Orð og tunga - 01.06.2013, Page 144

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Orð og tunga
terms for yellow (gelb) and orange (orange), resulted in comparable
number ranges, particularly with regard to the average starting point
in the red area of the spectrum. There is no doubt that there is a uni-
form consent amongst Icelanders of what is conceived of as appelsínu-
gulur and that the term is distinct from yellow.
One survey participant described a dark-orange object as rauð-
appelsínugulur 'red like a yellow orange' and, as noted, some par-
ticipants occasionally indicated nuances of orange with the common
prefixes dökk-, Ijós-, and skær-. The fact that shades of orange are de-
scribed by adding prefixes to the term appelsínugulur (rather than gul-
ur or rauður), supports the argument that appelsínugulur is its own lex-
emic unit, clearly defined and distinct from gulur and rauður. It would
not be necessary to add the prefix rauð- to a compound color term
(appelsínugulur), if the compound itself was considered a subclass of
another color (gulur).27 There are multiple examples of rauðgulur. The
term can undoubtedly be used to describe dark orange objects, ren-
dering a creation such as rauðappelsínugulur unnecessary. The only
explanation appears to be that appelsínugulur is considered a lexemic
entity in itself rather than a secondary color term, a shade or subclass
of yellow. Accordingly, it fits Berlin and Kay's second criterion for a
basic color term in that "it is not included in that of any other color
term" (1969:6).
7 Conclusion
The examples of color terms for orange in Modern Icelandic and the
survey results reveal that in the past, Icelanders clearly associated
the color with yellow more than with red. While the dominant term
appelsínugulur may originally have been perceived as a shade of yel-
low, this study shows that it is now psychologically salient and not
necessarily considered a sub-class of yellow. Appelsínugulur should
be considered a basic color term despite its compound nature, as the
monolexemic criterion put forth by Berlin and Kay is problematic.
Correspondingly, Modern Icelandic should be considered a Stage VII
language with at least ten, if not all eleven basic color terms: svartur,
27 Comparably, while descriptive color terms such as 'reddish yellow/ 'reddish or-
ange/ 'orange-yellow/ or 'orange-red' are easily acceptable and understandable
in English, a color term such as 'reddish orange-yellow/ consisting of three indi-
vidual color terms, would be very uncommon.