Abstract

Color perception does not have critical importance from the perspective of survival in modern society; however the ability to discriminate colors enriches the image of visually perceivable world significantly. A human eye can see millions of color hues, at the same time cultural differences play an important role in color perception, which has been influenced by color practices and traditions in a concrete linguistic environment. This study focuses on the influence of a language, and on color perception, based on an example of Estonian and Russian languages. Mixed method is used in the study, the role of the language on influencing color perception is analyzed on an example of Estonian and Russian languages; based on Estonian helesinine light blue and tumesinine dark blue color and Russian goluboy (голубой) and siniy (синий) color categorization and category boundaries. Also, categorization of gradient colors of green and blue among native Estonian and Russian speakers is being analyzed. The results: beginning boundary of dark blue color based on the Estonian language does not match the beginning boundary of the Russian language-based siniy color. The category of dark blue begins perceivably from darker blue color than the category of siniy. Siniy beginning boundary is expressed more specifically by the speakers of Russian, it is more clearly determined than the beginning boundary of dark blue color category among the native speakers of Estonian. Naming and categorization of gradient colors of blue and green vary, which is resulting from comparison of Estonian and Russian language groups; it also varies on setting the task differently within the same language group, and in both study groups, the one of native Estonian speakers and of native Russian speakers. The boundary of green and blue color is not clearly determined in the Estonian language; therefore, the gradient colors of blue and green categories can be perceived equally as greenish-blue or bluish-green. Therefore, based on an example of Estonian and Russian languages, it can be confirmed that color perception is influenced by culture through the language.

Keywords: Color perception; Linguistic categorization; Language; Culture