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Color language and color categorization

Authors:
Geda Paulsen at Uppsala university; Institute of the Estonian Language
Geda Paulsen
  • Uppsala university; Institute of the Estonian Language
Mari Uusküla at Tallinn University
Mari Uusküla
Jonathan Brindle at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Jonathan Brindle
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Color Language and
Color Categorization
Color Language and
Color Categorization
Edited by
Geda Paulsen, Mari Uusküla
and Jonathan Brindle
Color Language and Color Categorization
Edited by Geda Paulsen, Mari Uusküla and Jonathan Brindle
This book first published 2016
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2016 by Geda Paulsen, Mari Uusküla, Jonathan Brindle
and contributors
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-4438-9116-9
ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-9116-5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ...................................................................................................... viii
Introduction ................................................................................................. x
The Editors ............................................................................................. xviii
Contributors .............................................................................................. xix
Part I: Basic, Evolving and Established Color Terms and Categories
Chapter One ................................................................................................. 2
How Universal Are Focal Colors After All: A Different Methodology
for Identifying Focal Colors
Mari Uusküla, David Bimler
Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 40
Cognitive Entrenchment of Color Categories and Implicit Attitudes
in English
Jodi Sandford
Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 62
Is there an Age Factor in Color Categorization?
Magalie Desgrippes
Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 87
Color Basicness in Chakali
Jonathan Allen Brindle
Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 115
Color Terms in Nganasan
Sándor Szeverényi
Table of Contents
vi
Part II: Color Vocabulary, its Meaning and Reference
Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 142
On the Fluidity of the Color Words: The Alternation of Color Adjectives
and Color Nouns in Japanese
Yurie Okami
Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 170
Properties, States and Processes: A Conceptual Semantics Analysis
of the Color Verb System in Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian
Geda Paulsen, Urpo Nikanne, Eszter Papp
Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 199
Color Terminology in Written Fashion Discourse
Seval Kömürcü
Chapter Nine ............................................................................................ 234
Colors as Naming Motives for ‘yolk’ in Finno-Ugric Languages
Vilja Oja
Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 256
Chromatic Darkness: The Color Sequences in A.S. Byatt’s Little Black
Book of Stories
Jada Schumacher
Part III: Cultural Motivation of Color Words and Representation
of Visual Semantics
Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 270
Color and Visuality in Iberoromance Creoles: Towards a Postcolonial
Semantic Analysis
Carsten Levisen, Eeva Sippola, Karime Aragón
Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 302
Mexican Colors and Meanings: An Ethnolinguistic Study of Visual
Semantics in Oaxaca
Karime Aragón
Colour Language and Colour Categorization vii
Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 333
Must ‘Black’ and Valge ‘White’ in Estonian Place Names: Their Naming
Motives in Popular Etymology
Kaidi Rätsep
Part IV: Colors and Figurative Language
Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 356
Color Words in Danish and Italian Idioms
Carla Bazzanella, Irene Ronga, Erling Strudsholm
Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 388
Blue Blood and Blue Collars: The Figurative Uses of Blue in English
Rachael Hamilton
General Index .......................................................................................... 414
Language Index ....................................................................................... 418
... The use of color terms increases significantly the emotional and expressive meaning of the communication process; these linguistic units can express the most subtle relations and aspects of people's life. The system of color terms and color perceptions is marked by ethnic and culturological features [1][2][3][4]. Ethnic coloristics is filled with deep philosophical meaning and is a reflection of the people's worldview, their various sacred, mythical, religious, cultural and social strata. The process of initial nomination is always conditioned by some or other factors, the environment primarily. ...
... The process of initial nomination is always conditioned by some or other factors, the environment primarily. Features of color perception and color use are complementary; they affect the perception and frequency of the use of some or other color terms [3][4][5]. Thus, the relevance of the color words study consists in perceiving them as vehicles and instruments of national cultures and languages, as well as cognitive, pragmatic and ethnocultural factors of language functioning [6][7][8]. ...
... In the future, a study of lexical properties of color terms seems appropriate to be conducted in the framework of the activity approach to the language, including a study of the location of color vocabulary in cognitive processes and the role of color terms in shaping the linguistic worldview in adults and children. 4. Interlanguage (Russian -Khanty) comparison of the content aspect of the words for color terms shows universality (red hat, man means mushroom) of many processes in the studied languages alongside with a different degree of their actualization and an unequal set of lexical color units, which is primarily due to ethnic, social and cultural factors ('rainbow' means golden -'a golden staff' is put in the sky). 5. ...
Color Linguistics: Khanty riddles
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2019
From the point of view of physics and physiology, the perception of color should be the same by all people, but the process and associations connected with it have historical and cultural determinants in different nations. The conceptual apparatus of color linguistics is studied in different scientific studies and from different points of view. The material of this study comprises riddles extracted from Khanty folklore by the method of continuous sampling, as well as scientific literature on the descriptionof color words. A common way of creating riddle metaphors is color matching. Therefore, exploring color words in the Khanty riddles allows us to reveal the cognitive, pragmatic and cultural factors of language functioning. The present research highlights the role of color terms in the formation of linguistic worldview, as well as conceptualizes and defines the place of the color vocabulary in the cognitive process. Key words: Khanty riddles, basic color terms, color words.
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... This study builds on the previously published dataset by Brindle (2016), which is presented in more detail in the section titled 'Colour categorisation in Chakali'. This original study left one important question open: Do all purported 'colour' terms have a central concentration in a colour array? ...
... This article makes use of data from Brindle (2016), who analysed colour categorisation in Chakali in an attempt to identify its colour terms and other expressions of visual perception. Brindle used a tile-naming task, a focal task and a folk-definition task, describing how native speakers (language) make use of colour terms in a folk categorization. ...
... These experiments were carried out in March 2008 and April 2013. The findings suggest that the language has at least three terms corresponding largely to white, black and red, as well as a few other terms in a 'statistical transitional' stage (Brindle, 2016). ...
Categorisation of Colour Terms Using New Validation Tools: A Case Study and Implications
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2018
This article elaborates on the results of a field experiment conducted among speakers of the Chakali language, spoken in northern Ghana. In the original study, the Color-aid Corporation Chart was used to perform the focal task in which consultants were asked to point at a single colour tile on the chart. However, data from the focal task could not be analysed since the Color-aid tiles had not yet been converted into numerical values set forth by the Commission internationale de l’éclairage (CIE). In this study, the full set of 314 Color-aid tiles were measured for chromaticity and converted into the CIE values at the Daylight Laboratory of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. This article presents the conversion methodology and makes the results of the measurements, which are available in the Online Appendix. We argue that some visual-perception terms cannot be reliably ascribed to colour categories established by the Color-aid Corporation. This suggests that the ideophonic expressions in the dataset do not denote ‘colours’, as categorised in the Color-aid system, as it was impossible to average the consultants’ data into a CIE chromaticity diagram, illustrate the phenomena on the Natural Colour System (NCS) Circle and Triangle diagrams, and conduct a statistical analysis. One of the implications of this study is that a line between a visual-perception term and a colour term could be systematically established using a method with predefined categorical thresholds.
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... The example of the color "white" symbolizing purity in English but signifying mourning in Uzbek illustrates how cultural contexts shape color symbolism and interpretation. 4. Cultural Sensitivity and Context-Awareness: The importance of understanding cultural nuances and context in interpreting color-related phraseology is highlighted. ...
LINGUISTIC STUDY OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS EXPRESSING COLOR IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK LANGUAGES
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
This study conducts a comparative analysis of phraseological units expressing color in English and Uzbek languages, aiming to uncover linguistic and cultural intricacies embedded within these expressions. Through systematic data collection, selection, and analysis, we elucidate semantic structures, metaphorical extensions, and cultural connotations associated with color-related phraseology in each language. In English, a plethora of idiomatic expressions reflect the pervasive influence of color symbolism, while Uzbek phraseology emphasizes natural phenomena and cultural motifs. Contrastive analysis reveals both cross-linguistic universality and language-specific nuances in color representation. Our findings underscore the dynamic interplay between language, culture, and cognition in shaping perceptions of color. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of linguistic diversity and cultural identity, highlighting the significance of phraseological analysis in uncovering the intricate nuances of language and culture.
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... In an attempt to describe language use in context, Sharifian (2017) first posited the existence of cultural cognition, which is described as a distributed and emergent cognition that arises not from any individual mind or the sum of minds in a community, but from the multiple shared experiences, traditions, and conventions constructed by the various relationships between members of a group. That is, if two speech communities had varying cultural conventions surrounding their classification of colors (for example, see: Paulsen, Uuskula, & Brindle, 2016), this would necessarily be reflected in their language as differing use patterns of color terms. ...
Language Learning is Culture Learning: Revisiting Theories and Current Practice
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2021
Language learning necessarily involves the learning of culture. This paper reviews theoretical underpinnings of this reality. A commentary on current language teaching practices in the Philippines is offered up in the end; ways forward are suggested.
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... Color is associated with the philosophical, aesthetic, cultural and historical experience of understanding the world and is a special subject of linguistic studies. Color designation problems are addressed in the works by Berlin & Kay (1969); Jackendoff (2010); Kay et al. (2009);MacLaury (1992); Paulsen et al. (2016); Sutrop (2016); Uusküla & Bimler (2016); Uusküla et al. (2012); Wierzbicka (2006). In Russian linguistics, the works by Vasilevich et al. (2008), Koshkareva et al. (2017) Kulpina (2001), Ufimtseva (2006), Frumkina (2003) are of special scientific interest. ...
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... By now, the idea of basic colour terms is so widely established that it features in practically every general introduction to colour categorisation (e.g. Deutscher 2011; Gage 1999, p.79ff;Hansen 2010;Kremers et al. 2016;MacLaury et al. 2007, Paulsen et al. 2016Shevell 2003, p.175) and it has been taken as the starting point for a large variety of studies related to colour naming and categorisation (e.g. Baronchelli et al. 2010;Loreto et al. 2012;Steels and Belpaeme 2005). ...
Misconceptions About Colour Categories
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2019
The origin of colour categories and their relationship to colour perception have been the prime example for testing the influence of language on perception and thought (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) and more generally for investigating the biological, ecological and cultural determination of human cognition (nature-nurture debate). These themes are central to a broad range of disciplines, including vision research, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental science, cultural anthropology, linguistics, computer science, and philosophy. Unfortunately, though, it has been tacitly taken for granted that the conceptual assumptions and methodological practices from the dawn of empirical research on colour categorisation are the gold standard for current colour category research. Here, we show that these assumptions and practices are obsolete and flawed and have led to four fundamental and widespread misconceptions about colour categorisation: 1.) that colour perception is inherently categorical; 2.) that English Basic Colour Terms correspond to universal categories that are the end point of a fixed evolutionary sequence; 3.) that the prototypes of English basic colour terms are perceptually salient and qualify as focal colours; and 4.) that colour category research essentially revolves around the universalism-realism debate. State-of-the-art research on colour categorisation provides new, more sophisticated approaches and allows for rectifying those four statements. At the same time, some of the questions underlying those statements are not convincingly answered yet and constitute major challenges to future research. The critical considerations on colour categorisation may be transferred to research on other kinds of perceptual categorisation to inspire new, more general research questions.
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... In one language, for instance, certain cultural schemas may associate the colour green with envy, as in English, thanks to Shakespeare, and in another language it may be a holy colour associated with paradise, as in Arabic spoken by Muslims. Different languages may reflect different colour categorisations (e.g., Paulsen, Uusküla, & Brindle, 2016). Conklin (1955) observed, a long time ago, that " [u]nder laboratory conditions, color discrimination is probably the same for all human populations, irrespective of language; but the manner in which different languages classify the millions of 'colors' which every normal individual can discriminate differ" [emphasis in the original]. ...
Cultural Linguistics: The State of the Art
Chapter
  • May 2017
Cultural Linguistics is a recently developed discipline with multidisciplinary origins that explores the relationship between language and cultural conceptualisations. In particular, Cultural Linguistics explores the features of human languages that encode culturally constructed conceptualisations of the whole range of human experience. It offers a theoretical as well as an analytical framework for investigating the cultural conceptualisations that underlie the use of human languages. Cultural Linguistics has also been applied to and benefited from several areas of applied linguistics including intercultural communication, intercultural pragmatics, World Englishes, Teaching English as an International Language, and political discourse analysis. This chapter presents a brief overview of Cultural Linguistics, followed by a discussion of how each chapter included in this volume adopts the analytical framework of this newly developed field to explore a wide range of topics. The contributions address the language and cultural conceptualisations of life and death, emotion, body, humour, religion, gender, kinship, ageing, marriage, politics, etc. Clearly, the range of studies included in this volume presents robust evidence for the potential that Cultural Linguistics has to contribute to a better understanding of human life.
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LEARNING AND RESEARCHING THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE LANGUAGE BY USING COLOR RELATED WORDS
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
This article delves into the intricate relationship between language and culture through the lens of color-related words. It provides an in-depth exploration of how different cultures perceive and articulate colors, uncovering the rich tapestry of meanings, associations, and symbolism embedded within linguistic expressions of color. Drawing on interdisciplinary research from linguistics, anthropology, psychology, and semiotics, the author examines how cultural norms, historical contexts, and societal factors influence the use and interpretation of color-related language. Through a systematic review of linguistic data and cultural artifacts, the article elucidates the diverse ways in which colors are conceptualized and employed across various linguistic communities. It sheds light on the cultural significance attached to specific colors, uncovering underlying narratives, beliefs, and rituals that shape color perception and usage. Furthermore, the article analyzes cross-cultural differences and similarities in color categorization, highlighting the role of language as a reflection of cultural values and worldview.
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The Blueness of Water in Cartography, Culture, and Art: Conventions, Ontological Security, and Creativity
Article
  • Nov 2020
Both in culture and cartography, colors are assigned to specific features, concepts, and ideas that are frequently accepted and followed as norms. In this paper, I argue that these color codes create a sensation of ontological security that, at the same time, excludes alternative ideas or discourses from daily-life and scientific practices. Through a discussion of the use of the color blue in cartography, culture, and art, I seek to point out the relativity and subjectivity of color selection and argue that scientific rules and cultural definitions, especially artistic expressions, are not opposites but complementary key elements of a dialog between sciences and the humanities, in which conventions should be conceived as mechanisms that are embedded in the broader context of visual culture. A deeper analysis of cartographic principles in a cultural context could help to establish a stronger relation between mapping practices and the map idea in society.
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When does “bright” mean “prototypical”? Color-term modifiers in eight European languages, examined with color-survey data
Article
Full-text available
Certain modified color terms encountered in a multi-language corpus of unconstrained color-naming data, elicited with 65 Color-aid Corporation tiles, can be glossed into English as “bright (or vivid) X” (e.g., Estonian “ere-X”), while other modifiers are glossed “light” or “dark.” However, translation between languages or into the terms of colorimetry is never assured. We address the problem empirically by examining the denotata of each modified term and treating its uses as a distribution across a metric color space in which tiles are located as points. We compared each distribution with that of the unmodified term X, identifying the latter with the focus of X (the within-language consensus about the most prototypical exemplar of X). In some cases the modifiers operate as “bright” in the sense of “intense” or “saturated,” so “bright-X” and “X” share a centroid, but this is not universal.
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