The Occurrence of Black and White in Economic Spanish and English

The present paper deals with lexical units (words, expressions, fixed constructions, collocations, locutions, proverbs) with the component of the colours black and white in their structure which are used in economic language, i.e., language used in the fields of business, finance, banking, trade and other aspects of the economy. It is primarily aimed at the meaning of these lexical units and subsequently compares and contrasts their connotations to verify whether the symbolism of the colours black and white (negative or positive) is also reflected in economic language. Special attention is paid to the semantic extension and the use of these naming units by Spanish and English speakers. The chosen approach assumes that the differences in the meaning and usage of these constructions derive from the cultural differences between the countries where Spanish or English are spoken.