摘要

颜色词在中英两种文化和语言中都有广泛的运用。颜色作为一种视觉效果，人们对它的感知应该是一样的，但汉英颜色词都有着非常丰富的文化内涵和延伸义，使得颜色词的翻译具有其特殊的性质和难度，因而值得译者细细地推敲，谨慎处理。本文将从尤金•奈达的功能翻译理论出发，参照张培基先生提出的翻译标准“忠实、通顺”，通过相当数量的译例，对比中英文化异同，试图探讨汉英颜色词的文化内涵及对应的翻译策略，旨在说明在翻译实践中，首先要把握汉英颜色词的文化寓意，其次要掌握正确的翻译策略，使其文化内涵在译文中得到准确再现，恰到好处地反映语言使用者的内心情感世界，给读者以审美享受，成功实现文化的传递。
关键词：颜色词；文化内涵义；功能翻译理论；翻译策略
 
ABSTRACT

Color terms are widely used in English and Chinese languages and cultures. Because of the richness of cultural connotations of color terms in different cultures, the translation of color terms become rather knotty yet interesting and meaningful. To be a fully competent translator, one should be bilingual and bicultural in order to read between the lines. Therefore, based on Nida’s “dynamic equivalence”/”functional equivalence” theory and the criteria of “faithfulness” and “smoothness” advocated by Zhang Peiji, this thesis aims to reveal the corresponding translation strategies of color terms translation by comparing English and Chinese cultures through ample translation examples. The four strategies, literal translation, free translation, addition and noting method will be discussed in the paper. Documentary analysis and example analysis are adopted to do research on this subject matter. It is hoped that the present study can provide a new critical insight into the translation of color terms.

Key words: color terms；cultural connotations；dynamic equivalence/functional equivalence； translation strategies

1.    Introduction
Looking around, we are greeted with a great variety of colors. Generally speaking, a color, as a visual effect should extend the same sensory perception to people. However, color terms, also known as color words, closely linked to social and cultural thinking, are rich in cultural connotations. It indeed makes the translation of color terms boast its own unique characteristics and difficulties, thus it requires translators to bear in mind that every text is anchored in a specific culture, and that convention of text production and reception vary from culture to culture.
Based on Nida’s “dynamic equivalence”/”functional equivalence” theory and the translation criteria of “faithfulness” and “smoothness”, the objective of this thesis is, first of all, to highlight the significance of the thorough understanding of both English and Chinese cultures in translating; what is more, having acquired the cultural connotations of color terms, translators might well turn to the corresponding translation strategies. Only in this way can a translator represent the correct cultural meaning of color terms in the clearest and most acceptable form.