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A Cognitive Linguistic Study of

Colour Symbolism
Minoru Ohtsuki

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 A Cognitive Linguistic Study of Colour Symbolism

<A summary of the book with the same title (2000)>

Minoru Ohtsuki

0. Introduction
This is a pioneering study of colour symbolism in that it is the first attempt to derive
systematically the divergent meanings of colour terms as observed in such linguistic expressions as
black market, white lie, red peril, green meat, yellow dog, blue blood, brownshirt, purple chamber,
pink-collar jobs, grey area, golden record and silver age. This research concentrates on colour
symbolism realised in natural language, though it also suggests a possibility of its application to
non-linguistic colour symbolism.

We have reviewed and evaluated philosophical studies of colour from Plato to Wittgenstein,
together with anthropological studies (such as Lévi-Strauss and Turner) and linguistic studies of
colours (such as Gladstone and Berlin & Kay). An examination of the previous research reveals the
underdevelopment of the study of the symbolic meaning of colour in natural language, in contrast
to the development of the study of other aspects of colour, both in terms of the amount of research
directed toward the topic and in terms of the methodology in dealing with it.

Colour symbolism, which exhibits an essential aspect of human cognition and imagination based
upon it, plays an important role in religion, painting, poetry, literarture, film, and many other fields,
but has not been given due consideration in contemporary cognitive linguistics, which claims to be
able to treat cultural and religious symbolim. After showing the inadequacy of the so-called
“metaphoric mappings” and “metonymic mappings” for the treatment of colour symbolism, we
have proposed a new model that can not only derive the symbolic meanings of colours and colour
terms but also describe the interrelationships between such meanings in a unified manner.

1.The “Symbolic Model”

After capturing both the similarities and differences that exist between the “metaphor” and the
“symbol” (sign used in symbolism), we have demonstrated that Lakoff’s and Johnson’s model
utilizing “metaphoric and metonymic mappings” is inadequate for the treatment of symbolism, in
particular colour symbolism. This is because their model is concerned with singular operations and
cannot capture the interrelationships between the different symbolic meanings of a colour term. A
more serious defect is that symbolism includes relationships that cannot be properly called either

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metaphoric or metonymic. The system of the meanings of a symbol is a unified whole, containing
chains of associations that are both metaphoric and non-metaphoric, each of the meaning of which
cannot in general be derived through the application of a singular mapping.
The model proposed in this research, comprising five types of “initial meanings” (IMs), eight
operations for the derivation of symbolic senses [* a terminological distinction being made between
initial “meanings” and derived “senses”], five principles of the study of colour symbolism, and a
restricted number and types of variables, can not only explicitly capture the interrelationships
between different symbolic meanings of a colour term but also can explain what was left
unexplained in previous studies, such as the differences of nuance between expressions containing
colour terms which are synonymous with each other in terms of denotation.

Let us review briefly below the construction of the model.

“Initial meanings”(IMs) are theoretically hypothesised meanings from which the divergent
symbolic senses of colour terms in their realized forms are to be derived. The five types of IMs of a
colour (term) are derived by the application of the following five operations:
(i) y = PROP(Ci)
Y is what is regarded by people as typical properties of the colour Ci itself.
(ii) y = STATE(Ci)
Y is what is regarded by people as typical states supposed to possess the colour Ci in
the human environment, especially those states which are vital to human life.
(iii) y = OBJECT(Ci)
Y is what is regarded by people as typical objects supposed to possess the colour Ci in
the human environment, especially objects familiar to human beings, or things observed
frequently in the environment.
(iv) y = CLOTHES (Ci)
Y is what is regarded by people as typical clothes or uniforms, or something conspicuous
that people wear, of a colour Ci.
(v) y = HUM BODY(Ci)
Y is what is regarded by people as typical parts of the human body showing the colour
Ci.

These IMs are not fictitious but reflect the cognition of colours by human beings: they are
concerned with representative referents in certain colours in a given language, and are related in
particular to bodily and environmental concepts. They are restricted to the above five types, and
semiotically correspond to different types of signs: icons, indices, conventional signs, signals and
symptoms.

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 All the superficially disparate senses of a colour term can be derived from IMs by means of a
restricted number of symbolic operations and variables that are necessary and sufficient. The
following is the list of these eight operations:

(i) Types of Operations with One-Place Predicates

I. Conceptual Equality and Inclusion
(a) y = EQUI(x) : y is a typical conceptual equal of x.
(b) y = INCL(x) : y is a typical conceptual inclusion of x.
II. Generalization and Instantiation
(a) y = GEN(x) : y is a typical generalization or superordination of x.
(b) y = SPEC(x) : y is a typical specification or subordinate concept of x.
III. Causality and Dependence
(a) y = CAUSE(x) : y is a typical cause of x.
(b) y = RESULT(x) : y is a typical result of x.
IV. Inherence and Subsistence
(a) y = PROP(x) : y is a typical property of x.
(b) y = FOLK(x) : y is a typical folk-theory of x.

(ii)Types of Operations with Two-Place Predicates

(a) z＝INV (x, y) : z is a typical y involving (concerning or concerned with) x.
(b) z＝ANALOG（x, y）： z is a typical analogy of x in terms of y.

The list of variables stored in the Lexicon is to be used in combination with the above operations
with two-place predicates to enumerate symbolic meanings. The variables are of four major types: I.
(Those Concerning) Time and Place; II (Those Concerning) Quantity and Quality; III. (Those
Concerning) Being(s) in General; and IV. (Those Concerning) Human Beings. The last type is
divided into four subtypes: (i) (Those Concerning) Types of Human Beings; (ii) (Those
Concerning) the Human Body; (iii) (Those Concerning) Human Activities; and (iv) (Those
Concerning) Internal States of Human Beings.

Principles of Colour Symbolism

We have identified five principles governing colour symbolism:
(i) The Anthropocentrism of IMs (initial meanings), operations, and variables reflects an
important aspect of human cognition.
(ii) The Typicality of the senses derived by means of operations, i.e. all operations are
concerned with typicality.

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(iii) The Inheritance of the IM by every derived sense, i.e. an IM of a colour term is carried over
to every derived sense. This principle is capable of explaining the different nuances between
synonymous symbolic senses.
(iv) Multiplicity of Symbolic Meanings, several meanings from different“origins,”i.e. different
IMs in the Symbolic Model, are found in the same symbol or symbolic expression.
(v) The Temporality of IMs, i.e. all IMs are related to what is temporarily in a certain colour. The
only anomaly would be GOLD, some of the senses of which are derived from its stability.
Of the above, the first two are principles of cognitive semantics, the second is one of those of
symbolism in general, and the last two typically characterize colour symbolism.

2. Application of the Symbolic Model to Six Natural Languages

We have applied our model to several languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese
and Japanese), and have demonstrated that the symbolic meanings of colour expressions in these
languages can be derived by the same sets of operations and variables. The major differences
between languages lie in the “initial meanings,” which are concerned with what is regarded as
typical referents having a certain colour in a given language, but these initial meanings are
restricted to the five types defined in our research.

3. Interrelationships between Different Colour Terms

We have discussed the interrelationship between colours as observed in symbolism, whose
characteristics are different from those found in other aspects of colours.

(i) Historical Development of Colour Expressions

By examining the history of colour expressions in English, we have found that there is a strong
restriction on the type of colour terms used in coining new constructions: certain colour terms
appeared only after certain other colour terms were used, and we have succeeded in identifying the
following two orders:

［Order A]
Black ＞ White＞ Red ＞ Blue ＞ Green ＞Brown
(Yellow) (Pink)
［Order B]
Gold＞Silver
*As regards Yellow and Pink, it is difficult to determine their exact positioning with the data
available at present.
These orders are obtained by the analysis of the historical development of colour expressions in

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English, by contrasting“minimal pairs” i.e. those pairs (or triplets) of expressions that have
identical or nearly-identical constructions, where the only difference is in colour terms: (1) Black
＞ White e.g. black list (1610)＞ white list (1900); (2) White ＞ Red e.g. white flag (1815)＞
red flag (1848); (3) Red ＞ Blue e.g. red-book (1479)＜ blue book (1633) ; (4) White ＞ Blue
e.g. white-collar (1919) ＞ blue-collar (1959); (5) Red ＞ Green e.g. red-light (1849) ＞
green-light (1883); (6) Blue＞ Green e.g. blue-ribbon (1651) ＞ green-ribbon (1680), and so
forth.
[The numbers in brackets indicate the years of the first appearance of a given expression in
literature.] The historical order of paired colour expressions which this research has clarified is in
approximate correspondence to the order proposed by Berlin and Kay in their research on basic
colour terms.

(ii) Semantic Accumulation: Historical Development of Symbolic Meanings of Colour Terms

As regards the historical development of the symbolic meanings of colour terms, we have
proposed the notion of “semantic accumulation”to the effect that the symbolic meanings of a
colour term as a whole continue to inflate, with new meanings continually being added to the
previous list of meanings, despite the seeming obsolescence of a small part of the meanings. This
point has been illustrated in the case of English colour terms.

(iii) Conceptual Analysis of English Primary Initial Meanings

Conceptual analysis of English PIMs (primary initial meanings), or the most productive initial
meanings, of each colour term has revealed that Black and White are related to Physical States; Red,
Green, and Yellow to the Maintenance of Life (Biology); Blue to Sickness, Pink to Health
(Medicine); Brown (and Pink) to Taboo (Religion/Culture); Purple and Grey to Society; and Gold
and Silver to Economy. Colour symbolism in English, and to a considerable extent in other
languages, is thus associated with most of the important aspects of human life.

4. Proposal of a New Category Structure, Typical of Colour Symbolism

What is significant about this research, from the viewpoint of cognitive semantics, is that we
have identified a new type of category structure, incorporating both the “classical category” (which
is defined in terms of the properties common to all the members) in the form of initial meanings,
and the “radial category” (which cannot be defined by common properties, but defined in terms of a
prototype and chains of motivated meanings that bear a family resemblance to it) in the form of
derived senses. We name this newly discovered categorical internal structure arbor symbolica as

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typically characterising colour symbolism.

5. Contributions Made by This Research to the Study of Colour Symbolism

Let us summarise the most significant contributions to the study of colour symbolism made by
this research. (1) We have formalised a model (the Symbolic Model, incorporating initial meanings,
operations and variables) that can give a unified treatment of the symbolic meanings realised in
colour expressions. (2) We have clarified five principles governing colour symbolism. (3) We have
identified a new internal structure of a category (arbor symbolica), characteristic of colour
symbolism. (4) We have made a pioneering study on the historical appearance of English colour
expressions, and revealed the existence of some ordering, similar to the ordering proposed by
Berlin and Kay, among different colour terms. We have also proposed the notion of “semantic
accumulation” as regards the historical development of colour-symbolic meanings. (5) We have
applied the Symbolic Model successfully to a large set of examples in six languages, collected not
only from various kinds of dictionaries and books but also native speakers of each language. We
propose this model to be universally applicable to other anguages. We have also suggested a
possibility of its application to cultural colour symbolism, which is not necessarily realised in
linguistic expressions. (6) We have opened the way for the formal comparison of the nuances of
colour terms in different languages.
Our model is to be tested and refined in the course of its application to languages and cultures
other than those treated in this book. It is hoped that this study will trigger much fruitful research in
both colour symbolism and many other related fields.