Cultural connotation difference between in english

Cultural connotation difference between in english and chinese of color words Abstract : the color words in english and chinese have rich connotation and play a very important role in cultural psychology and folk customs. From "white"to "black" these two words ,we can see the differences culture in chinese and english. Having better understand of differences in these words, can overcome the conflict between chinese and western culture. Key words: color-words. Culture in chinese and english . Difference Nature is colorful. Color in people's mind will produce a specific meaning,thereby inspired certain association and reaction. This is called social connotation. There are sea of words reflected different cultural mentality and emotions in chinese and english. Because of different environment,social system and local customs,its connotation has similarity as well as differences. Black: this word in connection of chinese and english have same roughly meaning. For example: black is the color of mourning. American people wear black clothing at the funeral while chinese people wear armbands. Black Friday in english refers to Jesus' crucified in Friday before easter,which is sad day. Meanwhile,black represents the dark,evil and sinister. Such as, there is "underworld""criminal gangs" in chinese, but in english it has similar expression like black money ,black market,black mail etc. But "black"this word has different meaning in chinese and english. The black is a symbol of noble ,honest. In the opera masks, it stands for upright characters which some people have. In addition, it also gives people evil and vicious feelings. In english ,the black has its own cultural connotations. As we all know, Christian culture about english has profound influence on english people. In the bible,the black is symbol of devil,evil,suffering and misfortune. So it is a bad word in western culture. It is symbol of death and disaster,such as "black death""black words"or "black letter day". It is also a symbol of evil and crime,such as "blackmail""black guard". As a word of humiliation, it reflects in "black mark"and "black sheep". Besides, it also a symbol of anger, such as ,"black in the face"(blue),"he gave me a black look." Therefore, there are many differences in the black cultural connotation. As for these cultural differences, in the process of translating,"black"in english is not same as "black" in chnese,such as "black eye""black swan". These are what should pay more attention to avoiding mistakes in the process of learning. White: this word in chinese is not auspicious meaning, such as "white"means "the funeral" . The funeral people paste white paper ,dressed in white to mourn. White is also symbol of reactionary ,such as "white terror". Of course, in chinese, there are also some positive side of white. White give person with bright feeling. Therefore we can say that "white jade". It is also symbol of justice,bright and kind,such as "angels in white". In western culture, white is symbol of pure ,noble and elegant. In british national wedding, the bride wear white dress and white veil, which called the white wedding. Western green fairy tales of " snow white" who is a clever ,kind and beautiful,which was popular among the kids across over the world. In the bible ,a story of angel has long white wings ,white halo suspend over head. In english, many phrases contain white meaning can not be translated literally,such as "a white night":white crow". In turn, in chinese the "white skin"can not be translated into that she has a fair skin rather than she has a white skin. Conclusion: through the analysis of these two kinds of symbol meaning,we can see awareness and feelings about color of natural quality of the english. The different symbolic meaning of color words reflect differences in western culture. So it is necessary to learn meaning of color words in terms of the cross-cultural communication. References:1.邓炎昌，语言与文化【M】外语教学与研究出版社 2003 邓克凤，谈颜色词的英汉文化内涵【J】湖北广播电视大学学报2008