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The Semantics of Colour

Dec 15

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Title: The Semantics of Colour
Subtitle: A Historical Approach
Publication Year: 2012
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
http://us.cambridge.org

Book URL: http://www.cambridge.org/us/knowledge/isbn/item6633840/The%20Semantics%20of%20Colour/?site_locale=en_US

Author: Carole P. Biggam

: ISBN: 9780521899925 Pages: 274 Price: U.S. $ 99.00

Abstract:

Human societies name and classify colours in various ways. Knowing this, is it
possible to retrieve colour systems from the past? This book presents the
basic principles of modern colour semantics, including the recognition of
basic vocabulary, subsets, specialised terms and the significance of
non-colour features. Each point is illustrated by case studies drawn from
modern and historical languages from around the world. These include
discussions of Icelandic horses, Peruvian guinea-pigs, medieval roses, the
colour yellow in Stuart England, and Polynesian children’s colour terms. Major
techniques used in colour research are presented and discussed, such as the
evolutionary sequence, Natural Semantic Metalanguage and Vantage Theory. The
book also addresses whether we can understand the colour systems of the past,
including prehistory, by combining various semantic techniques currently used
in both modern and historical colour research with archaeological and
environmental information.

1. What is colour?
2. What is colour semantics?
3. Basic colour terms
4. Non-basic and non-standard colour expressions
5. Basic colour categories
6. The evolutionary sequence
7. Different approaches
8. Historical projects: preliminaries
9. Synchronic studies
10. Diachronic studies
11. Prehistoric colour studies
12. Applications and potential.