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In a variety of cultures different colours have different associations. You will find below the associations that colours have with British and American people. Compare these with the associations that colours have in your native culture.
| Colours | English associations | Your own associations |
| 1. Red | Danger, alert, romantic love, embarrassment (red in the face), excitement (paint the town red), communism, | |
| 2. Green | Nature, Ireland, environment protection, ecologically friendly, lacking experience, jealousy and envy (green with engy), sick | |
| 3. Purple | Kings and queens, Pope of Rome, extremely angry (purple in the face) | |
| 4. Blue | Uniforms, Conservative party, factory workers, cold, royal family (blue blooded) | |
| 5. Pink | Women, girls, homosexual men, | |
| 6. Grey | Dull and boring, old age | |
| 7. Black | Formal clothes, social occasions, death and evil magic, disapproved behaviour (Black sheep) | |
| 8. White | Purity, moral goodness, scare (White as sheet), loosing a battle (white flag), social class (white collar) |
(Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. Longman. 1998. P. 785-786)
Exploratory task 2.10
Match the euphemisms with the socially forbidden language (taboos)
| Euphemisms | Taboos |
| 1. Casket | A. Visit a toilet |
| 2. Fall asleep | B. Drunk |
| 3. Put down | C. Coffin |
| 4. After a long illness | D. Pregnant |
| 5. Not all there | E. Kill the stray dogs |
| 6. Make a visit | F. Pornography |
| 7. Make a penny | G. Cancer |
| 8. Be economical with the truth | H. Tell lies |
| 9. Adult video | I. Mentally abnormal |
| 10. In the family way | J. Urinate |
| 11. Tired and emotional | K. Die |
An important domain of linguistic theory is translation, i.e. conveying messages across linguistic and cultural barriers of meaning, form, register, style, idiomatic language (Duff, A.1990. Translation. OUP).
