Basic kala terms and the end of history
Abstract
Abstract In this essay, I will critically explore “colour” as a category in cross-linguistic semantics. Contrasting Berlin and Kay’s paradigm of “Basic Colour Terms” with Wierzbicka’s paradigm of “Visual Semantics”, the aim is partly to make explicit the inherent problems within the Basic Colour Terms tradition, but also to envision a new role and place for “colour” within a broader paradigm of Visual Semantics. Arguing for an approach based on the Humboldtian principle of “no outside to language”, on linguacultural relativity, and on emic-based analytical commitments, the essay proposes a broad, environmental cosmovision of Visual Semantics that allows for a renewal of the study of language, culture, and vision.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Categorization
perception
and language
Language
Metaphor
and Cognition
Color perception and design
Publication details
- Journal / source
- John Benjamins Publishing Company eBooks
- Publisher
- John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Pages
- 1–14
- Publication date
- 20 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter