Abstract: A great deal of color terms are commonly used in both Chinese and English, which is also quite close to human’s life and work. “Red, black and white” frequently occurred in both Chinese and English expressions. The paper analyses the basic color terms from the perspective of pragmatics and then analyzes language and cultural differences exist in color terms in both English and Chinese. The study of color words in English and Chinese can help us to enhance the language efficiency and improve the level of English and Chinese.

Key words: color terms; red; black; white; pragmatics

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-4

1.1 The Significance of the Research-4

1.2 Research Status-5

1.3 Research Methods-7

2. Cultural Differences-8

2.1 Definition of Basic Color Terms-8

2.2 Differences of Cultural Views on Basic Color Terms-9

3. Pragmatic Functions of Color Terms-12

3.1 Pragmatic Functions of Color Terms in English-12

3.1.1 The Application in Expression and Emotion-13

3.1.2 The Application in Politics and Economics-14

3.2 Pragmatic Functions of Color Terms in Chinese-15

3.2.1 The Application in Expression and Emotion-15

3.2.2 The Application in Politics and Economics-18

4. Conclusion-20

Reference