[864] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: additions to Klingon? (color terms)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Fri May 14 01:37:52 1993
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Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
From: laibow@brick.purchase.edu (The Songbringer -- Marnen to the common fol
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
Date: Thu, 13 May 93 16:59:54 EDT
In-Reply-To: <93May12.150539pdt.11981@alpha.xerox.com>; from "Ken_Beesley.PARC@
Ken_Beesley.PARC@xerox.com says:
: Color-term translation among human languages can be tricky. Scottish Gaelic
: has a basic color term, I believe it is gorm, that does roughly cover the ran
ge
: of English blue and green. A Scottish-Gaelic farmer with imperfect English i
s
: reputed to have said "You canna harvest that wheat yet; it's too blue."
This particular situation (green=blue) is fairly common; it holds to some
degree in Japanese, where "ao" (blue) can also mean green, but "midori" only
means green. I believe "ao" is the older word.
: The
: ancient Greeks are also reputed to have used a color term (can anyone identif
y
: it?) that is often translatable as English "green" but is also used to descri
be
: pale human complexions and other things where "green" seems totally
: implausible. Some commentators, not realizing that color terms are
: linguistically and culturally relative, have even suggested that the ancient
: Greeks were colorblind.
Interesting. I believe Berlin & Kay give the term -- it might be "xlwros"
[x=chi, w=omega]... We speak of people turning green in disgust, don't we? Food
for thought...
: Ken B.
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