Linguistic categorization of BLUE in Standard Italian
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Mari Uusküla
Abstract
The chapter aims to establish the status of three salient colour terms for blue: blu, azzurro and celeste, in the standard variety of Italian. A number of experiments were performed to examine the context-free and context-sensitive behaviour of blue terms. The results, consistent with previous studies, reveal that Italian speakers tend to distinguish lighter blue(s) from darker blue in daily speech, regarding them as autonomous categories. Although blu seems to be the most prevalent term, used with high consensus, both azzurro and celeste also tend to be salient high-frequency terms. The choice between azzurro and celeste depends on speakers’ dialectal background. Furthermore, it is conjectured which linguistic and non-linguistic factors tend to bias the linguistic categorization of colour terms in general.
Abstract
The chapter aims to establish the status of three salient colour terms for blue: blu, azzurro and celeste, in the standard variety of Italian. A number of experiments were performed to examine the context-free and context-sensitive behaviour of blue terms. The results, consistent with previous studies, reveal that Italian speakers tend to distinguish lighter blue(s) from darker blue in daily speech, regarding them as autonomous categories. Although blu seems to be the most prevalent term, used with high consensus, both azzurro and celeste also tend to be salient high-frequency terms. The choice between azzurro and celeste depends on speakers’ dialectal background. Furthermore, it is conjectured which linguistic and non-linguistic factors tend to bias the linguistic categorization of colour terms in general.
Chapters in this book
- 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
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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
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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
Chapters in this book
- 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
