A Discussion of Color Metaphors From the Perspective of Cognition and Culture

Abstract

Metaphor is a pervasive phenomenon which has traditionally been considered as a figure of speech used for special effects in a speech or an essay. It is pervasive in everyday life. Color terms are usually used to depict the colors of objects in the world. Every object in the world has its own color. There are a large number of metaphorical expressions with color serving as the source domain in both English and Chinese. As a very important human experience, colors have attracted many scholars attention.
The study revealed that possible reasons for the similarities of color metaphor in the two languages can be attributed to the common perceptual and cultural experience, while the dissimilarities originated from the different living environment, religion, custom, and philosophy etc.
This essay makes a comparison of color metaphor about the similarities and differences between English and Chinese. Understanding similarities and differences of color metaphor between English and Chinese is of great importance in the cross-cultural communication. It’s beneficial for us to do English teaching, English translation, and appreciation of English culture.