Colour idioms in business language

Abstract

Globalisation and the growth of e-business and e-commerce have fuelled the need for English as the lingua franca for business communication worldwide. Business internationalisation means that language learners should be prepared to communicate with native speakers who often use rich idiomatic language in business communication. Nonnative speakers have a need to master business idioms not to be at any disadvantage in business communication. Colour idioms are an important part of business vocabulary as they carry certain colour symbolism which enhances business communication. Knowledge of colour idioms also helps to build cultural awareness of certain differences, especially between foreign language users and native speakers. The current study focuses on idioms that incorporate specific colours and are related to the broad area of business (economics, finance and management). The main aim of the paper is to focus on colour idioms and colour symbolism in business language, to provide contextual analysis of the symbolism of colours in business by providing an extensive resource for the learner of Business English.