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Lexicalization patterns in color naming: A cross-linguistic perspective
Edited by Ida Raffaelli, Daniela Katunar and Barbara Kerovec
[Studies in Functional and Structural Linguistics 78] 2019
► pp. 1–44

Color naming in Africa

| Llacan (UMR 8135, CNRS, INALCO, Université Sorbonne Paris-Cité)
| Llacan (UMR 8135, CNRS, INALCO, Université Sorbonne Paris-Cité)

This chapter is the first large-scale typological survey of the lexical means used in African languages to express color-related meanings. It is based on a very large sample, with data from 350 languages, most of which come from the RefLex online lexical database. It focuses on language-internal semantic sources, morphosyntactic strategies, and contact-induced terminology used for color naming. After a brief discussion of the issues raised by “basic” color terms, and “polychromatic” color terms, the chapter provides a review of the semantic sources of color terms, the origin of borrowings, colexifications and metaphorical uses of color terms, main patterns of lexicalization, and, briefly, color-related ideophones.

Keywords: color, African languages, lexicalization, semantics, borrowing
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data and methodology
  • 3.Monochromatic vs polychromatic color terms
    • 3.1Monochromatic color terms
    • 3.2Polychromatic color terms
  • 4.Semantic sources of color terms
    • 4.1Vegetable kingdom
    • 4.2Animals
    • 4.3Mineral kingdom
    • 4.4Body-related terms
    • 4.5Food
    • 4.6Atmospheric elements
    • 4.7Other sources
  • 5.Borrowings
    • 5.1Blue
    • 5.2Green
    • 5.3Yellow
    • 5.4Other colors
  • 6.Colexification of color terms
    • 6.1Colexifications with ‘ripe’, ‘raw’, ‘wet’
    • 6.2Colexifications with ‘pure, clean’ and ‘dirty’
    • 6.3Colexifications with terms for personality traits
    • 6.4Colexifications with terms for emotions and affects
    • 6.5Colexifications with terms for evaluative judgments
    • 6.6Colexifications with terms for truth value judgments
    • 6.7Colexifications with terms pertaining to sensory modalities
    • 6.8Colexifications with supernatural, dangerous or remarkable beings
  • 7.Patterns of lexicalization
    • 7.1Noun class alternation
    • 7.2Reduplication
      • 7.2.1Derivation of color terms by reduplication
      • 7.2.2Intensification
      • 7.2.3Attenuation
    • 7.3Compounding and genitive phrases
      • 7.3.1Color of
      • 7.3.2Water of
      • 7.3.3Plants
      • 7.3.4Body of
      • 7.3.5Body fluids
      • 7.3.6Body parts
      • 7.3.7Oil, fat
      • 7.3.8Combination of two color terms
      • 7.3.9Varia
    • 7.4Similative adpositions
    • 7.5Affixation
    • 7.6Diminutives
  • 8.Ideophones
  • 9.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix: Language list and source references
Published online: 9 October 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sfsl.78.13seg
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Appendix: Language list and source references

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2024. Chapter 12. Perception and expression of color among the Wolof of Senegal. In Anthropological Linguistics [Culture and Language Use, 23], ► pp. 306 ff. DOI logo
Segerer, Guillaume & Martine Vanhove
2022. Areal patterns and colexifications of colour terms in the languages of Africa. Linguistic Typology 26:2 ► pp. 247 ff. DOI logo

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