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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，2000.1.爱不释手fondle admiringly.2.百闻不如一见（眼见为实） Seeing is believing.3.比上不足比下有余 worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst. 4.笨鸟先飞 A slow sparrow sh
35、ould make an early start. 5.不眠之夜 white night 6.不以物喜不以己悲 not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnal losses 7.不遗余力 spare no effort; go all out; do ones best 8.不打不成交 No discord, no concord. 9.拆东墙补西墙 rob Peter to pay Paul 10.辞旧迎新 bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the o
36、ld year and ring in the new 11.大事化小小事化了 try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all 12.大开眼界 open ones eyes; broaden ones horizon; be an eye-opener 13.国泰民安 The country flourishes and people live in peace.14.过犹不及 going too far is as bad as not going far e
37、nough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little 15.功夫不负有心人 Everything comes to him who waits. 16.好了伤疤忘了疼 once on shore, one prays no more 17.好事不出门恶事传千里 Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide. 18.和气生财 Harmony brings wealth. 19.活到老学到老 One
38、is never too old to learn. 20.既往不咎 let bygones be bygones 21.金无足赤人无完人 Gold cant be pure and man cant be perfect. 22.金玉满堂 Treasures fill the home. 23.脚踏实地 be down-to-earth 24.脚踩两只船 sit on the fence 25.君子之交淡如水 the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship gre
39、en 26.老生常谈陈词滥调 cut and dried, clich 27.礼尚往来 Courtesy calls for reciprocity. 28.留得青山在不怕没柴烧 Where there is life, there is hope. 29.马到成功 achieve immediate victory; win instant success 30.名利双收 gain in both fame and wealth 31.茅塞顿开 be suddenly enlightened 32.没有规矩不成方圆 Nothing can be accomplished without no
40、rms or standards. 33.每逢佳节倍思亲 On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of ones dear ones far away.It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most. 34.谋事在人成事在天 The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes, God disposes. 35.弄巧成拙 be too smart by half; Cunning out
41、wits itself 36.拿手好戏 masterpiece 37.赔了夫人又折兵 throw good money after bad 38.抛砖引玉 a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale 39.破釜沉舟 cut off all means of retreat；burn ones own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end40.抢得先机 take
42、 the preemptive opportunities 41.巧妇难为无米之炊 If you have no hand you cant make a fist. One cant make bricks without straw.42.千里之行始于足下 a thousand-li journey begins with the first step-the highest eminence is to be gained step by step 43.前事不忘后事之师 Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the futu
43、re. 44.前人栽树后人乘凉 One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.One sows and another reaps. 45.前怕狼后怕虎 fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind hesitate in doing something 46.强龙难压地头蛇 Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerf
44、ul outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies. 47.强强联手 win-win co-operation 48.瑞雪兆丰年 A timely snow promises a good harvest. 49.人之初性本善 Mans nature at birth is good. 50.人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man. 51.人海战术 huge-crowd strategy 52.世上无难事只要肯攀登 Where there is a will, there is a way. 53.世外桃源
45、 a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world; 54.死而后已 until my heart stops beating 55.岁岁平安 Peace all year round. 56.上有天堂下有苏杭 Just as there is paradise in heaven, while there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth 57.塞翁失马焉知非福 Misfortune may be an actual blessing. 58.三十而立 A man should be i
46、ndependent at the age of thirty.At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself. 59.升级换代 updating and upgrading (of products)60.四十不惑 Life begins at forty. 61.谁言寸草心报得三春晖 Such kindness of warm sun, cant be repaid by grass. 62.水涨船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high. 63.时不我待Time and tide w
47、ait for no man. 64.杀鸡用牛刀break a butterfly on the wheel 65.实事求是seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts 66.说曹操,曹操到Talk of the devil and he comes. 67.实话实说speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is 68.实践是检验真理的唯一标准Practice is the sole criterion for testing t
48、ruth. 69.山不在高，有仙则名No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy; 70.韬光养晦hide ones capacities and bide ones time 71.糖衣炮弹sugar-coated bullets 72.天有不测风云Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue 73.团结就是力量Unity is strength. 74.“跳进黄河洗不清” eve if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean-theres nothing one can do to clear ones name.75.歪风邪气unhealthy practices and evil phenomena 76.物以类聚，人以群分Birds of a feather flock together. 77.往事如风The