scholarly journals Basic colour terms in five Finno-Ugric languages and Estonian Sign Language: a comparative study

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Uusküla ◽  
Liivi Hollman ◽  
Urmas Sutrop
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Field Method ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Rich Variety ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Dominant Colour ◽  
Colour Terms ◽  
Cognitive Salience

In this paper we compare five Finno-Ugric languages – Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Udmurt and Komi-Zyrian – and the Estonian Sign Language (unclassified) in different aspects: established basic colour terms, the proportion of basic colour terms and different colour terms in the collected word-corpora, the cognitive salience index values in the list task and the number of dominant colour tiles in the colour naming task. The data was collected, using the field method of Davies and Corbett, from all languages under consideration, providing a distinctive foundation for linguistic comparison. We argue that Finno-Ugric languages seem to possess relatively large colour vocabularies, especially due to their rich variety of word-formation types, e.g. the composition of compound words. All of the languages under consideration have developed to Stage VI or VII, possessing 7 to 11 lexicalised basic colour terms. The cognitive salience index helps to distinguish primary and secondary basic colour terms, showing certain comprehensive patterns which are similar to Russian and English.

scholarly journals Samspil máls og merkingar. Um litaheiti í íslensku táknmáli

Orð og tunga ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 75-100
Author(s):  
Þórhalla Guðmundsdóttir Beck ◽  
Matthew James Whelpton
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Colour Space ◽  
British English ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Basic Color ◽  
The Many ◽  
Basic Color Terms ◽  
Colour Terms

Brent Berlin and Paul Kay brought a sea change in semantic studies of colour terms when they published their book Basic Color Terms in 1969. Up to that point the dominant view was that each language represented a unique conceptual organisation of the world, a view supported by the fact that the colour spectrum is a continuum which provides not obvious breaks for the purposes of naming. Despite the many criticisms of their work which have followed, their methodology has proven extremely influential and been widely adopted. The project Evolution of Semantic Systems, 2011–2012, adopted their methodology for a study of colour terms in the Indo-European languages and the Colours in Context project applied the same methods to a study of Icelandic Sign Language. Signed languages diff er in many ways from spoken languages but the results of this study suggest the broad organisation of the colour space is the same in Icelandic Sign Language, Icelandic and British English. The colour space is organised by a few dominant terms, largely the same as Berlin and Kay ́s original basic colour terms. Yet within that broad pattern is considerable microvariation, especially in the spaces between the dominant terms. There the characteristic patt erns of word formation in the language have a clear influence in colour naming strategies.

scholarly journals A study of loan colour terms in the Komi languages

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-116
Author(s):  
Elena Ryabina
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Field Method ◽  
Present Stage ◽  
Light Blue ◽  
System Evolution ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Colour Category ◽  
Colour System ◽  
Colour Term ◽  
Colour Terms

[NOTE. This abstract contains diacritics that may not display correctly.]This article deals with a comparative study of loaned colour vocabulary in the closely related Komi-Zyrian and Komi-Permyak languages. Data were originally collected by using the field method suggested for establishing basic colour terms by Davies and Corbett (1994, 1995). Sixty-five coloured tiles were used as stimuli. The study explored and compared the psychological salience of recent Russian loan colour terms. It was found that loan colour words occurred more in the Komi-Permyak data. The most salient adopted colour term in the Komi-Permyak language is zeĺone̮j ‘green’. In the next stage of basic colour system evolution in Komi-Zyrian and Komi-Permyak, the loan colour terms korič́ńeve̮j ‘brown’, fioĺetove̮j ‘purple’ and oranževe̮j ‘orange’ may appear. At the present stage of colour category development, the Russian basic terms rozovyj ‘pink’ and goluboj ‘light-blue’ are not salient in either language.Elena Ryabina: Laenvärvinimedest komi keeltes. Artiklis võrreldakse vene laenvärvinimesid omavahel lähedalt suguluses olevas sürjakomi ja permikomi keeles. Andmed on kogutud Daviese ja Corbett’ (1995) välimeetodiga. Uurimuses on kasutatud 65 standardset Color-aid Corporationi värvitahvlit. Uurimuse eesmärk on laenvärvinimede psühholoogilise esilduvuse väljaarvutamine ja võrdlemine. Tulemused näitavad, et permikomi andmestik sisaldab rohkem laenvärvinimesid. Kognitiivse esiletuleku indeksi järgi on neist psühholoogiliselt esilduvaim zeĺone̮j ‘roheline’. Põhivärvinimede süsteemi arenedes võivad komi keeltes eeldatavasti leksikaliseeruda korič́ńeve̮j ‘pruun’, fioĺetove̮j ‘lilla’ ja oranževe̮j ‘oranž’, sest need on mõlemas komi keeles kodunenud. Laenvärvinimed rozovyj ‘roosa’ ja goluboj ‘helesinine’ ei ole praegusel põhivärvinimede arenguetapil psühholoogiliselt esiletulevad kummaski komi keeles.Märksõnad: laensõna, põhivärvinimi, psühholoogiline esilduvus, sürjakomi keel, permikomi keel

scholarly journals Differences in the distribution of colour terms in colour space in the Russian, Udmurt and Komi languages

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Ryabina
Keyword(s):  
Field Method ◽  
Colour Space ◽  
Colour Perception ◽  
Light Blue ◽  
Pink Colour ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Space Data ◽  
Colour Terms

This article compares data of Russian, Udmurt and Komi on the distribution of colour terms in Ostwald’s colour space. Data of Russian derive from an article by Davies and Corbett (1994). Data from Udmurt and Komi were originally collected by using the field method suggested for establishing basic colour terms by Davies and Corbett (1994, 1995). Sixty-five coloured tiles were used as stimuli. It was found that the distribution of colour terms differed even in closely related languages. In addition, there are differences in the distribution of the pink colour in the Southern and Northern dialects of Udmurt. It can be argued that the distribution of colour terms in colour space is language-specific and dependent on culture. The data on unrelated languages showed that colour perception by Northern Udmurt subjects, compared to that by Southern Udmurts, was more influenced by Russian. Udmurt, like Russian, possesses a term for light blue, which in the Northern dialect was located in the same part of colour space as in Russian

Is the Acquisition of Basic-Colour Terms in Young Children Constrained?

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p3405 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1349-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J Pitchford ◽  
Kathy T Mullen
Keyword(s):  
Naming Task ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Basic Color ◽  
Colour Term ◽  
Reliable Knowledge ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Basic Color Terms ◽  
Colour Terms

We investigated whether the learning of colour terms in childhood is constrained by a developmental order of acquisition as predicted by Berlin and Kay [1969 Basic Color Terms (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press)]. Forty-three children, aged between 2 and 5 years and grouped according to language ability, were given two tasks testing colour conceptualisation. Colour comprehension was assessed in a spoken-word-to-colour-matching task in which a target colour was presented in conjunction with two distractor colours. Colour naming was measured in an explicit naming task in which colours were presented individually for oral naming. Results showed that children's knowledge of basic-colour terms varied across tasks and language age, providing little support for a systematic developmental order. In addition, we found only limited support for an advantage for the conceptualisation of primary (red, green, blue, yellow, black, white) compared to non-primary colour terms across tasks and language age. Instead, our data suggest that children acquire reliable knowledge of nine basic colours within a 3-month period (35.6 to 39.5 months) after which there is a considerable lag of up to 9 months before accurate knowledge of the final two colours (brown and grey) is acquired. We propose that children acquire colour term knowledge in two distinct time frames that reflect the establishment of, first, the exterior (yellow, blue, black, green, white, pink, orange, red, and purple) and, second, the interior structure (brown and grey) of conceptual colour space. These results fail to provide significant support for the order predicted by Berlin and Kay, and suggest, instead, that the development of colour term knowledge is largely unconstrained.

Coining Compounds and Derivations - A Crosslinguistic Elicitation Study of Word-Formation Abilities of Preschool Children and Adults in Polish and English

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Haman ◽  
Andrea Zevenbergen ◽  
Melissa Andrus ◽  
Marta Chmielewska
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Native Language ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Elicitation Study ◽  
American Children ◽  
To Come

Coining Compounds and Derivations - A Crosslinguistic Elicitation Study of Word-Formation Abilities of Preschool Children and Adults in Polish and English This paper examines word-formation abilities in coining compounds and derivatives in preschool children and adult speakers of two languages (English and Polish) differing in overall word-formation productivity and in favoring of particular word-formation patterns (compounding vs. derivation). An elicitation picture naming task was designed to assess these abilities across a range of word-formation categories. Adult speakers demonstrated well-developed word-formation skills in patterns both typical and non-typical for their native language. In contrast with adult results, preschool children predominantly coined innovations conforming to the general pattern of their language: Polish children favoring derivation and American children favoring compounding. The results show that although children are improving their wordformation skills during the preschool years, they need much more experience to come to the mature proficiency in using the variety of word-formation patterns available in their language.

Hromatska terminologija u rusinskom i srpskom jeziku

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-320
Author(s):  
Mihajlo P. Fejsa
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Animals ◽  
German Language ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Fourth Stage ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
The Third ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Basic Colour ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
Colour Terms

In this paper, the author compares chromatic terms in Ruthenian and Serbian. He focuses on the basic colour terms according to Berlin and Kay: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and grey. They have equivalents in both languages: Ruthenian bila – Serbian bela, čarna – crna, červena – crvena, željena – zelena, žovta / žolta – žuta, belava – plava, braon – braon, lilova – ljubičasta, celova – roze, pomarančecova /poma- randžecova – narandžasta, šiva – siva. The criterion of one-morpheme word is not appli- cable to the terms lilova, celova, and pomarančecova /pomarandžecova in Ruthenian, and ljubičasta and narandžasta in Serbian. It is applicable to the terms bila, čarna, červena, željena, žovta / žolta, belava, braon, and šiva. With the exception of braon, all these terms are derived from the Proto-Slavic language (*bеlъ, *čьrnъ, *čьrvenъ, *zelenъ, *žltъ, *polvь, and *sivъ). As far as the Berlin–Kay’s universal of seven phases of colour formation is con- cerned, our study of chromatic terminology confirms it. In accordance with the supposed first stage of development, the Ruthenian language has bila and čarna; according to the second stage, Ruthenian has červena; in accordance with the third stage, Ruthenian has že- ljena or žovta / žolta; according to the fourth stage, Ruthenian has žovta / žolta or željena; in accordance with the fifth stage, Ruthenian has belava; according to the sixth stage, it has braon; and in accordance with the seventh stage (even if we leave aside the multi-mor- pheme terms lilova, celova, and pomarančecova /pomarandžecova), it has šiva. Generally speaking, the usage of the terms is identical in both investigated languages but there are several differences (e.g. cibulja – beli luk, željena pasulja – boranija). The most frequent suffixes are -asta and -ista in Ruthenian, and -asta in Serbian.Most of the chromatic terms are of Slavic origin but there are several borrowings used for nuance purposes in recent decades, e.g. azurna, teget, akvamarin, tirkizna, and others. Some borrowings remain unchanged, e.g. in both languages blond, braon, drap, krem, bež, and oker, and only in Serbian lila and roze. Hungarian was the official language until the first decades of the 20th century (until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918), during which Ruthenian–Hungarian bilingualism reigned. That is the reason why several Hungarian colour names are found, e.g. in surnames (the Ruthenian surname Barna comes from Hungarian barna ‘brown’, Fekete/Feketa is from fekete ‘black’, and Vereš is from vörös ‘red’) and in the names of domestic animals (the Ruthenian horse name pejka [Serbian riđan] comes from Hungarian pej ‘brown’ and šarga [Serbian žutalj] is from sár- ga ‘yellow’). The general name for ‘colour’ comes from the German language (Ruthenian farba is from German Farbe).

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