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In the late 1960s, with the publication of Basic Color Terms: Their University and Evolution, two American scholars Brent Berlin, an ethnographer, and Paul Kay, a linguist, had laid out a definition of basic color. As far as they are concerned, the eleven basic color categories are white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and gray. Besides, there is another kind color term, namely, object color terms.
Research works on color can be found in China as well. In his book《英语声色词与翻译》, Zhang Peiji made a elaborated description of the use of nearly all the English color terms and their translation. The research on colors went further and was at its peak in the 1990s. And plenty of contrastive researches on colors between English and Chinese have been done in recent decades.
II. Comparative Study on Translation of Color words
In order to better understand the translation of basic color words both in English and Chinese, the author aims to make a elaborated analysis of the non-correspondence in translation of color terms between English and Chinese.
Color terms play a most important role in both Chinese and English. Occasionally, they are corresponding or equivalent in translation. However, in most cases, they are not. Carefully looking at the cultural connotation tied to the color words and their semantic equivalence and nonequivalence between English and Chinese may help move away the barriers of communication between the two languages to promote cultural exchange and integration.
The non-correspondence in translation of color words between English and Chinese is primarily reflected in: firstly, the same objective things or thoughts can be explained with different color terms; secondly, the same objective things or thoughts can be explained with color terms in one language but cannot in the other language (Liu 21).
2.1 The Non-corresponding Usage of Color Words
The non-correspondence in translation of color words between English and Chinese is firstly reflected in the same objective things or ideas expressed with different color words, namely, the non-corresponding usage of color words. The following examples are taken to illustrate it.
2.1.1 Blue and 黄色
It is known to us that Britain is an island nation surrounded by sea, which is blue. And the weather there is always foggy, which makes the life of English dull and leads to the dismal and melancholy senses. Thus the color of blue is usually used to express “sadness”, “low spirit” or “unhappiness”. When someone feels sad, or depressed, he or she is “having the blues” or “in a blue mood”. Likewise, “a blue Monday” refers to the first day of school or work after a funny and pleasant weekend. What is more, blue can be used as a synonym of “filthy” or “pornography”, such as “blue magazine”, “blue movies” and so on. While in Chinese, people do not use “蓝” to indicate sadness or unhappiness. “黄色” in Chinese is often referred to something related to “sexy”, “filthy” or “pornography”, such as “黄色电影”, “黄色杂志”, “黄色图片”.
Besides, “blue” is associated with “noble” or “imperial family”, symbolizing “authority” and “elitist”. “Blue blood” is one person of aristocrat origin; a “blue ribbon” is a small piece of blue material presented to the champion of a competition. Now that the nobles usually have high social positions, the connotation can be extended to “power”. “Blue book” refers to the official file or report, drafted by a committee and printed by the British Government. In American English, it refers to a book with the names of celebrities. Moreover, since the color of the sky never changes, it also has something to do with “loyalty” in English. For instance, “a true blue” indicates a reliable and loyal person. Just as Hu Wenzhong pointed out, “blue” in culture, symbolizes dignity, truth, sadness and ignorance ( 224).