Abstract

This thesis mainly studies the different cultural metaphors of color words between Chinese and English. It contains several examples to make comparisons between metaphors of color words in Chinese and English. Because the study of this thesis reveals the link between different metaphors of color words and different social civilization backgrounds, the thesis discusses various causes of the difference and focuses on the examples of the metaphors of color words in Chinese and English in order to try to help people with different cultural backgrounds to have a better understanding of them.

Key words: metaphor; color terms; comparison

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction1

2. Literature Review 3

2.1 Metaphor3

    2.2 Colors6

 2.2.1 Previous Studies on Color Words6

 2.2.2 Previous Studies on Color Metaphors7

3. The Comparison between Chinese-English Metaphors of Colors7

3.1 “Black” and “黑”8

3.2 “White” and “白”9

3.3 “Red” and “红”10

4. The Factors Causing the Similarities and Differences11

4.1 Manners and Customs12

4.2 Historic Background12

4.3 Literature and Art13

4.4 Political Backgrounds14

4.5 Religious Beliefs15

5. Conclusion15

References18