Colour Terms in Five Linguistic Images of the World: The Semantic Perspective

Authors

  • Paweł Golda Sorbonne Paris North University, France & University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland & University of Opole, Poland
  • Agnieszka Jedziniak University of Silesia in Katowice
  • Judyta Mężyk Tischner European University in Cracow, Poland & University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
  • Joanna Ryszka University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland & Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
  • Teresa Uchman University of Silesia in Katowice

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2022-2204-03

Keywords:

colour terms, connotation, denotation, collocation, linguistic image of the world

Abstract

Social and cultural factors shape the linguistic perception of colour. At the same time, colour terms co-create the linguistic image of the world, which allows us to interpret reality and profile our statements and beliefs. This paper presents six basic colour terms: white, black, red, green, yellow, and blue (both as adjectives and as nouns) in the five different linguistic images of the world of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Polish, and Japanese. The methodological framework is based on cultural linguistics theory and the basis of semantics. The study explores denotative and connotative meanings of colour terms with their collocations. The data gathered from monolingual, bilingual, collocation, and phraseological dictionaries is analysed from the lexical-semantic point of view. The paper discusses semantic differences between contrasting cultures, especially in the blue-green and red lexis. Simultaneously, the findings point to transcultural and global aspects of colour meanings. Both the contexts of cultural diversity and of geographic location are emphasised in the colour semantics. Colours as linguistic signs can specify and categorise reality in terms of feelings, mental attitudes, or sensual reactions. The examined words also refer to location, nature, and the human body. The study shows that colour terms are multifunctional units in the linguistic image of the world, both in terms of the analysed languages separately and as an illustration of the cultural community of different ethnic languages. 

Author Biographies

Paweł Golda, Sorbonne Paris North University, France & University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland & University of Opole, Poland

Paweł Golda is an assistant at the University of Opole and a PhD candidate in linguistics at the Sorbonne Paris North University and the University of Silesia. His research interests are in phraseology and translation.

Agnieszka Jedziniak, University of Silesia in Katowice

Agnieszka Jedziniak is a PhD candidate in linguistics at the University of Silesia. Her research interests are proper names, linguistic images of the world and travel discourse.

Judyta Mężyk, Tischner European University in Cracow, Poland & University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland

Judyta Mężyk is a PhD candidate in linguistics at the Paris-East Créteil University and the University of Silesia and a lecturer at the University of Silesia. Her research interests are audiovisual translation, interpretation, and formulaic language.

Joanna Ryszka, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland & Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Joanna Ryszka is a PhD candidate in linguistics at the University of Silesia and a lecturer at Humanitas University in Sosnowiec. Her research interests are English language evolution and the influence of social relations on language.

Teresa Uchman, University of Silesia in Katowice

Teresa Uchman is a PhD candidate in linguistics at the University of Silesia. Her research interests are visual communication and media discourse.

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Published

2022-11-30

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 4 (2022): November 2022

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