Observation On Color Words In Chinese And Western Modern Literary Works And Readers' Reception

The dissertation is to make a detailed cross-cultural interpretation about literary color words, to analyze the author's intention of using them and their cultural connotation, to illustrate the specific effects of color words on readers'reception, especially the reception under different cultures, to elaborate that readers have to take cultural connotation of color words into account while appreciating certain literary works, which will contribute to the reader's command of the application rules of color words and the establishment of"pre-understanding"of the text, enhance readers'ability and cultural accomplishment in understanding color words, and artistcically and culturally push readers'reception. Meanwhile, the dissertation provides ideal cases for the study of cultural translation of color words and for the study of the effects of the translation on literature reception so as to work out effective traslantion ways to handle culture-loaded color words to improve literature reception to the greatest extent.Introduction. Literature reception is a course of appreciating a certain piece of works, including not only the understanding of the certain character, the writing technique and the language structure, but also the grasp and exploration about the general value of the piece. As indispensible part of language, literary color words are also involved in literature reception.Literary works are a color world of language, in which color words are of great importance. In literary creation, their functions are unlikely to be replaced by other words, where a large number of color words are used to describe surroundings and atmosphere in which the character is involved, to portrait characters'personalities and to reveal characters'fortune, and at the same time they are loaded with culture. Authors, translators and readers from different cultural backgrounds have different ideas about color. To achieve successful reception, translators (who themselves are readers) and readers (who are not expert translators) are required to understand and interpret color words in literary works from different perspectives and can't neglect to consider culture-loaded color words so as to get rid of blind zones in appreciation. The dissertation is to adopt the study methods of cross-cultures, cross-subjects, text analyses, comparison and contrast, taking Lu Xun's, Hardy's and Mark Tain's novels and translation versions of these novels as main examples and other authors'works and translation versions as supplements, to explore the impacts of literary color words on cross-cultural literature acceptance from the perspectives of mutual features of using color words, different cultural imagery of color words and translations of color words.Chapter I Observation on mutual features of using color words and readers'reception. Due to human beings'mutual intuition and some similar thinking modes, people from different cultural backgrounds have almost the same sense and aesthetic taste to the basic image of color. So speaking of the sense to color, we can easily find that both Chinese authors and authors from English-speaking countries tend to make use of color words to present the original color of items, to express various complex color, to outline features to inspire rich imagination, to portrait characters to reveal their fate, to use color to"write"senery to foil atmosphere, and so on and so forth. And they also have much in common in the use of figurative language. That mutuality in using basic senses of color words and figurative language is apt to arouse readers'resonance and push reception.Chapter II Observation on different cultural imagery of color words and readers'reception. With the changes of history and culture, besides the basic senses, color words have also developed abundant cultural connotations and have colorful pragmatic meanings which are derived from the practice of language in specific context. Literary works provide the very pragmatic context for culture-loaded words—color words. Chinese and foreign authors rein color words with their own national cultural connotations and make their works loaded with meanings beyond color, and at the same time increase the profoundity and difficulty in literature reception. Literary works with profound color images hinder readers'literature reception, especially non-Chinese readers'. Therefore, as far as readers are concerned, it is of vital importance to be able to interpret and grasp color connotations, and to enhance the ability concerned. Chapter III Observation on translations of color words and readers'reception. The functions of color words in Chinese literary works and English literary works have showed both clear mutuality and various differences, which decides the complexity of the process of literature reception, especially that of the readers from different cultures. Under such circumstances, expert translators, their translating strategies and the improvement of readers'appreciation and interpretation will function as a bridge to influence reception and make foreign readers have similar, even the same sense and understanding as the readers of the original.Conclusion."Resonance in literature reception is a vital means of fulfilling the self-worth of literary works, that is, only through arousing readers'resonance more can literary works develop its social functions of cognition, education, aesthetics and so on."This is the very remark that generated the drive of this study, which is expected to lead Chinese readers and readers from different cultures out of the confusion in color words to render"highbrow songs"to find more"singers".