Colour and gender: language nuances
It is a deeply rooted belief that women possess a richer colour vocabulary than men (Rich, 1977). According to Lakoff, certain adjectives denoting colour (e.g. mauve) would never be naturally chosen by men unless they were «imitating a woman sarcastically, or a homosexual, or an interior decorator»...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Spanish |
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Universidad de Alicante
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Feminismo/s |
| Online Access: | https://feminismos.ua.es/article/view/18109 |
| _version_ | 1828950584662687744 |
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| author | Isabel Espinosa Zaragoza |
| author_facet | Isabel Espinosa Zaragoza |
| author_sort | Isabel Espinosa Zaragoza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is a deeply rooted belief that women possess a richer colour vocabulary than men (Rich, 1977). According to Lakoff, certain adjectives denoting colour (e.g. mauve) would never be naturally chosen by men unless they were «imitating a woman sarcastically, or a homosexual, or an interior decorator» (1973, p. 49). Are these affirmations adjusted to our present reality? Nowadays, colour is present in almost every economic sector. Consequently, a proficient use of colour vocabulary is expected from professionals, regardless of their gender. Hence, if the differences in colour vocabulary are learnt and highly dependent on the user’s necessities and expectations, then said differences after globalisation and exposure to the Internet should not be so striking. With this objective in mind, this study analyses colour elicitation performed by university students. Both their descriptive capacity and colour lexicon availability are measured depending on students’ colour terms usage. Furthermore, potential reasons for variation are provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:25:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c68027c80e724e35ab418c91da4352af |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1989-9998 |
| language | Spanish |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T06:25:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Alicante |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Feminismo/s |
| spelling | doaj.art-c68027c80e724e35ab418c91da4352af2022-12-21T23:13:41ZspaUniversidad de AlicanteFeminismo/s1989-99982021-07-013811510.14198/fem.2021.38.05Colour and gender: language nuancesIsabel Espinosa Zaragozahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9206-6917It is a deeply rooted belief that women possess a richer colour vocabulary than men (Rich, 1977). According to Lakoff, certain adjectives denoting colour (e.g. mauve) would never be naturally chosen by men unless they were «imitating a woman sarcastically, or a homosexual, or an interior decorator» (1973, p. 49). Are these affirmations adjusted to our present reality? Nowadays, colour is present in almost every economic sector. Consequently, a proficient use of colour vocabulary is expected from professionals, regardless of their gender. Hence, if the differences in colour vocabulary are learnt and highly dependent on the user’s necessities and expectations, then said differences after globalisation and exposure to the Internet should not be so striking. With this objective in mind, this study analyses colour elicitation performed by university students. Both their descriptive capacity and colour lexicon availability are measured depending on students’ colour terms usage. Furthermore, potential reasons for variation are provided.https://feminismos.ua.es/article/view/18109 |
| spellingShingle | Isabel Espinosa Zaragoza Colour and gender: language nuances Feminismo/s |
| title | Colour and gender: language nuances |
| title_full | Colour and gender: language nuances |
| title_fullStr | Colour and gender: language nuances |
| title_full_unstemmed | Colour and gender: language nuances |
| title_short | Colour and gender: language nuances |
| title_sort | colour and gender language nuances |
| url | https://feminismos.ua.es/article/view/18109 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT isabelespinosazaragoza colourandgenderlanguagenuances |