Colour-Related Idiomatic Expressions in English and Kurdish
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Published:
May 25, 2019
Keywords:
Basic Colour Terms, Connotations, Colour-Related Idiomatic Expressions, Culture-Specific, Different Languages Basic Colour Terms, Connotations, Colour-Related Idiomatic Expressions, Culture-Specific, Different Languages
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Abstract
Colour is a powerful communication tool and can convey different positive and negative messages. Apart from their denotative meanings, colours have different connotations in different languages and cultures. Many of these connotations are very clearly observed in their use of colour idiomatic expressions. This study explores the different meanings and connotations of the basic colour terms and their usage in idiomatic expressions in English and Kurdish to find out areas of similarity and difference between them. To this end data were collected from different English dictionaries and from English idiom dictionaries; while for the Kurdish idiomatic expressions data were collected from Kurdish idiom booklets and sources (See methodology 4.1 &4.2). The findings obtained from the analysis of the data show that despite similarities in the number of the basic colour terms and their general meanings and connotations in the two languages, the symbolic use of the colour terms in idiomatic expressions is, to a great extent, culture and language specific.
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Kareem, N. O. (2019) “Colour-Related Idiomatic Expressions in English and Kurdish”, Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), pp. 131-149. doi: 10.14500/kujhss.v2n1y2019.pp131-149.
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References
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Zelanski, Paul & Mary Pat Fisher, (1995). Colour design Principles and Problems [e-book}, Colour chapter pp. 227- 250. Wadsworth. Available at: http://www.utdallas.edu/~melacy/pages/2D_Design/Color_DesignPrinciplesProblems.pdf [Accessed 4/1/2018].
Ali, Jalal Mahmood (2001). Idyom le zimani Kurdida. (Idioms in Kurdish Language). vol. 2. Sulayma:ni: Sardam for Printing and Publishing.
Anderson, Wendy and Ellen Bramwell. (2014). "Metaphorical Spectrum:Surveying Colour Terms in English", University of Glasgow. In Colour studies: A broad spectrum ed. by Wendy Anderson, Carole P. Biggam, Carole Hough and Christian Kay. (2014). Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 140-153.
Berlin, Brent and Paul Kay. (1991). Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Chapman, Cameron. (2010). "Colour theory for designers Part 1: The meaning of colours". Available at: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/ [Accessed 20/3/2018].
Cherry, Kendra (2018). Reviewed by Steven Gans, 'The Opponent Process Theory of Colour: Understanding how we see colour vision" Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com › Psychology › Theories › Cognitive Psychology Collins Coubuild Idiom's Dictionay. (1996). Harper Collins Publishers.
Crone, Robert A. (1999). A History of Colour: The Evolution Theories of Light and Colour. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
De Bortoli, Mario and Jesús Maroto (2001). "Colours across cultures: Translating colours in interactive marketing communication"'. Available at: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Colours-Across-Cultures%3A-Translating-Colours-in-In-Bortoli Maroto/91d873c75769968cca43182419730dbe1835504d.[Accessed 9/6/2015].
Douma, M. Curator. (2008). "Colour Art and Mind: Micrconsciousness". In Causes of Colour. Available at: http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/3.html. [Accessed 22/8/2016].
Dunn, Alison, 2014. "The meaning of colour: The cultural and ethnic aspects of colour use". Available at: file:///E:/20162017/colourHTML/Alison%20Dunn%20The%20meaning%20of%20colour.htm [Accessed 22/8/2016].
Foster, Geraldine Ann.(n.d.) 'The language of colour". Available at: www.fp-web.it/public/foster/.../shape-colour-logos-student-reading.pdf. [Accessed 31/7/2016]
Gage, John. (1999). Colour and Meaning: Art, Science and Symbolism. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von. (1840) Goethe's theory of colour London: John Murray Albemarle Street 1840. Translated from the German with Notes by Charles Lock Eastlake. (1941). London: William Clower and Sons, Stamford Street.
Hardin, C.L. (2013). "Berlin and Kay Theory". New York: Syracuse University, Department of Philosophy, in Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_62-2. Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013.
He, Guimei. (2009). "English and Chinese cultural connotation of color words in Comparison". Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao Asian Social Science.5 (7) pp. 160-163. Available at: http://bartos.web.elte.hu/ma/color-culture-E-C.pdf. [Accessed 20/10/2014]
He,Guimei, (2011). "A comparative study of color metaphors in English and Chines"'. In Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1 (12), pp. (1804-1808), Qingdao University of Science and Technology Qingdao, China. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/08fb/9995682801a456dd80d4eb9f6335d82e4d58.pdf[Accessed 24/8/2016]
Izady, M.R. (2008). 'The National Flag of Kurdistan'. In Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
Kay, P. and C. McDaniel (1978). 'The Linguistic Significance of the Meaning of the Basic Color Terms'. In Language, 54, pp. 610-646.
Kleynhans, J. H. (2007). 'The use of colour as a tool for propaganda". In Interim: Interdisciplinary Journal, 6 (1) 46-53. Available at: http://ir.cut.ac.za/bitstream/handle/11462/399/Kleynhans,%20J.H..pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 20/10/2014].
Koelbing, H.M., (1988). 'The history of color theories" (Zur Geschichte der Farbenlehre), Klin Monbl Augenheilkd, 192(2), (176-82), Abstract only, Medizinhistorisches Institut der Universität Zürich. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3283427 [Accessed 19/3/2018].
Kurdish Academy of Languages (2016) "Kurdish language"www.kurdishacademy.org/?q=node/1
Kurdish Academy of Language. (2018). "Kurdish Language". https://www.revolvy.com/page/Kurdish-Academy
Lucy, J. A. (1996). 'The Scope of Linguistic Relativity: An Analysis and Review of Empirical Research". In John J. Gumperz and Stephen Levinson (Eds.), Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 37-69.
Makarevicius, Algirdas, (2014). "Culture and colour”. Available at: http://alslectures.webs.com/cultureandcolor.htm [Accessed 15/9/2014]
Morton, J.L. (2011). "Color matters”. In Colour Matters Newsletter. Available at: https://www.colormatters.com.[Accessed 28/2.2017].
National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) Courses, Module 13: Lecture 36 (2012). "Color and society: Single colour meaning" Available at: file://E|/color_in_design/lecture36/36_1.htm [8/17/2012 2:30: [Accessed 20/10/2014] Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 8th edition. (2010) Oxford University Press.
Palmer, F.R. (1981), Semantics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. Pathak, Apeksha. (2012). "Color code: interpretations and perceptions of colors in our world". QlikView Technical Brief. Available at: https://community.qlik.com/docs/DOC-3173 [Accessed 2/10/2014]
Philip, Gill., 2011. Colouring meaning: collocations and connotations in figurative language. [e-book] Amesterdam: John Benjamin Publications.
Regier, Terry and Kay, Paul. (2009). 'Language, thought and colour: Whorf was half right. In Trends in Cognitive Sciences vol. xxx No. x.
Salim, Jamal Azmi & Mohammad Mehawesh. (2013)."'Color idiomatic expressions in the translation of Naguib Mahfouz’s novel “The Thief and the Dogs”: A case study" In the International Journal of English Linguistics, 3 (4) pp. 107-116.Department of English Language and Translation, Faculty of Arts, Zarqa University, Jordan. Available at: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijel/article/view/29057 [Accessed 24/8/2015].
Saundres, B. (1995). "Disinterring Basic Color Terms: A Study in the Mystique of Cognitivism". In History of the Human Sciences, 8 (7): 19-38.
Sharaf Fatima. (2005). Atlas Dictionary of English Idioms English-Arabic. Edited by Sara Rashwan. Atlas for Publishing.
Shareef, Abdul-wahab Kanabi. (2005). Ferhengi Idyom le Zmani Kurdi. (A Dictionary of dioms in Kurdish Language). Sulaymani: Ministry of Culture.
Swenson, Rivka. (2010). "Optics, Gender, and the Eighteenth- Century Gaze: Looking at Eliza Haywood's Anti-Pamela". In the Eighteenth-Century Journal, Volume 51, No. 1-2, PP27-4). University of Pennsylvania Press DOI: 10.1353/ecy.2010.
Wagner, Brain Thomas and Donald Kline. (2002). The History of Colour Vision Science: Bases of Colour Vision". University of Calgary. Available at: https://psyc.ucalgary.ca/PACE/VA-Lab/Brian/history.htm
Wardhaugh, Ronald. (1986). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Basil Blakwell Inc.
Zelanski, Paul & Mary Pat Fisher, (1995). Colour design Principles and Problems [e-book}, Colour chapter pp. 227- 250. Wadsworth. Available at: http://www.utdallas.edu/~melacy/pages/2D_Design/Color_DesignPrinciplesProblems.pdf [Accessed 4/1/2018].