Color Theory

[black_aspect]

All languages have a term for black and white; that is, they have a term for "dark" and "light." Dark can be anything from black to deep blue to whatever you call the color it is when there is no light. Light can be anything from pure white to yellow to pale.

If they have a third color, it will be red.
If they have a fourth, it will be green or

Comments

[michikatinski]

Have you studied sensation and perception? Do you know the philosopher Wittgenstein? He (and lots of his disciples) wrote about color.

[black_aspect]

That's pretty much what this relates to: the idea of the physical spectrum of light versus human perception of color. All of this was a linguistic theory originally. They figured out that cultures name colours in this order precisely, every single time, and tried to figure out if it has something to do with the eye or something to do with the way language evolves. The first three, from a purely psychological/evolutionary point, are kind of no-brainers: black/white = night/day, the first natural phenomenon of which most people are aware, if only because of their own sleep patterns, and then red signals injury, blood, fire, all those things you need to be aware of for self-preservation's sake.

I haven't made a study of this myself but I have a colleague who will go on and on about it if you let him.