用顏色詞把生活天地點綴得五彩繽紛

林麗芳

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.

法國畫家克勞德·莫奈大聲叫道：“我終日被顏色所困，既令我快樂，又令我苦惱?！比鹗克囆g(shù)家保羅·克勒也寫道：“顏色占有了我?！蹦魏涂死詹⒎窃陂熣務芾怼？茖W家們已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)顏色確實影響人的情緒和情感。如紅色墻壁的房間可使人憂慮，進而發(fā)怒；而綠色調(diào)則可使人鎮(zhèn)靜。由于顏色具有如此之神力，作家與詩人也必當如同畫家一樣盡情地擁抱顏色。

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”.

有關(guān)“顏色”名符其實的概念確有各式各樣的意義。一個堅定的人“堅持自己的立場”。形象生動的故事具有“各種情調(diào)和趣味”?！坝新曈猩恼Z言”是具有特色的和生動的。音調(diào)的音質(zhì)為“音色”。升旗儀式中，士兵們“向軍旗敬禮”。白種人過去蔑稱非白種人為“有色人種”——此一玷辱之詞受到黑人的反擊，回敬白種人為“無色人種”。

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”.

事實上，色彩本身所表達的意義又比“色彩”一詞豐富多了。藍色這一指浩瀚的大海和茫茫的天空的顏色，也被引申為指一望無際、無限的空間和時間。一只海鷗驀地飛向“藍天”。不速之客“突然造訪”。十六世紀時，本·瓊生寫道：“藍色確實表示真實”，因為藍色還意味著高貴的。道德家們通過了“清教徒法規(guī)”；出身貴族的人皆“名門望族”。對于我們普通人來說，藍色可以反映在大千世界里顯得極其渺小的凡夫俗子的憂郁。一個在圣誕節(jié)仍然出門在外的商人“情緒低落”；一個對世事不滿的人“表示悲觀”；一個被拋棄的失戀者“垂頭喪氣”。

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.

紅色是激情，是行動，是羅馬戰(zhàn)神馬爾斯的顏色。一個共產(chǎn)黨人是一個“赤色分子”；記者搶先得到“最新新聞”；貴賓受到了“紅地毯的禮遇”。紅色也可表示異于上述褒獎的一些意思。當我們生氣或感到尷尬時，我們就會“面紅耳赤”；警察有時當場捉住“正在作案的”小偷；“酒糟鼻子”是指縱酒者；“熏鯡”是指避開主要問題轉(zhuǎn)移注意力的東西或話題；一個經(jīng)營虧損的企業(yè)“出現(xiàn)赤字”；“通宵航班”則指價格低廉但使人精疲力竭的夜間飛行航班。

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 “l(fā)ily 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”).

白色意味著無瑕，意味著清白，意味著道德的純凈。英國的切斯特頓是這樣抒發(fā)對白色的情感的：“白色并非無色，而是光彩奪目、確切存在之物。它有如紅色之艷麗，黑色之鮮明。上帝用斑斕色彩描繪了我們的世界。我也曾經(jīng)近乎炫夸地稱道，只有用上了白的顏色，他才繪出了如此燦爛絢麗的世界?！蔽覀儞]動“白旗”，以示休戰(zhàn)或投降，或是告訴對方：我們放下了武器；“小謊”是無惡意的謊言，而“乞靈于天使的白法術(shù)”是好戲法。白色也與消極負面的意思相聯(lián)系。雖然，“純潔無瑕的”是純白的，但“像紙一樣白”卻使人產(chǎn)生恐懼（紙一樣白的顏色，不禁使人聯(lián)想到裹著壽衣死鬼的形象）?！袄圪樀臇|西”則比喻某件既無用又累贅，成為沉重負擔的東西。懦夫“顯示懦弱或膽怯”?！拔⒉蛔愕赖模钚?shù)值的”股票是指價值微小的股票（與令人垂涎的“藍籌股”或在香港的“紅籌股”）相對。

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”.

黑人領(lǐng)袖馬爾科姆曾經(jīng)抱怨說：白人的詞典贊美白色和白人，而把黑色和黑人詆毀成下流、邪惡。因此，“black acts”成了邪惡的行為；“black thoughts”是悲觀的思想；“black look”是（表示生氣、厭惡或憎恨的）瞪眼、怒容、慍色；家中放蕩的“害群之馬、敗類”可能會對他人進行“敲詐、勒索”；我們都懼怕女巫的“妖術(shù)”。

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”.

綠色是春天，是大自然的顏色。西班牙詩人和劇作家費德里哥·加西亞·洛爾卡曾寫道：“綠色，我多么需要你呀綠色。綠色的風。綠色的樹枝?！币粋€環(huán)境保護論者是個“綠化論者”；具有園藝技能的人擁有“綠手指”。綠色，初春嫩綠的顏色，又使人想起年輕時的天真幼稚?！癵reen hand”是沒經(jīng)驗的新手；“green horns”是幼稚、易受欺騙的人，對某處或某一群體還未熟悉。綠色甚至可以意味著虛弱。一個蒼白、病態(tài)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.

在語言這塊調(diào)色板上的每一種顏色，從顯貴的藍色、帶怒的紅色到皇家的紫色，都孕育著個中之意，但所產(chǎn)生的確切意象則有賴于所使用的確何種語言。在英語中，“black gown（黑色的寬大長外衣）”原為一些大學生的服裝，后來人們借指有學問的人、學者。而漢語中的“black gown（皂衣）”則指的是封建時代中國的“衙役”；“green cloth（青衿）”才相當于“學者”。中國的皇帝及寺院中有權(quán)勢者穿的是“黃袍”，而羅馬皇帝與大主教則身著“紫袍”。中國人被人說成“走紅”，可能會神氣十足，而美國人聽了一定會感到畏縮不安；中國人的“紅茶（red tea）”，對說英語的外國人來說卻是“black tea”，（雖然在我這個不諳世故的眼里看來，它們既不紅也不黑）；中國人的“白開水（white water）”，事實上是不加茶葉、咖啡或任何其它東西的開水，萬不能與英文的“white coffee”相混淆，“white coffee”是加牛奶或奶油的咖啡?！癰rown sugar”在中國人眼里則成為“紅糖”，一個美國人明明被打得“青腫的、淤血的（black and blue）”，中國人卻說成“青一塊、紫一塊”（green and purple）”;嫉妒的中國人是“眼紅（red-eyed）”，而嫉妒的美國人則是“green-eyed（嫉妒的、妒忌的；在美國人看來red-eyed意味著落淚或乏困）”。在中國，幸運日稱為黃道吉日；但在美國，喜慶日卻是“red-letter day”。漢語中，“藍本（blue book）”指的是一著作所根據(jù)的底本，而英語a blue book可以用作社會上記錄貴族的名冊、大學考試成績的空白登記本，也可以是政府公開發(fā)表的文件，或是美國空軍研究飛碟的計劃書。

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.

葬禮上，中國人穿白色衣服以示哀悼；而美國人則著黑裝。美國的新娘著一身潔白的婚禮服，這顏色象征純潔、童貞；而中國的新娘很可能會一身紅裝，以示吉祥——這簡直嚇壞了美國人；因為，他們通常把紅衣服與賣淫聯(lián)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”.

漢語里的“黃色文學作品”是色情文學，不能與英語的“yellow journalism”混為一談——后者指的是采用聳人聽聞手法的報刊雜志的文章；美國的色情電影是“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.

根據(jù)文化差異，正確使用顏色詞，對每一個語言學習者而言既是挑戰(zhàn)，也是十分有益的。因此，請拿起語言的調(diào)色板和筆，不僅僅是用單調(diào)的黑白色，而是用鮮明生動折色彩，就像把我們的生活變得豐富多彩那樣，把我們的語言也變得五彩繽紛。

更多信息請查看英語美文寫作