English Colour Terms and Vision
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Questions and Answers

What are the three main parameters used to identify colors from a human perception perspective?

  • Hue, saturation, brightness (correct)
  • Tint, temperature, tone
  • Shade, depth, intensity
  • Color, frequency, saturation

What term refers to a color category that includes both blue and green in some languages?

  • Tinge
  • Chromatic
  • Grue (correct)
  • Hue

In the context of English, what do the words 'color' and 'hue' typically represent in everyday conversation?

  • One refers to a color and the other to a shade.
  • They are commonly used as synonyms. (correct)
  • They refer to different aspects of color perception.
  • They are used interchangeably for all colors.

What aspect of color categorization can vary greatly across different cultures?

<p>The number and nature of basic color categories (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do saturation and tone contribute to color perception?

<p>They describe the amount of black or white perceived. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the Pantone Matching System provide for industries like printing and graphic design?

<p>Color codes that correspond to specific colors (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following factors can cause variation in basic color categories even within the same language?

<p>Generational and gender differences (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why might historically the words used for colors in English have changed?

<p>Because of shifts in social and cultural contexts (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which basic colour category was added in Middle English (ME) that was not present in Old English (OE)?

<p>BLUE (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the maximum number of basic colour terms mentioned for any language in the World Colour Survey data?

<p>10 (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following colour terms represents the same concept in both Middle English (ME) and Modern English (ModE)?

<p>YELLOW (A), GREY (B), BLACK (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In Modern English, which colour term is associated with the concept of feeling depressed?

<p>BLUE (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which colour terms are consistently found in languages with only two basic colour terms?

<p>black and white (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant consideration when interpreting historical texts regarding colour terminology?

<p>The expansion of color terminology over time. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a distinctive feature of the colour idioms used in English compared to Italian?

<p>They often include figurative meanings. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which colour category was present in Modern English but not in the Old English basic colour categories?

<p>ORANGE (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do the meanings of basic colour terms evolve in different languages over time?

<p>They often change to reflect current cultural contexts. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the example given for the Dani language, what two general concepts do their colour terms represent?

<p>light and dark (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following terms is a direct Old English equivalent for the colour GREY?

<p>græg (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following colour terms refers to a specific form of artistic expression in both Italian and English?

<p>GIALLO (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What additional meaning does the colour term BLUE have in English that is not present in the Italian equivalent 'blu'?

<p>Sadness (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What term refers to overarching categories like red or green, which include various hues?

<p>Macro-categories (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main process by which humans perceive colour?

<p>The human brain interprets reflected wavelengths of light. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes a Basic Colour Term (BCT)?

<p>It is monolexemic. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is considered a Basic Colour Term (BCT) in Present-Day English?

<p>Green (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Berlin and Kay, what is one characteristic of the way cultures name colors?

<p>They develop color names in a fixed hierarchy. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do the terms saturation and tone refer to in colour description?

<p>The amount of black or white mixed with a hue. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a major argument against the research conducted by Berlin and Kay?

<p>They did not account for cultural variations. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How many Basic Colour Terms (BCTs) are recognized in Present-Day English?

<p>11 (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following colors is NOT part of the universal basic colors hierarchy identified by Berlin and Kay?

<p>Orange (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT one of the Primary Colours?

<p>Green (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best explains the concept of colour in relation to light?

<p>Colour is a property of objects that depends on light reflection. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What did anthropologists originally believe about the naming of colors in different cultures in the 1960s?

<p>Choose of colours was entirely random. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What type of colors are excluded when defining Basic Colour Terms (BCTs)?

<p>Colors that are hyponyms (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following represents a Tertiary Colour?

<p>Blue-Violet (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In colour studies, what does the term 'hue' refer to?

<p>The range of observed impressions on the visible spectrum. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of Berlin and Kay's research on color naming?

<p>Cultural patterns in color categorization. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Hue

The range of observed impressions on the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Basic Color Terms (BCTs)

Basic Color Terms, or BCTs, are the most commonly used words in a language to describe colors.

Tone or Saturation

How much black or white is perceived in a color.

Primary Colors

Colors like red, yellow, and blue that cannot be created by mixing other colors.

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Secondary Colors

Colors like orange, green, and violet that are made by mixing two primary colors.

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Tertiary Colors

Colors like red-orange, yellow-green, and blue-violet that are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.

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Color Perception

Objects don't possess color themselves, but reflect light.

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Cultural Influence on Color

Language and culture influence how we perceive and name colors.

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Two-term color language

A language with only two basic color terms typically uses words for 'light' and 'dark', covering a wide range of colors.

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Basic color terms (BCTs) hierarchy

Languages with more basic color terms add colors like red, yellow, green, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, and grey, in a specific order based on their prevalence and importance in daily life.

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Universals in color categorization

The study of how languages organize and name colors reveals universal patterns in human color perception, suggesting a common underlying biological basis.

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Historical color language

Understanding historical texts requires considering how the meaning of colors, like 'red' or 'grey', has evolved over time.

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Saturation (color)

How much of a particular color is contained in a mixture. E.g. a dark red has a low saturation compared to a bright red.

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Color Spectrum

The continuous range of colors we can see, where one color subtly blends into the next, like blue gradually becoming green.

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Saturation

The intensity or purity of a color, how much of a color is present. A deep red is highly saturated, while a pale pink is less saturated.

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Brightness

How light or dark a color appears, ranging from black to white.

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Pantone Matching System

The system used in printing and design to match and identify colors with a specific number, making color communication easier.

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Colors in Different Languages and Cultures

The way different cultures and languages categorize colors, which can vary significantly and even within the same language.

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Macro-categories

Colors seen as areas of a single category, like red including purple, pink, orange, and brown, or green encompassing yellow.

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Color Naming Systems

The way different cultures categorize and name colors, influenced by language and environment.

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Berlin and Kay's Hierarchy

A recurring pattern where colors are named in a specific order across cultures, starting with black and white, followed by red, green, yellow, and blue.

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Cross-cultural Color Perception

The study of how different cultures perceive and name colors.

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Color Naming Order

The observation that cultures don't randomly choose colors to name, but follow a pattern in acquiring color terms.

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Munsell Color Chart

A scientific tool used to assess color perception, based on color charts.

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Monolexemic Color Terms

Words that specifically describe a color, like 'red,' 'green,' or 'blue,' without being a type of another color.

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Language Asymmetry in Color

The categorization and naming of colors differ across languages, resulting in variations in the way people perceive and describe the spectrum.

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Color Idioms

Expressions that use color terms figuratively, often with cultural significance.

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Color Semantics

The study of how humans perceive, categorize, and name colors, considering the influence of language and culture.

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Historical Evolution of Color Terms

The development of color terms in a language, often progressing from fewer to more terms as the language evolves.

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Cross-Linguistic Color Comparison

The process of comparing how different languages categorize colors, revealing universal patterns in human color perception.

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Cultural Color Perception

The study of how different cultures perceive, categorize, and name colors.

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Cross-Cultural Color Term

A color term used in multiple languages, often with different semantic ranges and cultural interpretations.

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Study Notes

English Colour Terms

  • Colour is a perception, not a physical property of objects
  • Objects absorb some light and reflect the rest
  • Reflected light enters the eye, interpreted as colour by the brain
  • Present-Day English primarily uses hues (tones) in the visible electromagnetic spectrum
  • Basic colours include red, green, yellow, blue, along with variations like turquoise, scarlet, violet, and crimson
  • Colour can be described by hue, tone, and saturation
  • Different languages classify colours in various ways; terminology varies significantly across cultures.

Colour Vision

  • Colour vision is ingrained in culture and language
  • The human eye absorbs some light and reflects the rest
  • Observed impressions on the visible spectrum are interpreted as hues (tones)
  • English speakers use basic colour terms (BCTs) for hues, including red, green, yellow, blue
  • Colour also incorporates tone and saturation, the level of black or white perceived

Basic Colour Terms (BCTs)

  • Eleven BCTs exist in Present-Day English: white, black, red, yellow, green, grey, blue, brown, purple, orange, pink
  • Additional variations exist beyond these basic terms

Classification of Pigment Colours

  • Primary colours are red, yellow, and blue
  • Secondary colours are orange, green, and violet, produced by mixing primary colours
  • Tertiary colours are combinations of primary and secondary colours
  • Quaternary colours are combinations of tertiary colours

Colour

  • Colour is an attribute of things based on their reflection of light
  • The colour spectrum, a continuum, gradually shades from one shade to another
  • Colour is defined by hue, saturation, and brightness/value (light/dark) variations

Colour Semantics

  • Colour terms in English have evolved over time
  • Colour terms are primarily hue based
  • Colour terms like red, green, yellow, and blue are used with other terms to create variations (e.g. red-orange)

The Pantone Matching System

  • A universal colour matching system used in printing and graphic design
  • Each colour is assigned a unique number

Colours in Different Cultures

  • Basic colour categories differ across cultures and languages
  • Speakers may group or divide colours differently
  • Some cultures use a single category for colours that are interpreted differently in other languages (e.g. yellow and green, or combinations of colours)
  • Categories can be influenced by historical periods and speaker groups (e.g. young people, older speakers).

What “Colours”?

  • Colour perception is a matter of interpretation
  • There's no way to objectively say which colours exist in nature

Berlin and Kay

  • Found a hierarchical order of colour categories across cultures
  • Basic colour terms (BCT's) in various languages appear in a particular hierarchical order, consistent across cultures
  • The order often begins with black, white, then red, and progresses to other colours
  • Colour terms can be arranged hierarchically across cultures
  • Typical pattern involves white and black first, followed by red, etc
  • Many languages have 2-3 basic colour terms, some can have more

Development of Basic Colour Terms in English

  • Colour terms in English have developed and expanded over time.
  • Early examples of colour terms include words for bright white, dark black, red etc
  • The number of basic colour terms has increased as more terms appear and are needed to accurately denote colours

Colour Terms

  • A list of various colour terms and the year they were first recorded

Italian and English Colour Terms

  • Colours in different languages may have different shades and variations
  • There can also be cultural differences in how colour is used in metaphors

Colour Idioms

  • Colour terms may take on figurative meanings unique to specific cultures
  • Culture specific meanings of colours could include: "blue" (in English) = depressed/indecent/pornographic, while (in Italian) "blu" has no such direct meanings.

Web Resources

  • Provides links to various resources about colour
  • Additional information on colour, including the use of colour in art, and different approaches to studying colour in languages.

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Related Documents

English Colour Terms L12 2 PDF

Description

Explore the fascinating world of colour perception and language. This quiz delves into how we understand and classify colours, highlighting basic colour terms and the intricacies of colour vision in English. Test your knowledge of how culture influences colour terminology!

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