application of colour terms in crosscultural communication 跨文化交际中颜色词运用差异研究大学论文

DifferentconnotationsofcoloursintheeastandwestPeoplefoundavarietyofcoloursinthelong-termproductionprocessandendoweddifferentcolourswithdifferentnamesandmeanings.However,peoplefromdifferentculturalbackgroundhavetheirownperceptionofthesymbolstoallsortsofcolourcross,whichcommonlydiffersfromothers.Apartfromcausinginconvenienceandmisunderstandinginculturalcommunication,italsohaspositivesignificanceinlinguistics,givingthecolourwordsallkindsofassosiativemeanings.ThisthesistriestoexplaindinstinctmeaningsofthemostcommoncolourwordsincrossculturalinteractionbyexampleanalysisandEastern-Westerncomparisonsothatwecananalyzehistoricalandculturalreasonsfortheformationofdifferencesinordertobetterunderstandothercountries'cultureandmakecross-culturalcommunicationmoreeffectiveandsmooth.2.1ThedifferentconnotationsofredRedisatraditionalkindofcolourtoexpressthefeelingofhappinessandjoyinChina,whichisalwaysassociatedwithcelebration,success,luckorloyalty.Forexample,theancientChinesenobilitywouldpaintthegatesoftheirhouseandtheirsedanchairsredtoshowtheirdignity.Besides,Guanyu,afamousheroinChinesePekingOperahasaredface,whichisasymbolofhisloyalandfrankcharacter.InChinesetraditionalwedding,thebridewouldcreatehappyatomspherebywearingredclotheswitharedbridalveilcoveringherface,whichalsosuggeststheywouldenjoyahappymarriage.Nowadays,redisacolourwithintimateconnectionwithpolitics,becomingasymbolofrevolutionandprogress.Itwasared-letterclayinthehistoryofChineserevolution,whichmeansitisamemorialdayinChinesehistory(LiLi，2008).Lastbutnottheleast,despiteofthosepositivemeaningsofredinChina,letterswritinginredisatabooofChinesepeoplebyreasonthatitrepresentsbreakingofffriendlyrelations.Similarly,beinginredinafuneralorinmourningisalsoaChinesetaboo,whichdoesn’tshowenoughrespectforthedead.IntheWest,redisassociatedwithjoyandcelebrationinsomesituationssuchaswhengreetingdistinguishedguests,itiscommonornecessarytorolloutredcarpet.Redoftensymbolizesthosenegativemeanings,likeperemptory,termagancyandarrogancemorethanthepositiveones,suchasenthusiaam,motivation,bravenessintheWest.Therefore,redisboringinmostAmericanpeople’smind,asitsderogatorysignificance.WealsocanfindsomehintsofthisphenomenonintheEnglishexpressions.Tociteaninstance,“red-hand”meanssomeonebeingintheactofcrimeand“inthered”impliesbeingindebt(LiLi，2008).2.2ThedifferentconnotationsofwhiteInChineseculture,whitemaybeoppositetored,actingasacommontabooterm.Itisoftentogetherwithdeathandbadomens.“InChina,whiteisthecolourofice,snow,jadeandsilver,soitstandsfortheunsulliedmoralconduct,anditisthecolourofgentleman.Inaddition,whiteisoneofthepurecolours,soithasahighstatus.Thecarvedbalustradeinthepalace,thememorialcolumnandthememorialarchwayinnoblesareallwhite”(LiuJing&YangYan,2005).Sinceancienttimes,bereavedrelativesinChinashouldwearwhitegarmentstoorganizefuneralaffairs,setupawhitemourninghallandholdwhitebannerswhileholdingafuneralprocession.Therefore,whiteinChinesecultureisrecognizedasakindofcolourtaboo.Inthedevelopmentprocessofwhite,politicaleffectsmakeagreatdifferencesothatwhiteisalsothesymboloffailure,fool,decadence,suchasraisingawhiteflaginthewarmeanssurrender.Inwesternculture,whitesignifiesthebrightness,purity,andinnocence,closelyrelatedwiththeGod,angel,andvirtue.Togiveexamples,“whitehands”representsthemeaningoffairnessandintegrity.“Whitelie”meansanunimportantliewhichisespeciallytoldtobetactfulorpolite(ShaoLing,2007).Inthewesternfairytale,thereisaheroinewhoisverypopularamongchildrenfromallthecountriescalledSnowWhite,servingontheincarnationofwisdomandbeauty.Inaddition,"makeone'snamewhiteagain"hasthemeaningofmakingsomebodyinnocentandregainingthegoodfame.InBritishorAmericanweddings,bridesdressinginwhiteandpeopleusingwhitethingstodecorateeverythingconnotethemeaningofpurityandexpresstheirexpectationforgoodfortune.Fromtheaboveexampleitiseasytoseethatthewesterntraditionthattheyputahighvalueandpreferenceonwhite.Whereas,eveythinghastwosidesandthewhitecolourisalsonoexception.WhitealsohasderogatorymeaningsinEnglish.Forexample,“whitefeather”,derivingfromcock-fighting,whereagamecockdisplayingthewhiterimoffeatherunderhishackleacknowledgesdefeat,waitingtogiveup,isanimplicationoffear,cowardiceortimidity.2.3ThedifferentconnotationsofblackIntheBible,Blackisconnectedwithdevil,pain,anddeath,whichresultsinthewesterncustomthatpeopleshouldbedressedinblackwhenattendingafuneral.Accordingtoabove-mentionedChinesefuneralcustom,thisdiffersfromtheChineseone,whichindicatestheimportanceofstudyingtheapplicationofcolourinthecrossculturalcommunication.ManyEnglishphrasesconsistingwith“black”alwaysdeliverpeopleasortofterribleorevenevilfeeling.Takenasexamples,“blackwords”referstosayingsomethingunlucky.“ablackletterday”meansanunluckyday(ZhangHui,2010).InChinesetraditionalculture,blackisthesymbolofwinter.Theweatherturnscoldwitheverythingslowlybeingintoadepressionintheseasonofwinter,thusblackrepresentsmysteryinagraveandserioustone.InthePekingOpera,ZhangFeiandBaoZhengbothhaveablackface,whichreflectstheirseriousanduprightfeatures.Ontheotherside,duetothewesternculturalinfluencetogetherwithitsfeatureofdarkness,italsorepresentssomethingevilorreactionary.Forinstance,viciousandsinisterpeoplearecalled“blackheart”inChinese.“Blackhand”inChineseisreferredtoso-calledmembersofreactionary.2.4ThedifferentconnotationsofyellowInChinesetraditionalculture,yellowisthespecialcolourforemperors.BecauseyellowisthecentreofthefiveelementsinancientChinesetheory,itbecomeasymbolofsupremeright.Asaresult,ordinarypeopledonothavetherightandopportunitytousetheyellowcolour.Forexample,yellowrobecanonlybewearedbyemperors.Ifanyoneelseownsapieceofyellowrobeinprivacy,hewouldbecondemnedtodeathasamemberofreactionarywhenthissecretisgivenaway.What’sworse,thewholeclanwouldbeimplicated.Consequently,yellowhasbecomeauspiciouscolourinChinesepeople’svieweversince.Besides,Buddhismalsoadvocatesthecolourofyellowandcassocksofmonksandlamasareyellowasyellowisalsoconnectedwithbrightness.Alltheabove-mentionedexamplesreflectthatyellowownsanexaltedandholypositioninChinesepeople’sminds.However,yellowalsohavenegativemeaningsabouteroticismsuchas“yellowpress”,whichcomesfromthewestratherthanoriginatefromChina.Inthewest,yellowhavenotenjoyedthesamepositioninChina.Instead,itisoftenrelatedwithtimidity,melancholyandotherderogatoryassociations,whichisbyreasonthatJudas,theonewhobetrayedJesus,wasdressedinyellow.Inaword,yellowisconsideredasanegativecolourinthewest.Purpleisthesymbolofroyaltyinthewest,distinguishedfromtheeast.Allthewesternemperorsandbishopssharethetraditionofbeinginpurpleclothes.GraduationThesisofChongqingUniversityThecausesforthesedifferences3ThecausesforthesedifferencesIntheabove,wecontrastedtheculturalconnotationsoffourcommoncoloursbetweenEnglishandChinese.Aculturalphenomenonderivesfromtheculturalformations.Therefore,causesforthedifferencesaretobediscussedinthefollowing.3.1AssociationAlthoughthereisafatlotofdifferenceinthephysiologicalprocessofperceptionofallpeople,theinformationwegetfromthevisibleobjectisinterpretedandestimatedbyourbrains,whichmaybeconnectedwiththepastexperiencesandthesurroundingenvironment.Itistheprocessofassociationthatmakesusgetdistinctinformationfromthesamevisibleobject.Intheprocess,cultureprovidesuswithaninsideassociativelensthatgreatlyaffectshowweinterpretandestimatethebasicinformationwereceivefromtheoutsideworld.Differentculturalbackgroundsmakeusgetdifferentassociationwiththesamecolour,whichaccountsforwhywemayusedifferentcolourwordstomodifythingsevenwiththesamereferenceinbothEnglishandChineseincrossculturalcommunication.Fromtheabovepartofexampleanalysis,itisnotdifficulttofindthatthewestwouldliketointegratecolourwiththeobjectivethingsofthatkindofcolourinsight.Nevertheless,Chineseprefertolinkthecolourwiththesubjectivefeelingsaboutthethingsinthatcolour.Thisdifferencemakeswesternandeasternpeopleindifferentcolourorientation.Forexample,inthewest,whiteisthecolourofice,snow,silver,freshmilkandlily,soitstandsforpure,wonderfulandkindnessthings,andbecomesthecolourofgentleman.Inaddition,whiterepresentstheunsulliedmoralbehaviour,soithasahighstatusinwesterncoutries(DuXiaohong&ChenXiaozhao,2000).InancientChina,whitereferstoautumn.Theancientpeopleconsideredthatharvestinautumnandstoreinwinter,allthingswitherandfall,andthelifeisclosedtodie.Theseallshowsorrowandsadness.Furthermore,duringtheancientage,ourancestorsweresmallandweak,unabletoresisttheevilmonstersattacks.Thebrightnessofdaytimewouldexposetheminthedangerofbeingattackedbybeasts.Therefore,Chinesepeoplestillhaveaninstinctivefeartowardsthecolourofwhiteasthefeatureofdaytime.Inthewest,redmeansthecolourofbloodorfire.Inthewesternpeople’sminds,redistogetherwithdangerousandblooding,standingforviolenceanddisaster.Forexample,"aredflag"inEnglishimpliessomethingdangerouswhichpeopleshouldtrytheirbesttoavoidorflagsoftheinsurgency.Intheearlyperiodofhumanhistory,redwasthecolourofsunandfirethatmadelifebetter.AccordingtotheancientChineselegendsandmythologies,Chinesepeopleconnecteddirectbenefitsfromthewarmthofthesunandfirewithred,thecolourofthesun.Therefore,inChinese,redisconnectedwithdignity,love,beauty,happinessandsoon.IntheCulturalRevolution,redwasusedpolitically.ChairmanMaowastitled"theredsun".RedgraduallybecomesthesymbolofChina.Nowadays,wealwaysseethattheChineseteamsareusuallydressedinredininternationalgames."Redflag"inChinesealsohaveoppositeconnotationowingtothedifferentassociation."Redflag",theflagoftheCommunistPartyofChina,representsChina.Theseexamplesallshowthedifferencescausedbydifferentassociations.Meanwhile,weshouldrealizethatalthoughsomecolourtermslooksimilarintheirconceptualmeanings,theirconnotationsaredifferentduetothedifferentculturalcontexts.3.2EnvironmentAsweknow,cultureisdefinedandgeneratedonthethree-foldrealityofculture,societyandpeople.Moreover,theevolutionofacultureistheresultoftheinteractionbetweensubjectandobject.Therefore,theso-calledenvironmentconsistsofbothsubjectiveandobjectiveenvironment,suchaspolitics,geographicalposition,historyandsoon.Allofthesefactorshavecometogethertobuilduptheformationofcurrentcultures.Forinstance,becauseofthegeographicalpositioninEuropeancountries,Europeancanalwaysseesnow,thecolourofwhite,whichmakesthemhaveastrongfeelingofwhite.Sotheythinkwhiteisthecolourofpurity,brightness.InChinesehistory,yellowisthespecialcolourforemperors,thusitbecomeasymbolofsupremeright.Inthewest,alltheemperorsandbishopssharethetraditionofbeinginpurpleclothes,whichleadstothefactthatpurpleisthesymbolofroyaltyinthewest,distinguishedfromtheeast.Anotherexampleis"whiteelephant",inwhich"white"means"uselessness".ItderivedfromThailand.Atthattime,whiteelephantwasrarelyseen,whichwasonlyinroyalfamilies.Theroyalmadearulethatnoonecouldusethewhiteelephanttocarrypeopleorgoods.Therefore,ifthekingdidnotlikeoneofthecourtiers,hewouldsendabigelephanttohimasapunishment.Becauseitsownerdidn’tdaretouseitandthewhiteelephanthadsuchagoodappetiteandatesomuchthatitsownercouldnotaffordit(DuXiaohong&ChenXiaozhao,2000).What'smore,owingtothepoliticalinfluencesformKuomintang,whitealsoimpliesdecadenceandreaction,whichisoneofthecolourtermscarryingtheobviouspoliticaltendencyinChina.Forexample,“theWhitearmy”isthereactionaryarmy.Redisanothervividexampletoshowthetendency,whichisthesymbolofrevolutionintherevolutionarytime,asin“theRedArmy”,andsoon.Asredisassociatedwithcommunism.andduetosomepoliticalreasons,itsmeaningisdegradedinsomecapitalisticcountries.Ithasbeenaslightlyoffensivewordforsomeonewhohascommunistorveryleftwingideasoropinions,sothewesternpoliticiansarealerttored.3.3ReligionandbeliefReligionandbeliefarealsothemostimportantfactorsaffectingthecultureandcross-culturalcommunication.Itisagreedbymanyexpertsthatreligionandbeliefhaveendeavoredtoexplainthosemotionsaboutlifethatotherwisecouldnotbeunderstoodorresolved.Asthelifeanddeathinnature,thecreationoftheuniverse,theoriginofgroupsinthesociety,therelationshipwitheachotherandtherelationofhumanbeingstonatureallhavesomethingtodowithreligionandbelief,theusagesofcoloursinreligionhavegreatinfluenceonthemeaningofthecolourterms.Especially,thewesternersareinterestedinuniverse,andhaveastrongsenseofreligion.AccordingtotheBible,“redbean”isasymbolforstupidity,whichderivesfromtheBible,inwhichJesusoldhisrightasthefirstbornsontohisyoungerbrotherJacobjustforredbeanstew.BecauseoftheBible,Blackisconnectedwithdevil,pain,anddeath,whichresultsinthewesterncustomthatpeopleshouldbedressedinblackwhenattendingafuneral.Inwesternculture,whitesignifiesthebrightness,purity,andinnocence,closelyrelatedwiththeGod,angel,andvirtue,whichisalsoinflunencedbythereligionandbelief.Yellowisoftenrelatedwithtimidity,melancholyandotherderogatoryassociations,whichisbyreasonthatJudas,theonewhobetrayedJesus,wasdressedinyellow.Onthecontrary,Buddhismadvocatesthecolourofyellowandcassocksofmonksandlamasareyellow.AsmanyChineseareBuddhists,whobelieveinBuddhism,yellowownsanexaltedandholyimpressioninChinesepeople’sminds.

3.4PhilosophyAsweknow,theworldisnotonlymadeupofphysicalworld,butalsopsychologicalworld.However,thelatteronealsohasgreatinfluencesonthecrossculturalcommunication.Duringthelong-runhistory,theChinesedevelopitsownphilosophicaltheories,suchastheonewhatwehavementionedabove,"FiveElements",whichsaystheuniverseisconsistedoffiveelements,wood,water,fire,andearth.TheFiveLords,fiveelements,fivecolours(white,green,black,redandyellow),fourseasonsarerelated.Coloursareusedastherepresentativesofthedirections,whicharethesymbolsofeast,west,center,southandnorthrespectively.Suchas“black”,representingthecentredirectionisendowedwithmysteryinagraveandserioustone.Fivecoloursalsostandforthefiveelements:whiteformetal,greenforwood,blackforwater,redforfire,andyellowforearth.Inaddition,coloursarealsousedtorepresentthefourseasons:greenforspring,redforsummer,whiteforautumn,andblackforwinter.Thesearealsothereasonswhywhitehasthemeaningofdeath,andredstandsforhappinessandblackrepresentsmysteryinagraveandserioustone.3.5Othercauses

Besidesthosereasonsmentionedabove,thereareotherfactorsinfluencingtheconnotationsofcolourterms.Differentfocusesofattentionalsowillleadtodifferentconnotations.Avividexampleis"红茶",whichisexpressed"blacktea"inEnglish.ThereasonisthespeakersofChineseandEnglishperceivethephysicalworldatdifferentangles.TheChinesepeoplepaymoreattentiontotheredcolourofthewater,whereastheWesternersputtheirfocusontheblackcolouroftheteawhenitisdry(YuYanling,2005).Withtheincreasingcrosscuturalcommunications,theoriginalconnotationsofcolourtermsinoneculturemaybeaffectedbyothers.Asismentionedabove,duetothewesternculturalinfluence,blackalsorepresentssomethingevilorreactionaryinChina,whichmeaningsdoesnotexistinprevioustimes.Additionally,yellowhasthenegativemeaningsabouteroticismsuchas“yellowpress”,whichcomesfromthewestratherthanoriginatesfromChina.GraduationThesisofChongqingUniversityTheinflunencesofdifferentconnotationsofcolourterms4TheinfluencesofdifferentconnotationsofcolourtermsLanguagedoesnotonlycontainthehistoryandculturalbackgroundofthecountry,butalsoindicatesthelifestyleandthemodeofthinkingofthecountry.Soitmustcombinetheknowledgeoflanguageandknowledgeofculturetogether,whichcanmakepeoplecommunicatewitheachotherfluently(FanLiti&MaShu,2004).AswehavestudiedtheculturalconnotationscarriedbycommoncolourtermsinEnglishandChineseandanalyzedthecausesfortheirdifferencesabove,theeffectsbroughtfromthedifferencesinthelifearetobedicussedinthechapter.4.1DifferentcolourpreferencesindifferentculturesFormanyyears,researchesincrossculturestudiesoncolourhaveshownthatdifferentmeaningsandassociationsofcoloursindifferentcultureshavecertainlyplayapartincolourpreferenceswithinthesecultures(Jacobs,Worthley,&Kyung,1991).Recently,moreandmoreresearcheshavechosenanotherimportantaspectofcolourvisionbasedonthebiologicalstructuresystemastheirfocus.Somequitedistinctcommonalitiesthathumansmayhaveforcolourpreferenceshavebeendiscoveredintheseresearches.Forexample,blueissupposedlythemostpopularcolouracrossmostcultures,whichisusuallyassociatedwithwealth,trust,andsecurity(Chattopadhyay,Gorn,&Darke,2000).Inanotherresearch,volunteersfromfourcultures(Japan,China,SouthKoreaandtheUSA)wereaskedtochooseonecolourfromeightcolours,whichwasmostcloselyassociatedwith13wordsoftenusedtodescribeconsumerproducts.Allthevolunteersfromfourculturesrelatebluewithhighqualityandcombineredwithlove.PurpleisendowedwiththemeaningofexpensivesubjectsbyJapan,China,andSouthKorea.Incontrast,volunteersfromtheUnitedStatesconsiderpurpleasabehalfcolourofinexpensivethings.Blackisconsistentlyconnectedwithexpensiveandpowerfulacrosscultures(Mario&Jesús,2001).Thefindingsofsuchstudiesaddfeasibilityandreliabilitytothefactthattheremaybeopportunitiesforstandardizationintheutilizationofsomecoloursthroughouttheworld.Figure4.1AspectrumofColourMeaningDuringthoseresearchconducted,itisobvioustofindthatthereisaninterestingpatternofcolourswithaspectrumofmeaningaroundallcountriesintheworld.Justastheprogramaboveshown,thepatternofcolourscanbeexpressedbyastraightlinewithreddrawnononeendandblue-green-whiteclusterontheotherend.Theassociativemeaningalongwiththiscolourpatternrunfrom“active”,“hot”,“violent”(associatedwithred)to“calming”,“gentle”,and“peaceful”(associatedwiththeblue-green-whitecluster).Theremainingsixcolourstendtolocateapproximatelyequalbetweenthesepoints(Mario&Jesús,2001).Fromtheprogrammeabove,wecanclearlyseethatblue,white,andgreenbelongstocoldcolours,withacalmingandstilleffect.Thesethreecoloursaresettogetherononeendofthecolourpattern.Ontheotherendlieswarmcoloursincludingredandyellow,whichareofenergisingeffectsandmakepeoplefeelactive.Theothercoloursdrawnalongthelinearearranngedfromthebeginingtotheend,whichareso-calledneutralsusedforbalancingvibrantorrichcolours.Ifthemeaningassociatedwithacolourorcombinationofcoloursisdifferentacrosscultures,itmightbebeneficialpursuingacustomisedstrategywithrespecttothecolourassociatedwiththebrand,package,andwebpageandsoon.Incontrast,whencolourmeaningsaresimilaracrossmarkets,astandardisedstrategyismoreviable.Astheaboveexamplesshown,blueisrelatedwithwealth,trust,andsecurity;greyisassociatedwithstrength,exclusivity,andsuccess;andorangeindicatescheapness.Theseassociativemeaningsmayexplainwhybanksaremorelikelytocolourtheirlogosandprintsusingblueandgreyratherthanorange.ThistheorywaseverputintopracticewithWienerschnitzel,ahotdogrestaurantwith350branchesacrosstheUSA.GraduationThesisofChongqingUniversityTheinflunencesofdifferentconnotationsofcolourtermsWienerschnitzelwereadvisedtoaddalittleorangetothecolouroftheirbuildingstoconveythemessagethattheshopsellsinexpensivehotdogstocustomers.Afterachangeincolour,Wienerschnitzelreportedanincreaseof7%insales(Mario&Jesús,2001).Crossculturalresponsetocolouragainbringsuptheuniversalitytogetherwithculturalspecificitycombinedeffectsofcolour.Whileitisobviousthatthephysiologicalformationresponsibleforcolourvisioninhumansiswellaccepted(Davidoff,1991),culturemayalsohavespecificeffectsoncolourorientationaswellaccordingtotheaboveanalysis.Exploringtherelativeroleofbasicandculturaleffectscouldbehelpfulfordecisionsmarketersmaybefacedwithwhethertovaryorstandardizethecoloursusedindifferentcountries(Gorn,Dahl&Chattopadhyay,1997).Ifthemeaningassociatedwithacolourorcombinationofcoloursisdifferentacrosscultures,itmightbebeneficialforustosettingacustomisedstrategy,whichmeansweshouldconductauniquecolourdesignforthetargetmarket.Incontrast,whencolourmeaningsaresimilaracrossmarkets,astandardisedstrategyismoresuitable.GraduationThesisofChongqingUniversityConclusion5Conclusion5.1MajorfindingsofthestudyWhilefactoringindifferentculturalmeaningsisobviouslyimportantininternationalbusinesscampaignsandglobalinitiatives,theimportanceisoftenunderstatedinthecompetitionintheinternationalmarket.Businessmen,advertisersandartistsallagreethattheinfluenceofcolouronthecustomerscandohelptopromotethebusinessprocess.What’smore,itisaneffectivemeansofcreatingandsustainingimagesforviewers.Studiesalsohaveshownhowcolourcangrabandkeepattention,canarousetheenthusiasmofpotentialcustomers,canstirupemotionalresponses,canaffectanindividual’sviewpoint,canhelppeopleformattitudes,andcanimprovepersuasiveness(Sable,etal.,2011).Toacertainextent,colourisinfluentialeverywhereinthemarketplace,frombrandlogo,image,signage,packaging,andeventheproductitself.Thisthesisemploysaseriesofexamplesaboutthedistinctsymbolicsignificancesofcolourtermsincrossculturalcommunicationastheoreticalfoundationtoanalyzesimilarityanddifferenceincolourpreferencesandcolourconnotationsincrosscuturalinteraction.Itadoptscontentanalysisandcasestudyasresearchmethods.Thisthesisstudiestheculturalconnotationscarriedbysomecommoncolourtermsindetail,andanalyzesthecausesfortheirdifferences.Thepurposeofthisthesisisnotonlytofindoutthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofcolourterms,themoreimportantpointistounderstandthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenculturesandtheinfluencestheybringtous.Theanalysisinthethesisshowsjusthowcolourcanbeacriticalfactorincommunicationinvariouscultures.Thestudyoftheimpactofcoloursonconsumershasbeenextensive,butitisstillatthebeginningasfarascrossculturallocalizationisconcerned.Languagedoesnotonlycontainthehistoryandculturalbackgroundofthecountry,butalsoindicatesthelifestyleandthemodeofthinkingofthecountry.Soitmustcombinetheknowledgeoflanguageandknowledgeofculturetogether,whichcanmakepeoplecommunicatewitheachotherfluently(FanLiti&MaShu,2004).Theresultofthisthesisisnotonlybenificialtogainingpeople’sattentiontotheuseofcolourwordsininternationalinteraction,reducingmisunderstandings,achievingbettercommunication,butalsobeusedasreferenceformultinationalcompaniestoentertheinternationalmarketandtakeaactiveparticipationinmarketcompetition.5.2LimitationsandsuggestionsforfurtherresearchThisstudyemployscrossculturalcommunicationtheoryasitstheoreticalfoundationandadoptscontentanalysisandcasestudyasth