Colors of Mazatlán Mazatec

Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 1998

in the preservation and transmission of his or her own language. The majority are teachers; many work closely with linguists, and all use contemporary technology and media to further traditional culture.

Lexicographica, 2005

1 Foreword 2 No sharp lines 3 True colours 4 Desiderata 5 Bibliography 5.1 Dictionaries 5.2 Literature 1 Foreword

2023

A major revolution in thinking about the ethnography of colour terms came with the publication of the Basic Colour Theory (BCT) of Berlin & Kay (1969). This is turn led to the World Colour Survey (WCS) which was intended to elicit global patterns through a large cross-cultural sample. Paradoxically, the outcome was the development of two opposed camps; those who consider colour categorisation intimately a function of physiology, and those who treat it as arbitrary and culturally determined. In recent years, comprehensive empirical data on individual languages has dwindled to a trickle, in favour of data mining, sometimes using highly unreliable sources. There is a striking absence of in-depth explorations of colour terms in African languages Intensive lexical work on the languages of Central Nigeria over two decades has made it possible to compare the colour terminology of three contiguous languages of different affiliations, but inhabiting the same landscape. The findings can be summarised as follows; a) All three languages have an elaborate set of colour terms, but even though the languages are contiguous these terms cannot be mapped against one another b) The great majority are underived with opaque etymologies and are not polysemous or colexified with known lexical items c) It is thus not possible to generate a hierarchy of term creation d) Colour terms in these languages are expressed by a wide variety of parts of speech, but are most typically stative verbs, with ideophonic adjectives derived by reduplication e) All languages distinguish black, white and red but these are not necessarily morphosyntactically distinct from other colours. Boze exceptionally, has three apparently identical trms for ‘black’ f) There is no evidence for the concept of ‘grue’ (green + blue) g) The mooted association between light and dark, warm and cool is not reflected in the data h) Polysemy varies markedly from one language to another, with no distinguishable common associations i) Salience of individual colours is also highly variable, with ‘yellow’ diversified in one language an d ‘blue’ in another j) All three languages have a set of secondary colours which are underived but are less elaborated in terms of morphosyntax. There are no correspondences between the three languages k) All languages have numerous underived colour intensifiers l) Boze has a striking diversity of words for multi-coloured, not matched in the other languages m) Peripheral colours and pattern/colour combinations in Berom and Mwaghavul, but not Boze, have a strong association with livestock, especially horses/ponies, which were introduced around 1500 years ago. n) Despite the presence of highly-coloured insects and birds throughout the region, their colours form no part of the descriptive lexicon

2007

Language & Communication, 2010

In spite of the well-established idea that language contact is fundamental for explaining language change, this aspect has been remarkably absent in most studies of color term evolution. This paper discusses the changes in the color system of Yurakaré (unclassified, Bolivia) that have occurred during the last 200 years, as a result of intensive contact with Spanish language and culture. Developing the new theoretical concept of 'updating', we will show that different contexts have resulted in qualitatively different changes to the color system of the language.

Journal of Cognition and Culture, 2002

Cross-cultural studies of color naming show that basic terms are universally the most frequently used to name colors. However, such basic color terms are always used in the context of larger linguistic systems when speci c properties of color experience are described. To investigate naturalistic naming behaviors, we examined the use of modi ers in English and Vietnamese color naming using an unconstrained naming task (Jameson & Alvarado, in press). Monolingual and bilingual subjects named a representative set of 110 color stimuli sampled from a commonly used color-order stimulus space. Results revealed greater reliance upon polylexemic naming among monolingual Vietnamese speakers and greater use of monolexemic basic hue terms and secondary terms (object glosses) among monolingual English speakers. Systematic differences across these language groups imply that widely used monolexemic naming methods may differentially impact color-naming ndings in cross-cultural investigations of color cognition.

Color Research & Application, 2016

The aim of the research reported by this study was on the one hand to identify what colors were associated with particular words in relation to a specific language (Italian), by portraying them in color stimuli on the screen of a monitor; and on the other hand to verify whether some words of that language denoted colors that were either particularly well defined or confused with others. In an experiment using special software, the subjects were asked to produce colors directly, instead of choosing among a number of colors presented on the screen. The results showed that (i) it is possible to identify the color-stimuli to which the terms of a language refer; that (ii) the "best" colors Giallo (Yellow), Rosso (Red), Blu (Blue), and Verde (Green) which the subjects were requested to produce were very similar to the corresponding unique hues; that (iii) among the mixed hues there were perceptually intermediate colors, that is, ones exactly midway between two consecutive unique colors: Arancione (Orange) and Viola (bluish Purple); that (iv) Turquoise and Lime were clearly positioned in the mental space of color of the participants; and that (v) for Italian speakers some hues coincide: Azzurro (Azure) and Celeste (Cerulean); Arancione (Orange), RossoGiallo (Red-Yellow) and Carota (Carrot); Lime and GialloVerde (YellowGreen), so that their color terms can be considered synonyms. Our most interesting finding, however, is that for Italian speakers these four mixed colors with their specific names (Lime, Turchese (Turquoise), Viola (bluish Purple) and Arancione (Orange) fall perceptually in the middle of each of the four quadrants formed in the hue circle by the four unique hues. The resulting circle is therefore characterized by eight colors of which four are unique and four are intermediate mixed. It would be advisable to repeat the study cross-culturally to test for possible similarities and differences in color meanings with speakers of different languages. V

SHS Web of Conferences, 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.

Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2000

This article revisits the classic paradigm of Berlin and Kay (1969). First, four substantial revisions indicating the current position and appeal to evolution are outlined. Second, the work is placed in its historical context of scholarly thought. Third, the attempt to operationalize the Whorfian hypothesis is shown to establish a frame against which Berlin and Kay reacted, and an experimental practice they appropriated. Their programme is disclosed as a structure in which results are self-evident, when in fact they are deduced from prior commitments. Berlin and Kay's new alliance with colour science is then examined by showing how experiments cancel the life-world, how a notion of 'unmediated presence' is methodologically exploited, how research techniques are effaced and data are 'cleaned'. Finally, it is suggested that the thesis is built on layers of mistakes which produce misrepresentations both of colour science and of intercultural relations. Berlin and Kay's (1969) theory of the universality and evolutionary emergence of Basic Color Terms (BCTs) has withstood the test of time and may be regarded as 'classic' (Gadamer 1989). Four substantial theoretical revisions (Kay 1975; Kay & McDaniel 1978; Kay & Kempton 1984; Kay, Berlin & Merrifield 1991) have strengthened the programme and moved it out of anthropological linguistics into colour science, and a prestigious conference held in California in 1992 provides the stamp of approval by one cohort of colour scientists (Hardin & Maffi 1997). 1 Sociobiologists, evolutionary psychologists and ecological cognitive scientists also regard it as a pre-eminent case study (Lumsden & Wilson 1981; Shepard 1992; Thompson 1995). With the imminent publication of new data from the World Color Survey (hereinafter: WCS) (Kay et al. 1997), it seems appropriate to review and assess this programme. My intention is threefold: (i) to restore a historiographic dimension to the account of Basic Color Terms; (ii) to examine its co-optation of colour science; (iii) to identify errors in it and suggest a new perspective. Before doing so however, I will briefly recapitulate Berlin and Kay's (1969) programme, present an outline of its four revisions, indicate its current position, and bring out its appeal to 'bio-cultural evolution' (now referred to as 'development').

1997

Journal of Experimental …, 2004

Turquoise has played an important role in the Southwest, both today and in the distant past. Increasingly, archaeologists are coming to appreciate that the mineral was likely valued for its symbolism, rather than its chemical properties or economic worth. Thus, the color blue-green and a variety of blue-green things may have been conceptually analogous, together referencing and petitioning moisture. J. J. Brody recognized that additional symbols, while not themselves blue-green, may have likewise belonged to this blue-green complex. Over a decade ago, and while testing Brody's hypothesis, Stephen Plog convincingly argued that black-on-white hachure in Gallup-Dogoszhi pottery served as a proxy for blue-green. Here, we ask whether Mimbres artists incorporated the same symbolism. Findings suggest that Mimbres hachure was likely representative of color but not necessarily blue-green. In fact, it may have referenced yellow. Yellow and blue are often paired among the Pueblos, and interregional differences in the meaning of hachure may relate to interregional complementarity. La turquesa juega un papel importante en el Suroeste, tanto en la actualidad como en el pasado remoto. Cada vez más, los arqueólogos reconocen que el mineral fue valorado no tanto por sus propiedades químicas o su valor económico sino probablemente por su simbolismo. Por lo tanto, es posible que el color verde-azul y una variedad de objetos de color verde-azul hayan sido conceptualmente análogos, conjuntamente haciendo referencia a la humedad y solicitando la misma. J. J. Brody reconoció que varios símbolos adicionales, aunque no de color verde-azul, también pudieron haber pertenecido a este complejo verde-azul. Hace más de una década, en un intento de comprobar la hipótesis de Brody, Stephen Plog argumentó de forma convincente que el hachurado en negro sobre blanco en la cerámica Gallup-Dogoszhi sirvió como sustituto del verde-azul. Aquí nos preguntamos si los artistas Mimbres incorporaron el mismo simbolismo. Los resultados sugieren que el hachurado Mimbres probablemente fuera representativo de un color, pero no necesariamente del verde-azul. De hecho, es posible que hiciera referencia al color amarillo. A menudo el amarillo y el azul forman un par entre la gente Pueblo, y es posible que las diferencias interregionales en el significado del hachurado se relacionen con la complementariedad interregional.

2009

Diritti di traduzione, di memorizzazione elettronica, di riproduzione e di adattamento totale o parziale con qualsiasi mezzo sono riservati per tutti i Paesi. Finito di stampare nel mese di luglio 2013 Da Gi@Gi srl Triuggio (MB) Colour and Colorimetry. Multidisciplinary Contributions Vol. IX B The role of colour in the interaction of man and light and in the lighting design process 114 Monica Säter

Current Biology, 2007