The terms for black and white and their development in the Uralic languages

Authors

• Ilona Rauhala https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8539-3613

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33340/susa.82437

Abstract

This article deals with the colour terms for black and white in the Uralic languages, concentrating on their semantic development. Berlin and Kay (1969) suggest that all languages should have at least two basic colour terms: 'black' and 'white'.  In the Uralic languages there is more than one old term for white, but the terms for black are rather young and etymologically unclear. The reason for this may lie in affect. In the Uralic data words denoting 'dirty' or 'unclear' may develop into a term for black. However, the denotation 'dark (of light)' does not seem to develop into a term for black. The old terms for white have the denotations 'bright' and 'pure, clean', but these denotations do not overlap without the denotation 'white'.