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1、Literature Review on the Translation of English Colour WordsLanguage is a kind of tool for people to communicate with each other and is also a very important part of the culture. Different languages are restricted by various national culture, reflecting their own cultural content. Colour is closely
2、related to our daily life with abundant culture connotation, which is a crucial object for language, culture and translation. “Colour word” indicates the word which is used to stand for a kind of colour. This definition is well known throughout the word, but “colour words do not necessarily mean the
3、 same thing as colourful terms. Colourful English may appear as idioms or in figurative expressions, while colour words are words which simply show different colours. Like the onomatopoeic word, a colour word has little merit in itself. Only when it suggests the image of the original, or fortifies t
4、he sense in the version, it has value in translation.”. (Xiao Junshi, P173, 1982) Obviously, as a part of words, colour terms are used in writing to transmit information. In physics, it stands for the colour reflected by objects. Color words are used frequently in the translation of English and Chin
5、ese. We use some basic words to convey the meaning of the color words. Because of the differences of customs, culture, history, geography, etc, the personality becomes obvious.Color is a objective phenomena, so peoples awareness on color has something in common. People from different culture have th
6、eir own way to communicate, to think and to behave. The words to express the colors are allocated different features and cultural connotation, which show great cultural differences.My thesis will focus on the practice of the translation of English color words. In order to promote the development of
7、the multi-cultural society and cross-cultural communication, it is significant to understand and grasp colour terms and their functions in the cultural transfer. This thesis, targeting at improving translation proficiency and promoting cross-cultural communication, makes a careful analysis of colour
8、 terms, including the definition, the history in English and Chinese, the translation difficulties and the translation techniques.The study on the translation of English color words has a long history. Many scholars have made deep research on the color words and generally form their own theories whi
9、ch have been accepted by the translation field. These research includes the research on the basic color words, color words and color concepts, the translation and the pragmatic meaning of color words, the social and cultural connotation of color words, etc. These books or articles have given very de
10、tailed explanation on the color words. It is also mentioned in many books about translation. However, from all these books, most scholars emphize on the way of translating them. Given to most of the books on the translation of English colour words, the scholars have found out some common ways to tra
11、nslate these words.The first is literal translation. We use this way when we can find the equivalent words in both the Chinese and the English. White house, 白宫, red figure, 赤字.The second way is transliteration. That means when you want to translate, you have to understand the usage and its cultural
12、connotation and know clearly the real meaning, symbolic meaning and deeper meaning. Meanwhile, you have to ignore the original meaning of the color words and translate the words according to the text.You look blue today. Whats wrong with you?你今天看起来闷闷不乐，你怎么了！ （blue 在英语中有忧郁的，沮丧的意思）The third way is to
13、add or odd the words. To better translate the original text, sometimes we have to add or odd the color words to make the translation perfect.The smoke made him cough. He coughed harshly ,his face lit like a tomato.烟使他呛起来。他难受地咳着，脸胀得像番茄一样红The forth way is explanation.Different color words have their o
14、wn special meaning .Only if you explain them properly, can the reader truly grasp them. Everybody says she is the White Boned Demon an evil spirit who often took the guise of a charming woman in the novel Pilgrimage to the West.人人都说她是个白骨精.These are the four ways which we often use to translate the c
15、olor words. When we translate, we can use the ways accordingly to make the best translation. Through the forming of colour terms in China, colour terms originate from peoples daily lives. A lot of plants names are used as colour terms, especially after the improving of painting, dying and ceramics.
16、“Blue comes from a kind of plant called blue, and red comes from the plant called madder”. (Luo geng, P8, 2004) Many Chinese colour terms come from the name of plants or minerals. Although there is no theory about the forming of colour terms in Chinese history, it is possible to learn a lot of histo
17、rical things which have relationships with colours. Countless colour terms can be found in Chinese poems, essays and novels. The following instances are some typical examples.The English color words were embodied with abundant cultural connatation and obvious national features. Accordingly, their me
18、aning is spreaded. The eight basic color words have many matches. In certain back ground, the color words dont represent their original meaning any more.(zhang Lili, 2009)Nowadays, many scholars start to study the contrast meaning of the color words. The color words have completely different meaning
19、 in different cultural background. These theories give a lot help for translating color words. 红色(happiness, a festival day)Red (violence, anger, being short of money)黄色(filthy, filthy things)Yellow (timid, shy, mean)白色(wed, mourning, apparel or terror)White (wedding garment or elegance)黑色(death, ba
20、d, crime or evil)Black (dignity, depression, bad)蓝色(quiet, pleasant, lightheaded)Blue (heavy hearted, filthy)绿色(marriage failure)Green (jealous, short of knowledge)Culture is a very important factor in the translation for color words. There are many study at home and abroad. They study the phenomena
21、 in different ways and from different aspects. In west countries, colour terms are popular in fields like philosophy, physics, psychology, art and so on.The oldest theory in colour terms history is Aristotles Black and White Theory, in which colour is made up of hue, luminosity and saturation. At th
22、at period, all colors were thought as different degrees of mix of white and black. Black and White Theory was ended by Newton who saw seven colors of the sunlight through prism.Other theories appeared at the same time, such as Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and Cognitive Linguistics. In spite of the relatio
23、nship between these theories, they all admitted colour terms important position in English. “Different nations have different cultures and take the different colours as special”. (Lu Hogmei, P 134, 2006) A well-known legend, Wang An-shi, a great poet scholar of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1269), was o
24、nce traveling in a remote part of china and he saw a poem written by a young author. Wang An-shi understood one couple of the poem which reads:A moon is singing in the sky,And a yellow dog lies in the flower.He assumed that there must be a mistake in the poem, so he quickly took out his writing brus
25、h and corrected the lines as the following:The moon is shinning in the sky,And a yellow dog lies under the flowers.Wang An-shi corrected the lines so that they could be read more sensibly, and he then showed his corrections to his friends living in the locality. He soon found out, however, that his
26、“corrections” had been quite mistaken, for the word which he had interpreted as “The moon” did not really mean “moon” in the local language, but referred to a bird in the area. Similarly, the term for “yellow dog” in the original poem was really the name of a type of insect.Wang An-shi had made two
27、mistakes. Firstly, he did not check the meaning of such words in the local dialect; secondly, he was perhaps too anxious to make poetry completely logical and reasonable. But the fact is that poetry often does seem illogical and anomalous.As a part of vocabulary, colour terms have different cultural
28、 connotations in two different languages. It is certain that colour is related to the history. Chinese term “黄” has many symbolic meanings in traditional Chinese culture. “黄”, as the honorable color, can only be used in an imperial family.Above all, if we want to translate the color words accurately
29、, the most important thing we should keep in mind is to know more about the culture. Personally, the translation definitely do not development itself, instead, it is developing with the economy, culture, any aspect of the society. To translate the best article, we should put the theory into practice
30、. “people in different nations have the same association of the same objects colour”. (Zhang Peiji, P106, 1999) For example, “雪” and “snow” have the same meaning of purity. The relationship between countries is closer and they have more chances to communicate with each other. Different culture will
31、melt together and influence each other. Because of that, it is more easier for us to understand the meaning of color words in different culture.References:1Din Jin and Eugene A. Nida.On Translation M. 北京:中国对外翻译出版公司，1984 2Nida.A.Eugene. Dynamic Equivalence in TranslatingA.Sin-wai Chan and David E. Po
32、llard, ed. ChineseEnglish.EnglishChinese:An Encyclopedia of TranslationC. HongKong：The Chinese University Press, 19953陈红英语中含“颜色”的词语的理解与翻译J.山西大学学报（哲学社会科学版），2000，（2）：1091104郭洪.浅论英汉语言的文化差异J.兰州学报，2004，（5）：2862875Venuti, L. Strategies of Translation A Rout Ledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. New Y
33、ork: Routledge, 2001.6包惠南. 文化语境与语言翻译M. 北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，2003.7包惠南，包昂. 中国文化与汉英翻译M. 北京： 外文出版社，2004.8曹雪芹，高鹗. 红楼梦M. 杨宪益，戴乃迭译. 北京：外文出版社，2003.9冯少芬. 英汉颜色词的语用意义及翻译J. 洛阳师范学院学报，2002,(1).10冯庆华. 实用翻译教程（英汉互译）增订本M. 上海： 上海外语教育出版社，2002.11郭著章，李庆生. 英汉互译M. 武汉：武汉大学出版社，2005.12顾秀梅. 跨文化翻译中的归化与异化的统一关系J. 文教资料，2005, (17).13黄碧蓉.
34、 英汉颜色词的社会文化内涵及翻译J. 安徽理工大学学报，2004, (12).14黄邦杰. 译艺谭M. 北京: 中国对外翻译出版公司, 1984.15华先发. 新实用英汉教程M. 武汉：湖北教育出版社，2000. 英语谚语警句100句精选Proverbs are the daughters of daily experience.谚语是日常经验的结晶。1. Look before you leap./Second thoughts are best. 三思而后行。/再想而后行。2. Great minds think alike; (heroes have similar views.) 英雄
35、所见略同。 3. We shall never have friends if we expect to find them without fault.欲求完美无缺的朋友必然成为孤家寡人。4. What you sow, you must mow. 种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。5. A beggar can never be bankrupt.天无绝人之路。6.A friend in need is a friend indeed.患难见真情。7. No news is good news. 没有消息就是好消息。8. No cross, no crown. 不经历风雨,怎么见彩虹。9. The mo
36、re haste, the less speed. /Haste makes waste.欲速则不达。10. Victory belongs to the most persevering. 坚持就是胜利！11. A young idler, an old beggar. 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。12. Put ones foot in ones mouth. 说话不得体。13. It is no use crying over spilt milk.覆水难收/悔恨已晚/木已成舟,回天乏力。14. Content is better than riches. 知足常乐。15. No gains
37、 without pains. 没有辛苦就没有收获。16. The more a man knows, the more he is inclined to be modest. 大智若愚。17. All roads lead to Rome .条条大路通罗马。18. A snow year, a rich year. 瑞雪兆丰年。19. Never say die! 永不言败！20. The best mirror is a friends eye. 朋友的眼睛是最好的镜子。 21. Faith will move mountain. 精诚所至，金石为开。 22. A life withou
38、t a friend is a life without a sun. 人生没有朋友，犹如生活没有了太阳。 23. Great wits have short memories.贵人多忘事。 24. Do well and have well. 善有善报。25. A bad thing never dies. 坏事传千年。26. Four eyes see more than two. 人多识广/集思广益。27. Diligence is the parent of success. 勤劳是成功的根本。28. Water dropping day by day wears the hardes
39、t rock away.滴水穿石。29. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. 抱最好的愿望，做最坏的打算。 30. While there is life, there is hope. /Debt is better than death. 留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。/有生命就有希望。31. Where there is a will, there is a way. 功夫不负有心人。/有志者事竟成。32. Where there is great love, there are always miracles. 哪里有真爱存在，哪里就有
40、奇迹。33. Where there is smoke, there is fire. 无风不起浪。34. One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.一个和尚挑水喝，两个和尚抬水喝，三个和尚没水喝。35. A stitch in time saves nine. 及时缝一针能省九针。/小洞不补，大洞吃苦。36. Never too old to learn, never too late to turn. 亡羊补牢，为时不晚。37. Dont claim to know what you dont know. 不要不懂装懂
41、。38. Do in Rome as Roman do. 入乡随俗。39. Rome was not built in a day. 冰冻三尺，非一日之寒。40. Sharpening your axe will not delay your job of cutting wood. 磨刀不误砍柴工。 41. Things of a kind come together, people a mind fall into a group. 物以类聚,人以群分。 42. One mans meat is another mans poison. 萝卜白菜,各有所爱。43. like author
42、like book.文如其人。46. Like for like. 惺惺相惜。47. Like teacher like pupil. 有其师必有其徒。48. Gods that run many hares kill none.贪多必失。49. Practice makes perfect. 熟能生巧。50. Actions speak louder than words. 行胜于言。51. You cannot eat your cake and have it. 鱼与熊掌，不可兼得。52. One loses by pride and gains by modesty. 满招损,谦受益。
43、53. Love me, love my dog. 爱屋及乌。54. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. 每日一苹果远离医生。55. Time past cannot be called back again. 时光不倒流。56. A drop of water cannot make a sea, and a tree cannot make a wood. 滴水不成海，独木不成林。57. If you venture nothing, you will have nothing. 不入虎穴,焉得虎子。58.The tree is known by i
44、ts fruit. 观其行知其人。59. All work no play makes Jack a dull boy. 只会用功不玩耍,聪明的孩子也变傻。60. The pot calls the kettle black. 五十步笑百步。61. Unkindness often reacts on the unkind person. 恶有恶报。62. Todays work should never be left over till tomorrow. 今日事今日毕。63. Nothing so bad but might have been worse. 塞翁失马,焉知非福。 64.
45、 God helps those who help themselves. 自助者天助。65. Complacency is the enemy of study. 学习的敌人是自己的满足。66. A fox may grow gray, but never good.江山易改，本性难移。67. A friend without faults will never be found. 没有十全十美的朋友。68. A good beginning is half done. 良好的开端是成功的一半。69. A good book is the best of friends, the same
46、today and forever. 一本好书，相伴一生。70. A good medicine tastes bitter. 良药苦口。71. A leopard cannot change its spots.积习难改。72. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 一知半解，自欺欺人。73. All good things come to an end. 天下没有不散的筵席。74. Justice has long arms. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。75A man becomes learned by asking questions. 不耻下问才
47、能有学问。76. A man can do no more than he can. 凡事都应量力而行。77. A man cannot spin and reel at the same time. 一心不能二用。78. Diamond cuts diamond. 强中自有强中手。79. Doing is better than saying. 与其挂在嘴上，不如落实在行动上。80. Do it now. 机不可失，时不再来。81. It is the unforeseen that always happens. 天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福。82. Dont put off till to
48、morrow what should be done today.今日事，今日毕。83. Do well and have well. 善有善报。84. Easy come, easy go. 来也匆匆，去也匆匆。85. Every advantage has its disadvantage.有利必有弊。86. Every day is not Sunday. 好景不常在。87. Every man has his faults. 金无足赤，人无完人。88. Every man has his weak side. 人人都有弱点。89. Every potter praises hit pot. 王婆卖瓜，自卖自夸。90. Experience must be bought. 吃一堑，长一智。91. Far from eye, far from heart. 眼不见，心不烦。92. First come, first serv