The evolution of GRUE
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Alexandra Grandison
Abstract
The hue spectrum is a continuum of light, yet we perceive it categorically. The categories used to describe this continuum vary across the world’s languages and there are marked differences in the numbers of colour categories and the locations of category boundaries. For example, the green–blue region of colour space is labelled with two terms in English but with only one term (a “grue” term) in many African languages. Evidence for a “grue” term in Otjiherero – a language spoken by the Himba of northern Namibia – has been well documented. Here we present data from colour list and colour naming tasks indicating the emergence of a new Himba colour term. These findings have significant implications for future cross-cultural research into colour categorization.
Abstract
The hue spectrum is a continuum of light, yet we perceive it categorically. The categories used to describe this continuum vary across the world’s languages and there are marked differences in the numbers of colour categories and the locations of category boundaries. For example, the green–blue region of colour space is labelled with two terms in English but with only one term (a “grue” term) in many African languages. Evidence for a “grue” term in Otjiherero – a language spoken by the Himba of northern Namibia – has been well documented. Here we present data from colour list and colour naming tasks indicating the emergence of a new Himba colour term. These findings have significant implications for future cross-cultural research into colour categorization.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Abbreviations xi
-
Prehistoric colour semantics
- Prehistoric colour semantics 3
-
Colour and Linguistics
- Preface to Section II 29
- Towards a historical and cultural atlas of colour terms in the Near East 31
- The evolution of GRUE 53
- Linguistic categorization of BLUE in Standard Italian 67
- From blood to worms 79
- The motivational analysis of some Finnic colour terms 93
- Her blue eyes are red 109
- The spread of RED in the Historical Thesaurus of English 126
- A metaphorical spectrum 140
- Exploring the metaphorical use of colour with the Historical Thesaurus of English 153
-
Colour categorization, naming and preference
- Preface to Section III 167
- The case for infant colour categories 169
- Bornstein’s paradox (redux) 181
- Category effects on colour discrimination 200
- Colour category effects 212
- Gender differences in colour naming 225
- Personality and gender-schemata contributions to colour preferences 240
- Axiological aspects of Polish colour vocabulary 258
- The metaphysical significance of colour categorization 273
-
Colour and the World
- Preface to Section IV 287
- Color seeing and speaking 291
- Colour terms in the names of coastal and inland features 307
- Referential meaning in basic and non-basic color terms 323
- Unfolding colour in mind and language 339
- Synaesthetic associations 352
- Bach to the blues 366
- “Miss Gartside’s immediate eye” 380
- Lighting up Shakespeare 397
- Index 413
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Abbreviations xi
-
Prehistoric colour semantics
- Prehistoric colour semantics 3
-
Colour and Linguistics
- Preface to Section II 29
- Towards a historical and cultural atlas of colour terms in the Near East 31
- The evolution of GRUE 53
- Linguistic categorization of BLUE in Standard Italian 67
- From blood to worms 79
- The motivational analysis of some Finnic colour terms 93
- Her blue eyes are red 109
- The spread of RED in the Historical Thesaurus of English 126
- A metaphorical spectrum 140
- Exploring the metaphorical use of colour with the Historical Thesaurus of English 153
-
Colour categorization, naming and preference
- Preface to Section III 167
- The case for infant colour categories 169
- Bornstein’s paradox (redux) 181
- Category effects on colour discrimination 200
- Colour category effects 212
- Gender differences in colour naming 225
- Personality and gender-schemata contributions to colour preferences 240
- Axiological aspects of Polish colour vocabulary 258
- The metaphysical significance of colour categorization 273
-
Colour and the World
- Preface to Section IV 287
- Color seeing and speaking 291
- Colour terms in the names of coastal and inland features 307
- Referential meaning in basic and non-basic color terms 323
- Unfolding colour in mind and language 339
- Synaesthetic associations 352
- Bach to the blues 366
- “Miss Gartside’s immediate eye” 380
- Lighting up Shakespeare 397
- Index 413
