VerbalCommunicationTalkingandeloquencearenotthesame:tospeak,andtospeakwell,aretwothings.Afoolmaytalk,butawisespeaks.——BenJonsonWhatisverbalcommunication?Verbalcommunicationreferstothespokenorwrittenwordsyousendorreceivewhencommunication.Itinvolvesthechoiceandorderofwordsandtheirappropriatenessforyourlisteners.Twolexicalmeaningsofaword:Denotativemeaning:dictionarymeaningConnotativemeaning:aperson’semotionalorpersonalresponsetoawordTryitout!Ifsomeonesaytoyou“You’retoofunny”.Howwouldyouunderstandit?Youhaveagoodsenseofhumor.Youareaclown.Youcan’ttakethingsseriously.…Example:FatherAmaleparentofachildoranimal:apersonwhoisactingasafathertoachild(Thesearethedenotationoffather)Sometimeswhenwethinkabout“father”,weremindoftheresponsibility,qualities,respecting,stern.(Thesearetheconnotationoffather).Example:womanWoman:femaleFrail,emotional,pronetotears,inconstant,compassionate.Denotation

connotationHowlanguageandculturearelinkedclosely!Wordsarethebasicunitsofmeaning.Criticaltounderstandthemeaningsconveyedinverbalcommunication.Lexicalmeaning:DenotationConnotationCulturaldifferencesindenotativemeaningEachculturecreatescertainvocabularytodescribeenvironmentsinthosecontexts,sotheabsenceofcertainobjects,events,conceptsorstateinoneculturewillresultintheabsenceofthenecessaryvocabularytorefertothem.炕，節氣，關系，太極拳，功夫，德育，紅衛兵，三綱五常。ThanksgivingDay,parliament,motel.CulturaldifferencesinconnotativemeaningColorlanguage:“yellow”Animalwords:“dragon”“owl”Numbers:4,8,13TheChineseandEnglishbothhavewordsdenotingthebasiccolors,butthemeaningsassociatedwiththesecolorwordsarequietdifferent.YellowappearsinsuchChineseexpressionsas黃色電影，黃色書刊，黃色音樂.HowshouldthesebetranslatedintoEnglish?Notasyellowmovies,yellowbooks,yellowmusic.Suchtermswouldnotbeunderstood. For黃色onemightusepornographic,trashy,obscene,filthy,orvulgar,asinpornographicpictures,obscenemovies,filthybooks,vulgarmusic.YellowdoesappearintheEnglishphraseyellow

journalism—akindofjournalismwithheavyemphasisonscandals,orpresentingordinarynewsinasensationalmanner,sometimesevendistortingthefactstocreateasensationaleffect.Yellow

JournalismAlso,inmostAmericanhomesonecanfindabigthickbookcalledYellowPages.Thisisabookwiththetelephonenumbersofdifferentshops,businessorganizations,etc,.arrangedaccordingtodifferentcategories;forexample,allthefoodstores,alltheradioshops,alltheamusementparks,alltheairlines,allthehospitals.Itisamostusefulbook.Itspagesareyellow,butitisnota黃色書intheChinesesense.Generallyspeaking,yellowistosomeextentderogatorythatcarriestheconnotationsofcowardice,jealousy,suspicionandcontemptibility卑鄙

.Hereistheproof.Yellowalert:alertinadvanceYellowboy:goldcoinAyellowdog:acontemptiblepersonThesearandyellowleaf:anoldageYellowlooks:suspiciouslooksYellowstreak:tendingtobecowardandchicken-heartedAssociationofGreen

GreeninEnglishhasthetermgreeneyedmonsterorjustgreen-eyed,bothmeaningjealous,envious.However,inChinese,anexpressionoftenusedtodescribeenvyorjealousyis眼紅or紅眼病—literallyred-eyed.Quiteadifferentcolorforthesamefeeling!

Interestingly,intheolddays,theChineseexpression戴綠帽子(literallytowearagreenhatorgreenheadband)meanttobeacuckold. InEnglish,greenisalsooftenusedtoindicatelackinginexperience,trainingorknowledge,asinYou’reexpectingtoomuchofhim.He’sstillgreen,youknow.Similarinmeaningisgreenhorn—apersonlackingexperience,oranewcomerwhoisnotfamiliarwithlocalcustoms;thetermisoftenusedforimmigrantsandismildlyderogatory不敬的.Positive:plants,vitality,freshness,spring,environment,life,peace,hope,etc.Negative:inexperienced,poison,sickness,envy,evil,sour,etc.Others:USdollarCulturalequivalencea)GreenassociatedwithPlants&Spring Atthesightofgreen,ourfirstreactionmaybeplantsandvegetables.Therefore,wehavealotofwordsrelating“green”totrees,vitality,springetc.Forexample, --apersonwitha“greenfinger/thumb”mustbeskillfulatgardening; --“greenwinter”isawarmwinterwithnosnow. --a“greenbelt”isanareaofopenlandaroundacity,wherebuildingisstrictlycontrolled;

--a“greenhouse”isoriginallyapalmhouse,nowadays,“greenhouseeffect”becomeajargonoftheearthwarmingeffectcausedbyincreasedcarbondioxideintheair; InChinese,wehavemanyexpressions,forinstance,“春風又綠江南岸”，“綠油油”，“清山綠水”，“松柏蒼蒼”…inwhich“蒼”means“darkgreen”while“青”isoftenusedasasubstituteof“綠”inChinese.b)GreenassociatedwithFreshness&Health Asasymbolofgrowth,greenalwaysmakespeoplethinkofyouth,freshnessandnewthings.E.g.“greencheese”isfreshcheese;“greenbeer”isthebeerbeforeprocessing;“greengoods”isfreshvegetables;“greenmeat”isnotapieceofmeatofgreencolor,butthefreshmeat;aperson“inthegreen”mayrefertoateenageroryoungster;onewhois“inthegreentree”isinhisadvantage;to“keepone’smemorygreen”meansnotlettingsomeone(dead)tobeforgotten;somebodyis“inthegreenwood”

suggestsheisingoodcondition;someoneinhis“greenoldage”mayrefertoaseniorcitizenwhoisstillsoundandhealthydespitehisage. IntheliteraryworksofancientChinese,“green”isoftenusedtodescribebeautyofyoungladieswhiletheirboudoirs閨房

arealsonamed“綠窗” “明星熒熒，開妝鏡也，綠云擾擾，梳曉譬也”(《阿房宮賦》)isanotherexampleofthesamekind,inwhich“綠云”referstotheblackandthickhairofayounglady.

Nowadays,greenisusuallyrelatedtotheprotectionofenvironment.E.g.,“greenmarket”,“greenproducts”…expressionsofthesamekindcanbefoundinChineselike“綠色食品”“綠色組織”,etc.c)greenassociatedwithPermission&safety Itisuniversallyacknowledgedthatagreenlightisasymbolof“go”intraffic,fromwhichwemayobtainitfurthermeaning as“permission”.

“Givesomeone/togetthegreenlight”equalsto“givesomeone/togetthepermissiontodosomething”; likewise,to“greenlight”somethingmeanstopermitthehappeningofsomething. WehavesimilarusagesofthiscolorinChineseas“為開綠燈”,“綠色通道”etc. ThesignofQualityCertificationisdesignedinwhiteandgreen;thesameistruewiththeinstructionalsignofemergencyexit.d)greenassociatedwithSickness Greenisthemostcommonofpoison,whichmayleadtoitsassociationwithsickness. Forinstance, “Thepassengersturnedquitegreenwithsea-sickness.”; “greenabout/aroundthegills”canbeusedtodescribeapaleperson,justlikewhatwesayinChinese“面色青黃”,etc.Culturaldiscrepancya)GreenAssociatedwithEvil ThepoisonoushalfofappletheevilQueengivestoSnowWhiteisgreen,theenormousdragonintheWestisgreenthewickedelvesinHalloweenarealsogreen… ButinChineseculture,greeniscolorofdignity,whichcanbeseenin“青史留名”“青睞”“蒼龍”etc.b)GreenassociatedwithMoney ThepapermoneyofUSdollarisprintedgreen,whichcontributestothenicknameofUSdollar“greenback”or“greennote”.Withthesamerulecanweunderstandphraseslike“greenpower”“greenpound”etc. Onaccountofthedifferenceofcurrencysystem,Chinesedoesn’tuse“green”toindicateRMB.Instead,theimageonthebillorcoinismoreoftenusedasarepresentative,sucha“袁大頭”“大團結”“毛主席”etc.c)Greenassociatedwithinexperienced Thisassociationmaycomefromthecolorofunripefruitsuchasapple,lemonsorbananas,e.g.“applestoogreentoeat”.Thus,anotherimportantassociationof“green”isimmatureorinexperienced.Ifwesaysomebodyisstill“green”,wethenmeanthathe/sheisuntrainedorinexperienced. a“greener”and“greenhand”mustbeayoungvoiceorabeginner; whenwesayapersonis“notasgreenasoneiscabbage-looking”,wemeanthatheisnotsostupidasheappearstobe. ButinChinese,whenwerefertoaninexperiencedyoungster,weoftenusethecolor“yellow”insteadof“green”,e.g.“黃毛丫頭”. Thisdifferencemayattributetothedistinctracialcharacteristics—mostblack-hairedChineseareyellow-hairedonlyinswaddle,whilemanywesternersareusuallyblondeorbrownalltheirlife.d)GreenassociatedwithEnvy “green-eyedmonster”istherhetoricalexpressionofjealousy;“toseesomebodythroughgreenglasses”indicatesonetreatsanotherunfairlyduetogreatjealousy. ButinChinese,weusethecolor“red”torepresentenvyorjealousy.“眼紅”istheequivalencyof“greenwithenvy”whilethecounterpartof“green-eyedmonster”is“紅眼病”.e)GreenAssociatedwithAnger “氣綠了臉”,“氣得臉色發青”,“青筋暴起”arevividrepresentationofpeopleingreatanger. ButinEnglish,weuseanothercolor—purpletodescribeanger,e.g.“purplewithanger”AssociationofPurple InEnglish,purplesharesthesameconnotationasthatinChineselanguage.IntheeyeofWesterners,purpleisthesymbolofemperorandpower.Inparticular,thepurplereferstothethroneoftheemperororthepope.Tobeborninthepurplemeanstobeborninaroyalfamily;toberaisedtothepurplemeanstobepromotedtothepositionasapope;purplepassagesmeanstoofloridwords,etc.

InChinese,wehave(紅得發紫),meaningpopulartotheextreme.Here,purpleindicatesthedegreeofpopularity(紅).Hereismore:Marryintothepurple:marryintoafamilyofhighsocialpositionPurplepatches:pompouspassagesPurpleHeart:(US)aninsigniaawardedtothosewoundedinthebattleAssociationofGrey Greyisoftenusedtosuggestdarkness,sullenweather,bluemoodorgloomyoutlook.Forinstances,helooksgreyandtired.Theprospectofthemarketisgrey. Greyalsosuggestswisdomandtact,asinthefollowingexpressions:greywisdom,greymatter. Beingamirrorofculture,languageplaysanextremelyimportantroleinpeople’slifebesidesitscommunicativefunction;whilecolor,influencedbyculture,hasdifferentconnotationsindifferentcountriesshapedbyhistory,politics,economy,religion,literatureetc. Conclusion Fromtheseconnotations,wecanseethedifferenceofpeople’scustomsandbeliefs,wayoflifeandsocialorganizationswithdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Therefore,itisofgreatimportancetounderstandandmastercolorwords’nationalfeatureduringinterculturalcommunicationandstudying.AnimalwordsAnimalwordhavedifferentconnotationsindifferentlanguages.English:wisdom.Aswiseasanowl.Chinese:badluck.夜貓子進宅，好事不來。PositiveinChinese(legendaryanimal):goodluckandfortune;wisdom;royalandnoble.龍鳳呈祥；藏龍臥虎；龍頭企業。NegativeinEnglish(dreadfulcreature):likecrocodileorsnake,fiercenessandderogatorysense.Ifyoucallawomanadragon,Youmeansheisfierceandunpleasant。亞洲四小龍（thefourmostdevelopedcountries):FourDragons/FourTigersHowtotalkabouttheworld Ifhumanbeingspaidattentiontoallsights,sounds,andsmellsthatbesiegethem,theirabilitytocodifyandrecallinformationwouldbeswamped.Instead,theysimplifytheinformationbygroupingitintobroadverbalcategories. Everyone,whetherherealizesitornot,classifiestheitemshefindsinhisenvironment. MostspeakersofEnglishrecognizeacategorythattheycalllivestock,whichismadeupofothercategoriesknownascattle,horse,sheep,andswineofdifferentagesandsexes. AnEnglishspeakerwhoisknowledgeableaboutfarmlifecategorizesabarnyardfuloftheseanimalsinawaythatestablishesrelationshipsbasedondistinguishingfeatures. Forexample,hefeelsthatacowandamare,eventhoughtheybelongtodifferentspecies,aresomehowinarelationshiptoeachother.Andofcoursetheyare,becausetheybothbelongtothecategoryofFemaleAnimalunderthegeneralcategoryofLivestock. ThespeakerofEnglishunconsciouslygroupscertainanimalsintovarioussub-categoriesthatexcludeotheranimals.LivestockCattleHorsesSheepSwineFemaleCowMareEweSowIntactMaleBullStallionRamBoarCastratedMaleSteerGeldingWetherBarrowImmatureHeiferColt/fillyLambShoat/giltNewbornCalfFoalYearlingpiglet TheconceptuallabelsbywhichEnglish-speakingpeoplestalkaboutbarnyardanimalscannowbeunderstood. Theanimalisdefinedbythepointatwhichtwodistinctivefeaturesintersect:sex(male,female,orcastrated)andmaturity(mature,immature,ornewborn). Nothinginexternalrealitydictatesthatbarnyardanimalsshouldbetalkedaboutinthisway;itisstrictlyaconventionofEnglishandsomeotherlanguages. Incontrast,imaginethatanAmazonianIndianisbroughttotheUnitedStatessothatlinguistscanintensivelystudyhislanguage. HerelatesthatatfirsthewasbewilderedbythestrangeanimalshesawonanAmericanfarmbecauseeachanimalnotonlylookeddifferentbutalsoseemedtorepresentauniqueconcepttothenativesoftheNorthAmericantribe.LivestockInedible/usefulforworkEdible/uselessforworkStallionCowMareEweGeldingLambBullsow AspeakerofEnglishwhodefinesastallionasamature,malehorseisnowiserthantheAmazonianwhoclaimsitisinedibleandusedforriding. BoththespeakerofEnglishandthespeakeroftheAmazonianlanguagehavebroughtorderoutofthemultitudesofthingsintheenvironment—and,intheprocess,bothhaveshownsomethingabouthowtheirlanguagesandtheirmindswork.Someculturalsimilaritiesand/ordifferencesrelatingtocertainbirdsandanimals.

Thesimilarities:

He’sasslyasafox.He’sfoxy.You’vegottowatchhim.Youass!Youstupidass!Howcouldyoudoathinglikethat?Hedoesn’thaveanideaofhisown.Hejustparrotswhatotherpeoplesay.Thechildrenwereasbusyasbees,makingpreparationsforthefestival. InChinesewehavesimilarexpressions;forexample,像狐貍一樣狡猾蠢驢鸚鵡學舌像蜜蜂一樣忙碌Otheranimalsthathavesimilarassociationsinbothcultures:deeraremeekandgentle;lambsarelovable;pigsaredirtyandgreedy;monkeysarenaughty,playful;jackalsaregreedy,contemptible;wolvesarebloodthirstyandcruel.Thedifference:Category1:Creatureshavingcertainassociatedcharacteristicsinoneculture,butnotintheother;e.g.thebull,thebeaver,thecrane,andthetortoise.Category2:Creatureswithcertainassociatedqualitiesinbothcultures,butwithdifferentqualities.e.g.theowl,thebat,thedog,thetiger.ToChinese,firsttwocreaturescarrynoparticularassociation.Theyaremerelyanimalsthatmayormaynotbecommon,mayormaynotbeuseful.ToEnglish-speakingpeople,thebullisassociatewithapersonwhoisclumsyandcausedalotoftroubleinasituationrequiringtactanddelicacy.E.g.abullinthechinashop.ThebeaverischieflyaNorthAmericananimal,notwidelyknowninChina.InEnglishmetaphor,aneagerbeaverisapersonwhoisanxioustogetsomethingdone,workshard,andissomewhatimpatient.Thetermsometimeshasaslightlyderogatoryconnotation.ThecraneissymbolforlongevityinChineseculture.Thusparentsgivingnamelike鶴年and鶴齡showtheirhopethatthechildwilllivetoaripeoldage.ButtoWesternminds,thecranedoesnotarouseanysuchassociation.Chinesesymbolismthatgoeswiththetortoiseorturtleistwofold.Ontheonehandislongevity.Ontheotherhand,thecreatureisalsothesymbolforthecuckold.e.g.Tocallapersonaturtleortortoise(王八)oraturtleegg(王八蛋)ishighlyinsulting,highlyprofane.InWesternculture,thereisnosuchassociation:theturtleisjustaslow-movingandnotveryattractivecreature.TheEnglishtermturtlenecksweateroftenbringsagrimacetoChinesewhentheylearnthatsuchistheEnglishnameforthe翻領毛衣theyarewearing.Underthesecondcategory:Creatureswithcertainassociatedqualitiesinbothcultures,butwithdifferentqualities.letusconsidertheowl,thebat,thedog,thetiger.AswiseasanowlindicatesthatEnglish-speakingpeopleassociatewisdomwiththisbird.AmongmanyChinese,however,thereisasuperstitiousbeliefthatthisbirdisasignofbadluck.Thereisasaying夜貓子進宅(anowlvisitingahome),portendingmisfortuneinthathousehold.AStoryAnAmericanwoman,ignorantoftheChinesefeeling,oftenworeherfavoriteowlpinonherdresswhenshefirstcametoChina.Shewassurprisedthatpeopleoftenstoppedtostareorpointatthepin.Anumberoftimesshewasaskedwhyshewaswearingsuchathing.OnlywhenitwasexplainedtoherhowChinesefeeltowardsthebirddidsherealizehowinappropriateherhabitwas.ThebatisusuallyassociatedwithnegativequalitiesintheWest.e.g.Asblindasabat,crazyasabat,he’sabitbatty,havebatsinthebelfryaretypicalexpressionsofthenegativeassociations.Theymaybeevenworse.Mentionofthebatoftenevokestheimageofanugly,sinister,blood-suckingcreature.

Thismaypossiblybebecauseofthevampirebat.TheemotionsarousedinEnglish-speakingpeoplearesimilartothosethatthedreadedowlarousesamongChinese:frightandrevulsion.ToChinesehowever,thebatisasymbolofgoodfortune,well-being,happiness—allpositivequalities.Thereasonforsuchassociationsisprobablybecausethenameofthecreatureispronouncedthesameastheword福,thusthepopularityofthetraditionaldesignthatshowsthebatandthedeertogether,蝠鹿，pronouncedthesameas福祿--goodfortune,happiness,wealthandposition.Man’sbestfriendissometimesheardinEnglishconversationorseeninEnglishwriting.TomanyChinese,itwouldbeunthinkableforthedogtobegivensuchhonor.Dogs,inChina,aregenerallyassociatedwithunpleasantness.Considername-callinginChinese:狗東西，狗改不了吃屎TotheEnglish,andtomostWesterners,“thekingofthebeasts”isthelion.InChineseculturethisbeasthasfewersuchassociations.Heisregardedcommonlyasbeingfierceandpowerful,butnotnecessarilymajesticorregal.ToChinese,itisthetigerthatmorelikelyevokessuchassociations.Thecharacteristicsass