Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors

Two experiments were performed to identify and compare the Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and the Basic Color Categories (BCCs) included in three dialects (Castilian, Mexican, and Uruguayan) of the Spanish language. Monolexemic Elicited lists were used in the first experiment to identify the BCTs of each...

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Main Authors: Julio Lillo, Fernando González-Perilli, Lilia Prado-León, Anna Melnikova, Leticia Álvaro, José A. Collado, Humberto Moreira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00761/full
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author Julio Lillo
Fernando González-Perilli
Lilia Prado-León
Anna Melnikova
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
José A. Collado
Humberto Moreira
author_facet Julio Lillo
Fernando González-Perilli
Lilia Prado-León
Anna Melnikova
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
José A. Collado
Humberto Moreira
author_sort Julio Lillo
collection DOAJ
description Two experiments were performed to identify and compare the Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and the Basic Color Categories (BCCs) included in three dialects (Castilian, Mexican, and Uruguayan) of the Spanish language. Monolexemic Elicited lists were used in the first experiment to identify the BCTs of each dialect. Eleven BCTs appeared for the Spanish and the Mexican, and twelve did so for the Uruguayan. The six primary BCTs (rojo “red,” verde “green,” amarillo “yellow,” azul “blue,” negro “black,” and blanco “white”) appeared in the three dialects. This occurred for only three derived BCTs (gris “gray,” naranja “orange,” and rosa “pink”) but not for the other five derived BCTs (celeste “sky blue,” marrón “brown,” café “brown,” morado “purple,” and violeta “purple”). Color transitions were used in the second experiment for two different tasks. Extremes naming task was used to determine the relation between two different dialects' BCTs: equality, equivalence or difference. The results provided the first evidence for marrón “brown” and café “brown” being equivalent terms for the same BCC (brown in English) as is the case of morado “purple” and violeta “purple.” Uruguayan celeste “sky blue” had no equivalent BCT in the other two dialects. Boundary delimitation task required the selection of the color in the boundary between two categories. The task was used to reasonably estimate the volume occupied by each BCC in the color space considering its chromatic area and lightness range. Excluding sky blue (celeste “sky blue”) and blue (azul “blue”), the other BCCs color volumes were similar across the three dialects. Uruguayan sky blue and blue volumes conjointly occupied the portion of the color space corresponding to the Castilian and Mexican blue BCC. The fact that the BCT celeste “sky blue” only appeared in Uruguayan very probably derived from specific cultural factors (the use of the color in the flags and the arrival of an important number of Italian immigrants). Nevertheless, these cultural factors seem to nurture from a perceptive structuring of the color space, which nature is universal, as the boundaries of this category can be delimited from the responses of Spanish and Mexican participants.
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spelling doaj.art-0a421ce8766040b7bc8c42895c751e992022-12-22T00:53:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782018-05-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.00761332194Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal FactorsJulio Lillo0Fernando González-Perilli1Lilia Prado-León2Anna Melnikova3Leticia Álvaro4Leticia Álvaro5Leticia Álvaro6José A. Collado7Humberto Moreira8Departamento de Psicología Social, del Trabajo y Diferencial, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainFacultad de Información y Comunicación, Instituto de Comunicación, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, UruguayCentro Universitario de Arte, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad de Guadalajara, Jalisco, MexicoDepartamento de Psicología Social, del Trabajo y Diferencial, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Psicología Social, del Trabajo y Diferencial, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainAnglia Vision Research, Department of Vision and Hearing Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United KingdomThe Sussex Colour Group, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, United KingdomDepartamento de Psicología Social, del Trabajo y Diferencial, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Psicología Social, del Trabajo y Diferencial, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, SpainTwo experiments were performed to identify and compare the Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and the Basic Color Categories (BCCs) included in three dialects (Castilian, Mexican, and Uruguayan) of the Spanish language. Monolexemic Elicited lists were used in the first experiment to identify the BCTs of each dialect. Eleven BCTs appeared for the Spanish and the Mexican, and twelve did so for the Uruguayan. The six primary BCTs (rojo “red,” verde “green,” amarillo “yellow,” azul “blue,” negro “black,” and blanco “white”) appeared in the three dialects. This occurred for only three derived BCTs (gris “gray,” naranja “orange,” and rosa “pink”) but not for the other five derived BCTs (celeste “sky blue,” marrón “brown,” café “brown,” morado “purple,” and violeta “purple”). Color transitions were used in the second experiment for two different tasks. Extremes naming task was used to determine the relation between two different dialects' BCTs: equality, equivalence or difference. The results provided the first evidence for marrón “brown” and café “brown” being equivalent terms for the same BCC (brown in English) as is the case of morado “purple” and violeta “purple.” Uruguayan celeste “sky blue” had no equivalent BCT in the other two dialects. Boundary delimitation task required the selection of the color in the boundary between two categories. The task was used to reasonably estimate the volume occupied by each BCC in the color space considering its chromatic area and lightness range. Excluding sky blue (celeste “sky blue”) and blue (azul “blue”), the other BCCs color volumes were similar across the three dialects. Uruguayan sky blue and blue volumes conjointly occupied the portion of the color space corresponding to the Castilian and Mexican blue BCC. The fact that the BCT celeste “sky blue” only appeared in Uruguayan very probably derived from specific cultural factors (the use of the color in the flags and the arrival of an important number of Italian immigrants). Nevertheless, these cultural factors seem to nurture from a perceptive structuring of the color space, which nature is universal, as the boundaries of this category can be delimited from the responses of Spanish and Mexican participants.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00761/fullbasic color termsbasic color categoriesuniversal factorslinguistic relativismSpanishCastilian
spellingShingle Julio Lillo
Fernando González-Perilli
Lilia Prado-León
Anna Melnikova
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
Leticia Álvaro
José A. Collado
Humberto Moreira
Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
Frontiers in Psychology
basic color terms
basic color categories
universal factors
linguistic relativism
Spanish
Castilian
title Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
title_full Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
title_fullStr Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
title_full_unstemmed Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
title_short Basic Color Terms (BCTs) and Categories (BCCs) in Three Dialects of the Spanish Language: Interaction Between Cultural and Universal Factors
title_sort basic color terms bcts and categories bccs in three dialects of the spanish language interaction between cultural and universal factors
topic basic color terms
basic color categories
universal factors
linguistic relativism
Spanish
Castilian
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00761/full
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