Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.51> Article
Research Article

The Influence of Language on Color Cognition in Different Cultural Backgrounds

Yi FeiWLSA Academy*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

It has been firmly established that one's native language influences one’s worldview. This article delves into this concept through three experiments, examining the fundamentals of color perception, variations in color naming across different cultural contexts, and the relationship between language and color cognition. The first experiment revealed that Greek speakers distinguish colors faster than English speakers. In the second experiment, Mongolian language users differentiated visual search displays belonging to distinct linguistic categories more swiftly than those within the same category. These findings solidify the subtle impact of specific linguistic terms on human color perception. Numerous studies conclusively link color cognition with language, albeit the precise mechanisms vary. Furthermore, such effects can be altered, for instance, by learning to better distinguish blue from green. The article explores the underlying reasons for these differing impacts of language on color cognition and how they might be manipulated. It offers deeper insights into how language shapes our understanding of color.

Keywords: Psychology; color cognition; Linguistic; different culture.
Published: November 26, 2024
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/51/20242555
Volume: CHR Vol.51
pp. 129-134
Download PDF

References

  1. Regier, T., and Kay, P. (2009). Language, thought, and color: whorf was half right. Trends Cogn. Sci. 13, 439–446. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.07.001
  2. Zhong, W., Li, Y., Huang, Y., Li, H., & Mo, L. (2017). Is the Lateralized Categorical Perception of Color a Situational Effect of Language on Color Perception? *Cognition*, 166, 150-160. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12493
  3. Gilbert, A. L., Regier, T., Kay, P., and Ivry, R. B. (2006). Whorf hypothesis is supported in the right visual field but not the left. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 489–494. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0509868103
  4. Drivonikou, G. V., Kay, P., Regier, T., Ivry, R. B., Gilbert, A. L., Franklin, A., et al. (2007). Further evidence that Whorfian effects are stronger in the right visual field than the left. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 1097–1102. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0610132104
  5. Roberson, D., Pak, H., and Hanley, J. R. (2008). Categorical perception of colour in the left and right visual field is verbally mediated: evidence from Korean. Cognition 107, 752–762. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2007.09.001
  6. Bird, C. M., Berens, S. C., Horner, A. J., and Franklin, A. (2014). Categorical encoding of color in the brain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 111, 4590–4595. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1315275111
  7. Friederici, A. D. (2011). The brain basis of language processing: from structure to function. Physiological Reviews, 91(4), 1357-1392. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00006.2011
  8. Chen, Rong. (2021). Cultural Differences and Translation of Chinese and English Color Words. Review of Educational Theory. 4. 1. 10.30564/ret.v4i1.2524.
  9. Envision Color: Activity Patterns in the Brain Are Specific to the Color You See. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from (https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/envision-color-activity-patterns-brain-are-specific-color-you-see).
  10. Seeing Color. (n.d.). The American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved from https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/brain/seeing-color#:~:text=Different%20rods%20and%20cones%20react%20to%20different%20wavelengths%2C, nerves%20carry%20signals%20around%20the%20brain%20and%20body.(Accessed on [August 10, 2024]).
  11. Boroditsky, L., & others. (2003). Sex, syntax, and semantics. In D. Gentner & S. Goldin-Meadow (Eds.), Language in Mind: Advances in the Study of Language and Cognition (pp. 61-79). MIT Press.
  12. Boroditsky, L. (2007). Do English and Mandarin Speakers Think Differently About Time? In Proceedings of the 48th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society (pp. 34).
  13. GR Mangun, MH Buonocore, M Girelli, AP Jha, ERP and fMRI measures of visual spatial selective attention. Hum Brain Mapp 6, 383–389 (1998).
  14. Thierry, G., Athanasopoulos, P., Wiggett, A., & Kuipers, J.-R. (2009). Unconscious effects of language-specific terminology on preattentive color perception. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(11), 4567–4570. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811155106
  15. J Winawer, et al., Russian blues reveal effects of language on color discrimination. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104, 7780–7785 (2007).
  16. He, H., Li, J., Xiao, Q., Jiang, S., Yang, Y., & ZhiSheng, S. (2019). Language and Color Perception: Evidence From Mongolian and Chinese Speakers. Frontiers in Psychology, Section: Cognition, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00551