用颜色词把生活天地点缀得五彩缤纷

color our world with words
用颜色词把生活天地点缀得五彩缤纷
林丽芳
claude monet, the french, cried, “color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.” swiss artist paul klee wrote, “color possesses me.” monet and klee weren’t just philosophizing. scientists have found that colors shape moods and emitions. for example, red-walled rooms may induce anxiety and anger, while green tones may calm the nerves. given a pigment’s power, writers and poets should embrace color with as much abandon as painters.
法国画家克劳德·莫奈大声叫道：“我终日被颜色所困，既令我快乐，又令我苦恼。”瑞士艺术家保罗·克勒也写道：“颜色占有了我。”莫奈和克勒并非在阔谈哲理。科学家们已经发现颜色确实影响人的情绪和情感。如红色墙壁的房间可使人忧虑，进而发怒；而绿色调则可使人镇静。由于颜色具有如此之神力，作家与诗人也必当如同画家一样尽情地拥抱颜色。

the very notion of “color” has a myriad of meanings. a resolute person “sticks to his colors”. picturesque stories have “a lot of color.” “colorful language” is distinctive and vivid. the tonal quality is “color”. at a flag raising, the soldiers “salute the colors”. whites used to call non-caucasians “coloreds”--a slur that backfired when blacks retorted by calling caucasians “people without color”.
有关“颜色”名符其实的概念确有各式各样的意义。一个坚定的人“坚持自己的立场”。形象生动的故事具有“各种情调和趣味”。“有声有色的语言”是具有特色的和生动的。音调的音质为“音色”。升旗仪式中，士兵们“向军旗敬礼”。白种人过去蔑称非白种人为“有色人种”——此一玷辱之词受到黑人的反击，回敬白种人为“无色人种”。

in fact, more expressive than the word “color” are the colors themselves. blue, the color of the vast sea and sky, is by extension the hue of the infinite, of remote distances and times. a seagull soars into “the blue”. unexpected guests “pop in out of the blue”. in the 16th century, ben johnson wrote, “blueness doth express trueness,” because blue also means patrician. moralists pass “blue laws”; and aristocrats are “blue bloods”. for us common folk, blue may mirror the melancholy of mortals dwarfed by the infinite. a businessman away from home on christmas “has the blues”; a grumbler “sings the blues”; a jilted lover “sings the blues”.
事实上，色彩本身所表达的意义又比“色彩”一词丰富多了。蓝色这一指浩瀚的大海和茫茫的天空的颜色，也被引申为指一望无际、无限的空间和时间。一只海鸥蓦地飞向“蓝天”。不速之客“突然造访”。十六世纪时，本·琼生写道：“蓝色确实表示真实”，因为蓝色还意味着高贵的。道德家们通过了“清教徒法规”；出身贵族的人皆“名门望族”。对于我们普通人来说，蓝色可以反映在大千世界里显得极其渺小的凡夫俗子的忧郁。一个在圣诞节仍然出门在外的商人“情绪低落”；一个对世事不满的人“表示悲观”；一个被抛弃的失恋者“垂头丧气”。

red is passion and action, the color of mars, named for the roman god of war. a communist is a “red”. reporters vie for “red-hot” scoops. honored guests get the “red carpet treatment”. red also has negative connotations. we are “red-faced” when angry or embarrassed. police sometimes catch thieves “red-handed”. a “red nose” drinks too much. a “red herring” diverts attention from the main issue. a failing business runs “in the red”. a “red eye special” is a cheap but exhausting overnight flight.
红色是激情，是行动，是罗马战神马尔斯的颜色。一个共产党人是一个“赤色分子”；记者抢先得到“最新新闻”；贵宾受到了“红地毯的礼遇”。红色也可表示异于上述褒奖的一些意思。当我们生气或感到尴尬时，我们就会“面红耳赤”；警察有时当场捉住“正在作案的”小偷；“酒糟鼻子”是指纵酒者；“熏鲱”是指避开主要问题转移注意力的东西或话题；一个经营亏损的企业“出现赤字”；“通宵航班”则指价格低廉但使人精疲力竭的夜间飞行航班。

white implies freedom from spots, blemishes, or moral impurity. g. k. chesterton waxed lyrical, “white…is not a mere absence of color, it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black…. god paints in many colors; but he never paints so gorgeously, i had almost said so gaudily, as when he paints in white.” we wave the “white flag” to call a truce, surrender, or show we are unarmed. a “white lie” is a harmless untruth, while “white magic” is good magic. white may conjure up negative images as well. although “lily white” implies purity, “white as a sheet” denotes terror (the sheet evoking images of shrouded ghosts). a “white elephant” is something of dubious value or a rare artifact that is a burden to maintain. cowards “show the white feather”. a “white chip” stock is of minimal value (as opposed to coveted “blue chip” stocks or, in hong kong, the “red chip”).

白色意味着无瑕，意味着清白，意味着道德的纯净。英国的切斯特顿是这样抒发对白色的情感的：“白色并非无色，而是光彩夺目、确切存在之物。它有如红色之艳丽，黑色之鲜明。上帝用斑斓色彩描绘了我们的世界。我也曾经近乎炫夸地称道，只有用上了白的颜色，他才绘出了如此灿烂绚丽的世界。”我们挥动“白旗”，以示休战或投降，或是告诉对方：我们放下了武器；“小谎”是无恶意的谎言，而“乞灵于天使的白法术”是好戏法。白色也与消极负面的意思相联系。虽然，“纯洁无瑕的”是纯白的，但“像纸一样白”却使人产生恐惧（纸一样白的颜色，不禁使人联想到裹着寿衣死鬼的形象）。“累赘的东西”则比喻某件既无用又累赘，成为沉重负担的东西。懦夫“显示懦弱或胆怯”。“微不足道的，最小数值的”股票是指价值微小的股票（与令人垂涎的“蓝筹股”或在香港的“红筹股”）相对。

the black leader malcom x complained that white men’s dictionaries glorify white and whites, but vilify black and blacks as tainted and evil. thus, “black deeds” become evil acts, “black thoughts” are gloomy; a “black look” betrays anger. the dissolute “black sheep” of the family may succumb to “blackmail”. we fear the witch’s “black cat”.
黑人领袖马尔科姆曾经抱怨说：白人的词典赞美白色和白人，而把黑色和黑人诋毁成下流、邪恶。因此，“black acts”成了邪恶的行为；“black thoughts”是悲观的思想；“black look”是（表示生气、厌恶或憎恨的）瞪眼、怒容、愠色；家中放荡的“害群之马、败类”可能会对他人进行“敲诈、勒索”；我们都惧怕女巫的“妖术”。
green is the color of spring and nature. federico garcia lorca, spanish poet and playwright, wrote: “green, how i want you green. green wind. green branches.” an environmentalist is a “green”, and people with a knack for growing plants have “green thumbs”. green, the color of spring growth, also reminds us of youthful naivete. a “green hand” is fresh and inexperienced, and “green horns” are na?ve, easily deceived, and unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group. green may even imply weakness. a pale or sickly child is “green around the gills”.

绿色是春天，是大自然的颜色。西班牙诗人和剧作家费德里哥·加西亚·洛尔卡曾写道：“绿色，我多么需要你呀绿色。绿色的风。绿色的树枝。”一个环境保护论者是个“绿化论者”；具有园艺技能的人拥有“绿手指”。绿色，初春嫩绿的颜色，又使人想起年轻时的天真幼稚。“green hand”是没经验的新手；“green horns”是幼稚、易受欺骗的人，对某处或某一群体还未熟悉。绿色甚至可以意味着虚弱。一个苍白、病态的孩子是“面露病容的”。
every color on the linguistic palette, from patrician blue and angry red to royal purple, is pregnant with meaning--but the image birthed depends on the languages used. in english, “black gown” originally meant the college gown and later became a figurative expression fro a learned person or a scholar. in chinese, “black gown” refers to a “yamen runner” in feudal china, and “green cloth” is china’s equivalent of “scholar”. in china the emperor or the influential people in temples don the “yellow gown”, while the roman emperor and the archbishop wear the “purple”. chinese might swagger at being called a “red”, but americans would cringe. chinese “red tea” is, for english speakers, “black tea” (though to my unsophisticated eye it’s neither). chinese “white water” is actually just boiled water, sans tea, coffee or anything else, never to be confused with the english “white coffee”, which means coffee with milk or cream. “brown sugar” is “red sugar” into chinese eyes. if an american is beaten “black and blue”, a chinese will always find him “green and purple”. jealous chinese are “red-eyed”, yet jealous americans are “green eyed (red-eyed suggests weepy or sleepy)”. in china, a lucky day is a yellow day; in america it is a “red-letter day”. a chinese “blue book” is a chief source for later work. in english, a blue book is the social register for bluebloods, a blank booklet for college exams, a government publication, or the u. s. air force project for studying flying saucers.

在语言这块调色板上的每一种颜色，从显贵的蓝色、带怒的红色到皇家的紫色，都孕育着个中之意，但所产生的确切意象则有赖于所使用的确何种语言。在英语中，“black gown（黑色的宽大长外衣）”原为一些大学生的服装，后来人们借指有学问的人、学者。而汉语中的“black gown（皂衣）”则指的是封建时代中国的“衙役”；“green cloth（青衿）”才相当于“学者”。中国的皇帝及寺院中有权势者穿的是“黄袍”，而罗马皇帝与大主教则身着“紫袍”。中国人被人说成“走红”，可能会神气十足，而美国人听了一定会感到畏缩不安；中国人的“红茶（red tea）”，对说英语的外国人来说却是“black tea”，（虽然在我这个不谙世故的眼里看来，它们既不红也不黑）；中国人的“白开水（white water）”，事实上是不加茶叶、咖啡或任何其它东西的开水，万不能与英文的“white coffee”相混淆，“white coffee”是加牛奶或奶油的咖啡。“brown sugar”在中国人眼里则成为“红糖”，一个美国人明明被打得“青肿的、淤血的（black and blue）”，中国人却说成“青一块、紫一块”（green and purple）”;嫉妒的中国人是“眼红（red-eyed）”，而嫉妒的美国人则是“green-eyed（嫉妒的、妒忌的；在美国人看来red-eyed意味着落泪或乏困）”。在中国，幸运日称为黄道吉日；但在美国，喜庆日却是“red-letter day”。汉语中，“蓝本（blue book）”指的是一著作所根据的底本，而英语a blue book可以用作社会上记录贵族的名册、大学考试成绩的空白登记本，也可以是政府公开发表的文件，或是美国空军研究飞碟的计划书。

chinese wear white for mourning, americans don black. american brides wear white, the color of purity and virginity, while chinese brides might dress in red for good luck--shocking those americans who associate red attire with prostitution.
葬礼上，中国人穿白色衣服以示哀悼；而美国人则着黑装。美国的新娘着一身洁白的婚礼服，这颜色象征纯洁、童贞；而中国的新娘很可能会一身红装，以示吉祥——这简直吓坏了美国人；因为，他们通常把红衣服与卖淫联系在一起。
chinese “yellow literature” is pornography, and not to be confused with the english “yellow journalism”--sensationalist journalism. pornographic films in america are “blue movies”, not “yellow movies”.
汉语里的“黄色文学作品”是色情文学，不能与英语的“yellow journalism”混为一谈——后者指的是采用耸人听闻手法的报刊杂志的文章；美国的色情电影是“blue movies”，而不是“yellow movies”。

proper cross-cultural use of color is challenging but rewarding for a language learner. so take up the linguistic palette and the pen, and live language as you live life--not in black and white but in vivid color.
根据文化差异，正确使用颜色词，对每一个语言学习者而言既是挑战，也是十分有益的。因此，请拿起语言的调色板和笔，不仅仅是用单调的黑白色，而是用鲜明生动折色彩，就像把我们的生活变得丰富多彩那样，把我们的语言也变得五彩缤纷。