Color naming in Italian language

Paggetti, Giulia and Menegaz, Gloria and Paramei, Galina V. (2016) Color naming in Italian language. Color Research & Application, 41. pp. 402-415. ISSN 1520-6378

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Abstract

The present study investigated Italian basic color terms (BCTs). It is an extension of our previous work that explored Italian basic color categories (BCCs) using a constrained color-naming method, with 11 Italian BCTs allowed, including blu for naming the BLUE area. Since a latter outcome indicated a categorization bias, here monolexemic color-naming method was employed, enabling also use of azzurro, deeply entrenched Italian term that designates light blue. In Experiment 1, colors (N=367), sampling the Munsell Mercator projection, were presented on a CRT; color names and reaction times of vocalization onset were recorded. Naming consistency and consensus were estimated. Consistency was obtained for 12 CTs, including the two blue terms; consensus was found for 11 CTs, excluding rosso ‘red’. For each consensus category, color with the shortest RT was considered focal. In Experiment 2, consensus stimuli (N=72) were presented; on each trial, observers indicated the focal color (“best example”) in an array of colors comprising a consensus category. For each of the 12 Italian CCs, centroid was calculated and focal color (two measures) estimated. Compared to English color terms, two outcomes are specific to Italian color naming: (i) naming of the RED-PURPLE area is highly refined, with consistent use of emergent non-BCTs; (ii) azzurro and blu both perform as BCTs dividing the BLUE area along the lightness dimension. The findings are considered in the framework of the weak relativity hypothesis. Historico-linguistic, environmental and pragmatic communication factors are discussed that conceivably have driven the extension of the BCT inventory in Italian.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Paggetti, G., Menegaz, G. and Paramei, G. V. (2015), Color naming in Italian language. Color Res. Appl.. doi: 10.1002/col.21953, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/col.21953/abstract . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving
Keywords:	Basic colour names; Italian language; Munsell; CIELAB; OSA-UCS; monolexemic color naming; consistency; consensus; centroids; focal colors; weak relativity hypothesis
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Philippe Chassy
Date Deposited:	17 Sep 2015 13:15
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2016 11:02
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/493

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