Program
Yasmina Jraissati (IJN)
Determining extensions of cognitively meaningful color categories
The working hypothesis of this talk is that color categorization is characterized by the existence of a set of color terms and categories that are regularly observed across cultures, namely, according to the Basic color terms theory: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, grey, purple, orange. These color terms and categories, called ‘basic’ in the literature, are believed to be cognitively meaningful, to the extent that they are believed to be independent of language, more easily codable and more easily remembered than non-basic categories.
I would like to suggest that there may be a set of color terms and categories that are cognitively meaningful, however in a lighter sense: these terms are found to be used more consistently and more quickly in reference to color samples, and seem to cause categorical perception effects. What are these cognitively meaningful terms? How do we identify them? According to the Basic color terms theory, basic terms are identifiable based on a set of 8 mainly linguistic criteria. I would like to suggest that cognitively meaningful categories are referred to by color terms that are referentially consensual. Color terms that are used by the majority of the members of a linguistic community in reference to the same color samples stabilize into cognitively meaningful color terms and categories. This conceptual tool also allows us to consider how individually meaningful categories stabilize in collectively meaningful ones, thus giving us a deeper insight into the mechanisms underlying color categorization and the determination of the extensions of color categories. In this talk, I will explore the experimental potential and limits of this approach to color categorization, as well as go over its theoretical implications.
