Color and Color Nomenclature

Abstract

Color naming has been a critical area of research in anthropology, linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science for over a century, largely because it is an area where potentially empirical experiments and fieldwork can shed light on the complex relationships between language, thought, and culture – not the least important being the nature vs. nurture debate. However, as Dedrick writes “[v]irtually every element of this research tradition is contested” and the whole subject has been a battleground of “high controversy” – methodologically, theoretically, and philosophically. And there is much that is simply not yet understood. Some of this research is reviewed here, especially the arguments for and against universalist interpretations vs. linguistic relativity and the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. An attempt to reconcile these two positions is offered.