On the naming of color words and color patches

Color Naming and Sunlight

Lindsey and Brown (2002) proposed an intriguing explanation for the existence and geographical distribution of languages that lack a distinct word for the color blue. Many such languages include blue in a color term that also encompasses green, yielding a green-or-blue (‘‘grue’’) term. Others include blue in a color term that also encompasses dark colors such as black, yielding a black-or-blue ...

Color naming and sunlight Color naming and sunlight : Commentary on Lindsey and Brown ( 2002 ) Terry Regier

Color naming across languages reflects color use.

What determines how languages categorize colors? We analyzed results of the World Color Survey (WCS) of 110 languages to show that despite gross differences across languages, communication of chromatic chips is always better for warm colors (yellows/reds) than cool colors (blues/greens). We present an analysis of color statistics in a large databank of natural images curated by human observers ...

Processing of Color Words 1 Running Head: Color Words and Color Representations Processing of Color Words Activates Color Representations Accepted for Publication in the Journal Cognition (2009)

Two experiments were conducted to investigate whether color representations are routinely activated when color words are processed. Congruency effects of colors and color words were observed in both directions. Lexical decisions on color words were faster when preceding colors matched the color named by the word. Color-discrimination responses were slowed down when preceding color words mismatc...

Color naming and the effect of language on perception

A classic nature-versus-nurture debate in cognitive science concerns the relation between language and perception. The universalist view holds that language is shaped by universals of perception, while the opposing relativist view holds instead that language shapes perception, in a manner that varies with little constraint across languages. Over the years, consensus has oscillated between these...