health
脸红�blush
红茶�black tea
红绿灯�traffic light
I believe the above-mentioned examples amply illustrate the point. On many occasions, it is not the basic meaning of the color that functions, but the profound cultural associations related to the color that functions. That is to say, the differences in using color words between Chinese and English stand out when the color words themselves don’t play an important part. Two factors may help to illustrate. First is the language itself. There are many differences in the characteristics of both languages. English words are characterized by flexibility. One word is likely to have different meanings in different contexts. Comparatively speaking, the meaning of Chinese words remains fixed. Chinese is featured by standard, rigor and preciseness in choosing the words. Let’s take the word green for example. Green gains certain new meaning when associated with the phrase green revolution and when it is used alone, it still carries that meaning. However, green in Chinese will lose the meaning unless it is combined with revolution or other words in similar. Second is the factor beyond the language, which includes the cultural factors such as different customs, traditions and cultural background. Wherever the above-mentioned differences exist, the usingof the color words can not be the same. Therefore, special attention should be paid in using the color words.
References:
<<英汉语言文化对比研究>> 李瑞华主编
上海外语教育出版社 1997.3
<<语言与文化>>�英汉语言文化对比 邓炎昌、刘润清著
<<语言与文化>> 顾嘉祖、陆昇
上海外语教育出版社 1990.6
<<英语翻译规律>> 碧青、周丽蕊主编
<<外语教学与研究论文集>>之浅谈“颜色词” 辽宁大学 常虹
