Distributed for Center for the Study of Language and Information
World Color Survey
The 1969 publication of Brent Berlin and Paul Kay’s Basic Color Terms proved explosive and controversial. Contrary to the then-popular doctrine of random language variation, Berlin and Kay’s multilingual study of color nomenclature indicated a cross-cultural and almost universal pattern in the selection of colors that received abstract names in each language. The ensuing debate helped reform the views of anthropologists, linguists, and psychologists alike. After four decades in print, Basic Color Terms now has a sequel: in this book, the authors authoritatively extend the original survey, studying 110 additional unwritten languages in detail and in situ. The results are presented with charts showing the overall palette of color terms within each language as well as the levels of agreement among speakers.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Section 1
A brief history of modern research on color naming across languages
Composite Category Rule
The UE hypotheses of universality and evolution
The WCS Data to be Accounted For
Section 2
The WCS: Methodology and Analysis
Data processing and analysis
How to read the individual language data
Deciding if a color term is basic and assigning a basic stage
Section 3
Findings
Partition
Principles of color term universals and evolution
Black and White
Warm and Cool
Red
The WCS Data to be Accounted For
The Main Life of Basic Color Term Evolution
Accounting for the Main Line of Color Term Evolution
Predictions of the Model for Non-Partition (EH) Languages
WCS Evidence for the EH
The Residue Predicted: Y/G/Bu Terms
The Yellow/Green Mystery Resolved?
Mopping Up: Four EH Languages?
Summary
Section 4
References
Section 5
The 110 World Color Survey Languages: Data and Analyses
Appendices
1. Original WCS Instructions to Field Workers
2. Sample WCS Coding Sheets (Chiquitano)
3. Munsell Notation for WCS Stimulus Palette
4. WCS Munsell Color Chip Mapping Table