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Contrastive Study of the Semantics of White and Black in Spanish and Chinese Phrases

Authors

  • Wang Yuecheng Departamento de lenguas europeas Univerisidad de Jiangsu Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China 212013
  • Zhang Xiaowe Departamento de lenguas extranjeras Universidad de Medicina China de Nanjing Nanjing, China 210000

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18002/sin.v17i2.8237

Keywords:

Spanish and Chinese phraseological units; semantics of chromatic words; contrastive study.

Abstract

The present work establishes a corpus that includes the phraseological units comprising “white” and “black” in 8 Spanish dictionaries and 6 Chinese dictionaries, within which a quantitative and qualitative analysis is carried out on the semantics of said phraseological units. The study discovers that through the metaphorical and metonymic process, similar figurative meanings come mainly from the physical perception of the environment and one's own colors, and the different meanings are motivated by cultural specificity, especially religions, superstitions, mythologies and legends; in Spanish, the figurative meanings of white and black constitute a violent contrast, while this antagonism is blurred in Chinese. Furthermore, in both languages, black is mainly associated with negativity, but the connotation of white is mixed and complicated; in the corpus, white in Chinese belongs to broader grammatical classes, which not only serves as a noun or adjective, but also a verb and adverb; and the verbalized white in Chinese is usually associated with “speak” and the adverbialized one is linked to the meanings “in vain” or “without cost.”

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Author Biographies

Wang Yuecheng, Departamento de lenguas europeas Univerisidad de Jiangsu Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China 212013

Departamento de lenguas europeas
Univerisidad de Jiangsu
Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China 212013

Zhang Xiaowe, Departamento de lenguas extranjeras Universidad de Medicina China de Nanjing Nanjing, China 210000

Departamento de lenguas extranjeras
Universidad de Medicina China de Nanjing
Nanjing, China 210000

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Published

2023-12-28 — Updated on 2024-02-15

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How to Cite

Yuecheng, W., & Xiaowe, Z. (2024). Contrastive Study of the Semantics of White and Black in Spanish and Chinese Phrases. Sinología hispánica. China Studies Review, 17(2), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.18002/sin.v17i2.8237 (Original work published December 28, 2023)

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Artículos