Re: Semantic typology?

Exactly. Berlin and Kay brought their own occi-centrist perceptions to bear
in their study. Hawaiian has several terms for black, for instance, which do
not necessarily relate to 'wavelength'. And what about terms like Welsh
brith 'particoloured' - is that a colour term?
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex Fink" <000024@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 6:24 PM
Subject: Re: Semantic typology?


>>I've read -- though it escapes me where at the moment -- that on the
>>grounds
>>of representation in the lexicon and textual usage, the system of colour
>>terms on the whole were really secondary to the system of terms describing
>>luster in Old English.  Likewise many languages whose scheme of true
>>colour
>>terms is poor are often supposed to be well stocked in terms combining
>>colour/lustre/texture/whatever other aspects of visual appearance: there
>>might not be a "yellow" but there might be a "yellow, dry, and brittle,
>>like
>>dead grass".
>