Comparative Study On The Color Terms In Laoshe And Bingxin's Works

This paper aims to study the characteristics of the usage of ten basic color terms in Laoshe and Bingxin's works. Statistics show that, the color terms, as well as the complicated color terms and the abstract color terms in Bingxin's works are more higher in frequency. It also shows that, Bingxin tends to use more formal and decent color words, which differentiates clearly from Laoshe. What's more, we also find that the usage of color terms in the same writer's works is affected greatly by the writing's style and certain historical period.The usage of color terms can represent a writer's style to some degree. According to the study of stylistics, all the factors that play important role in the forming of certain language style can be categorized into two groups: objective or subjective ones. As to the usage of color terms, the writer's thoughts, feelings, mentality, sexual distinction and experiences, etc, compose the subjective factors. For example, Laoshe seeks the plainness and popularity of language, so he prefers to use more color words with colloquial flavor, while Bingxin inclines to more formal and decent terms; the difference of the frequency of the color words, as well as the frequency of the complicated color terms and the abstract color terms display the effect of sexual distinction; while the periodical change in Bingxin's style reveals the influence of her change in mentality. The objective factors include the environment, object and way of communication. On the basis of statistics, the writing's style and social surroundings can influence the writer's language style notably.