Colour connotations in Arabic and English with reference to translation

Abstract EN

This paper investigates the main connotations of ten colour terms in Arabic, and compares them with the connotations of their English counterparts to find out the main similarities and differences between both languages regarding colour connotations, with some reference to translation.

The study is based on a questionnaire in which one hundred subjects (from Iraq and Jordan) took part.

The total number of connotations of the English colour terms were found to be more than those of the Arabic ones.

The colour terms: green, white, and grey were found to have the same main connotations in both languages.

On the other hand, a high degree of divergence was found between both languages in the case of four colour terms (blue, yellow, orange, and brown), as none of their connotations was found to be shared in both languages.

Some connotations were found to be more established than others since they scored a higher degree of agreement among subjects.

Some differences were also noticed between the two Arabic varieties (Jordanian Arabic & Iraqi Arabic), as to the connotations of the ten colour terms under investigation.

The paper also tackles the problem of non-equivalent but formally- similar colour expressions that may constitute pitfalls for translators