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Summary and Conclusions
Color Terms and Their Histories in Amazonian Languages Authored by: Lauren Burleson and Raanan Robertson
Under direc=on of Dr. Pa=ence Epps The University of Texas at Aus=n, Department of Linguis=cs
Background Informa5on Berlin and Kay (1960) first proposed a systema=c,
universal progression of color term acquisi=on, claiming that all languages acquire basic color terms in a specific sequen=al order. Despite decades of revision since the ini=al hypothesis, some cross-‐linguis=c paQerns of term
accumula=on remain rela=vely robust. 2, 3, 4:
Color Term Distribu5on Theories That all languages share a common framework for color acquisi=on is liQle disputed. There are theore=cal differences, however, rela=ng to manner of
development:
a) Focal Distribu=on color terms span the en=re visible spectrum,
centered on universal “focal” points. purple blue green yellow orange red | | | | | |
b) Prototypic Distribu=on Exis=ng color terms originate through reference to prototypic real-‐world en==es and fall unevenly along the visible spectrum. Color terms adjust their reference gradually as new
prototypes emerge.
azure dye unripe ripe orange fruit blood | | | | |
Research Ques5ons Our study seeks first to inves=gate the history and distribu=on of color terms in Amazonian languages, and second, to compare that data to findings in other parts of the world such as the classic Berlin and Kay
model. •What color terms reconstruct in our sample families? •How many color terms appear to be represented synchronically across those languages? •To what extent are color terms in our sample basic or derived (etymologically connected to en==es)? •To what extent are our findings consistent with Berlin and Kay’s predic=ons? •Are there any correla=ons between color term distribu=ons and subsistence preferences?
Materials and Methods (1) Diachronic study of color terms in 10 language families:
Nadahup Yanomami Tukanoan Witoto Arawak Panoan Bora Tupi-‐Guarani Guahiban Zaparoan The purpose of our diachronic study was to reconstruct the proto-‐forms of color terms in ten language families to discover which terms were present historically. We focused on language families for which sufficient, reliable color data were available. To date, our study has surveyed only black, white, red, green, yellow, and blue.
(2) Survey of color terms synchronically aQested in 93 languages for 24 families Subsistence PaLerns and Color Distribu5on? Most Amazonian groups engage in a range of subsistence prac=ces, but our second study examines whether predominant subsistence preference correlates with color term distribu=ons. Categories are hunter-‐gatherer (HG), agricultural (AG), and mixed (MX).
Results
Future Direc5ons • Include addi=onal languages and language families. • Inves=gate more color terms, as well as possible etymological sources, such as ripe, unripe, blood, charcoal, annato, etc. • Consider routes and paQerns of color term elabora=on in light of cross-‐linguis=c tendencies, including findings from Australia
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# Languages that reconstruct
Black
White
Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Acknowledgements and Sources: This study is funded by NSF (HSD0902114), ‘Dynamics of Hunter-‐Gatherer Language Change’. 1 Berlin, Brent and Paul Kay. 1969. Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolu;on. London: University of California Press. 2
Heider, Eleanor Rosch. 1972. Universals in color naming and memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 93(1). 10-‐20. 3 Levinson, Stephen. 2000. Yélî Dnye and the theory of basic color terms. Journal of Linguis;c Anthropology 10(1). 3-‐55. 4 Turton, David. 1980. There’s no such beast: caQle and colour naming among the Mursi. Man. 5(2). 320-‐338.
Color Term Reconstruc5ons for Sample Language Families Zaparoan: *nɨ ‘green’ Tukanoan: *~tj’i ‘black,’ *p’o ‘white’ Nadahup: *c’ah ‘black,’ *ho ‘white,’ *heɟ ‘red’ Guahiban: *tse ‘black,’ *nio ‘white,’ *tso[bia] ‘red,’ Panoan: *wiso ‘black,’ *ošo ‘white,’ *pašini ‘red,’ *pašini ‘yellow’ Yanomam: *uʃi ‘black,’ *auʃi ‘white,’ *wakǝ ‘red,’ *ruwǝ ‘green,’ *frãre ‘yellow’ Arawak: *khuere ‘black,’ *kath ‘white,’ *kɨɾa ‘red,’ *šɨpule ‘green,’ *šɨpule ‘blue’ Bora: *kɨβe-ne ‘black,’ *tsítsɨɨ-ne ‘white,’ *tï-ppai-ne ‘red,’ *gíí(-giβa)-ne; *gí(kká)-ne-ï βí) ‘yellow,’ *aittïβá-ne ‘green’ Witoto: *kɨβe-ne ‘black,’ *tsítsɨɨ-ne ‘white,’ *tï-ppai-ne ‘red,’ *gíí(-giβa)-ne; *gí(kká)-ne-ï βí) ‘yellow,’ *aittïβá-ne ‘green’ Tupi-Guarani: *pitsun or *un ‘black,’ *tiŋ ‘white,’ *piraŋ or *pɨtaŋ ‘red,’ *juβ ‘yellow,’ *oβɨ ‘green,’ *oβɨ ‘blue’
Hunter-‐Gatherer (HG)
≤4 color terms >4 color terms
Mixed (MX)
≤4 color terms >4 color terms
Agrictultural (AG)
≤4 color terms >4 color terms
Red= Guahiban Green = Yanomam Orange = Bora Dark Blue = Nadahup Light Blue = Carib Yellow = Tukanoan Purple = Arawak