American Journal Of Philological Sciences
220
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VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
220-225
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue06-58
Study of Phraseological Units with Color Components in
The Integration of Linguistics and Other Sciences
Djumamuratov Kuanishbay
Doctoral student at Karakalpak State University, Uzbekistan
Received:
23 April 2025;
Accepted:
19 May 2025;
Published:
21 June 2025
Abstract:
This study explores phraseological units containing color components through the lens of linguistics,
psychology, cognitive science, and cultural studies. The research draws on comparative analysis of color terms
and their symbolic functions across English, Russian, and Karakalpak languages. A historical and theoretical
overview of color semantics is provided, incorporating insights from evolutionary linguistics, psycholinguistics,
and linguistic relativity. Seminal works by Sapir, Whorf, Berlin, Kay, Goethe, Wierzbicka, and Frumkina are
reviewed to examine the physiological, semantic, and cultural aspects of color perception. The hypothesis is that
extralinguistic factors cause differences in how various cultures conceptualize and linguistically encode color.
Structural and semantic changes in phraseological units are explored in connection with their cultural significance.
Findings highlight the universality of basic color perception and the deep cultural divergence in meaning, with a
focus on phraseological expression, symbolic richness, and cognitive structuring of color semantics. The research
contributes to the understanding of color as a complex semiotic and cultural phenomenon embedded in language.
Keywords:
Color semantics, phraseological units, cultural symbolism, cognitive linguistics, linguistic relativity,
Karakalpak language, psycholinguistics.
Introduction:
The symbolic and semantic study of color
has become central to various disciplines, including
linguistics, psychology, biology, and cultural studies.
Color functions as a significant cultural code and
linguistic symbol. This paper reviews scholarly
perspectives on color terms across different languages
and their symbolic roles in phraseology.
Over the past decade, the issue of studying color-
denoting units has been at the center of attention of
scientists in various fields of knowledge, including
evolutionary (N.B. Bakhilina 1975; T.V. Vendina 1999;
W.J. Jones 2013), psychological (R.M. Frumkina 1984;
A.P. Vasilevich 2013; V. Rakhilina 2000), and
linguocultural aspects of colorative units (S.G. Ter-
Minasova 2000). Such studies are related to traditional
phraseology and paremiology (N.F. Alefirenko, E.F.
Arsentyeva, R.A. Ayupova, T.G. Bochina, D.N.
Davletbaeva, D.O. Dobrovolsky, A.V. Kunin, V.M.
Mokienko, G.L. Permyakov, Z.K. Tarlanov, V.N.
Fattakhova, T.N. Fedulenkova, V.K. Kharchenko),
linguoculturology (R.R. Zamaletdinov, V.I. Karasik, M.L.
Kovshova), and psycholinguistics (R.M. Frumkina, N.V.
Ufimtseva).
METHODS
The study employs a comparative, analytical, and
descriptive method by: Reviewing theoretical
frameworks and historical research, analyzing
phraseological units containing color components in
English and Karakalpak languages, identifying semantic
and cultural functions of color terms, examining
structural changes in phraseology through discursive
and contextual usage.
RESULTS
Color is a broad cultural code that helps to overcome
"cultural color blindness" in the interactions between
different peoples (Belov A.I. 1988). For many centuries,
scientists have attempted to delve into the
physiological nature of color, understand its effect on
people, and learn to symbolize it. The role of color in all
linguistic manifestations varies among different
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peoples, ethnic groups, and even among individuals.
The symbolic meanings of color terms reflect the
appearance of each existing language (color)
phenomenon. The importance and complexity of
studying color phenomena in language is determined
by the symbolic richness of color semantics and its
"uneven" reflection in different languages. Coloratives
function as "semiotic condensers" that perform the
role of cultural memory mechanisms (Gataulina L.R.
2005). The national and cultural peculiarities of color
symbols are especially evident in phraseological units,
traditions, legends, and religious customs.
For many centuries, scientists have attempted to delve
into the physical nature of color, determine its
influence on human consciousness, and study its
properties. Color perception has attracted the
attention of researchers in various fields of science, and
color concepts have become the object of study for
many fundamental sciences: biology, physics,
psychology, philology, linguoculturology, and others.
Color is considered the most essential category of
knowledge about the world. Naturally, every language
has a set of adjectives, among which are words
denoting color meanings. In the mid-19th century,
scientists became interested in the problem of
linguistic perception of color. To test the linguistic
relativity hypothesis, E. Sapir and B. Whorf chose the
color space, as it is convenient for study due to the
possibility of unambiguously determining any color
through objective physical measurements (in terms of
hue, brightness, and saturation). In the 1920s and
1930s, the concept of a close relationship between
language structure, qualities of thinking, and ways of
understanding the external world was developed.
According to the American philologist E. Sapir,
..."contrary to what people believe, they do not live
solely in an objective world of activity; they are greatly
influenced by the language that serves as a means of
communication for their society. It is erroneous to think
that we can fully comprehend reality without resorting
to language, or that language is merely a secondary tool
for solving specific problems of thought. In fact, the
'real world' is unconsciously built upon the linguistic
norms of a particular group." B. Whorf (Whorf B. 1960)
puts forward the doctrine of linguistic determinism (a
unidirectional causal relationship between language
and cognitive processes): ..."the basis of any language's
linguistic system (in other words, its grammar) is not a
simple tool of perception. On the contrary, grammar
itself shapes thinking and serves as a program for
human intellectual activity." According to these
scholars, thinking and understanding do not depend on
which language a person speaks.
In the fundamental work of B. Berlin and P. Kay "Basic
Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution," an
attempt was made to create a classification of the color
vocabulary. The English scholars analyzed linguistic
processes in 98 languages belonging to different
language families. To determine the basic color terms,
they used the following main criteria:
1) color terms should be monolexemic, that is, their
meaning should not be derived from the meanings of
their parts;
2) the meaning of one color term should not be
included in the meaning of another;
3) the use of color terms should not be limited to a
certain class of objects;
4) the color designation should be present in the
dictionary.
The following conclusions were drawn during the
analysis. Firstly, there is a basic universal range
consisting of eleven primary color categories. They are
used in all forms of language. The main color categories
include: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown,
orange, gray.
Secondly, if a language has fewer than eleven basic
color categories, there are certain constraints on which
categories can be included. Berlin and Kay note:
1) all languages have terms for white and black;
2) if a language has three terms, then it will have a term
for red;
3) if a language has four terms, then it will have a term
for either green or yellow;
4) if a language has five terms, then it will have terms
for both green and yellow;
5) if a language has six terms, then it will have a term
for blue;
6) if there are seven terms in the language, the word
qoñır is included;
7) if there are eight or more color terms in a language,
then there are terms for violet, orange, and gray (Berlin
B., Kay P. 1968).
Berlin and Kay note that the main criteria for describing
color units for Indo-European languages are hue,
brightness, and saturation. The positions of B. Berlin
and P. Kay were, on the one hand, perceived as
meaningless, their theses found followers, and on the
other hand, some scientists perceived them negatively.
I.V. Goethe's "Theory of Color" is one of the most
noteworthy works dedicated to color issues. In it, the
author divides the colors into "positive" - yellow, red-
yellow (dark yellow), yellow-red and "negative" - blue,
red-blue and blue-red. I.V. Goethe considered green a
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neutral color. The first group of colors, in the author's
opinion, evokes a cheerful, lively mood, while the
second group conveys a distracted, soft, and sad mood
(Bazima B.A. 2005).
In Russian linguistics, there are numerous approaches
to studying color-related lexical units. Many notable
works have been dedicated to the comparative analysis
of phraseological and paremiological units containing
color components across different languages (Yu.V.
Zolnikova 2010; J. Suchova 2015; Ya.A. Biyik 2016). R.R.
Zakirov examined the formation mechanisms of
phraseological units in English, Russian, and Tatar
languages (Zakirov R.R. 2003), while L.R. Gataullina
investigated color culture using materials from English,
German, French, Russian, and Tatar languages
(Gataulina L.R. 2005).
In her fundamental work "Language. Culture. Mind,"
Polish linguist A. Wierzbicka attempts to find natural
prototypes from the surrounding environment for
primary colors (Wierzbicka A. 1996). A. Wierzbicka
notes that a prototype is suitable for representing
characteristics and features inherent to a certain
category. With this approach, the red color unit is a
prototype, and its variations like pink and burgundy
belong to its categories (Zavialova E.E. 201). The Polish
linguist determined the relationship between black and
night, white and day. Prototype referents were
selected for green and blue colors, which are plants and
sky respectively. An example confirming this idea can
be cited from the Karakalpak language: in the phrase
"aspan kok" (sky blue), "aspan" (sky) is the prototype of
the blue color; in the phrase "sary quyash" (yellow sun),
"quyash" (sun) is not associated with yellow color
without reason. The soil or earth itself is considered
brown. Choosing a prototype referent for red is a
difficult task because there is no stable prototype for
this color in the environment. Some associate it with
blood, but we are not confronted with this presumed
analog every day; the sky, plants, and sun are more
present in our reality.
The etymology of the word "Adam" can be traced back
to religious perspectives. For example, in all religious
manifestations of Christianity, the concept of "Man" is
represented by units such as "First Man," "Adam," and
"Eve," while in all religious manifestations of Islam, the
concept of "Adam" is also represented by these same
elements. Additionally, in Islam, it has verbalizers such
as "First Prophet," "a drop of water," "flesh," "servant,"
"dust," "red earth," and "soul."
K.G.K.Kdirbaeva (Kurbanbaeva G.G. 2023) proposes
that the origin of the word "Adam" is connected to the
ancient Hebrew language, where it conveyed the
meanings of "human," "earth," and "red." This view
corroborates the statements of A. Wierzbicka.
After thoroughly analyzing color terms in various
languages, A. Wierzbicka concluded in her work "Color
Designations and Universals of Visual Perception":
..."color concepts are associated with certain 'universal
elements of human experience,' and these universal
elements can be approximately defined as: day-night,
sun, fire, vegetation, sky, and earth." Anna Wierzbicka
(Wierzbicka A. 1996) raises the main issue in the fields
of linguistics and cognitive linguistics, which is the
difference between the physiological perception of
color and its conceptualization in language and culture.
She employs methods based on describing the
semantics of color terms, as Wierzbicka notes,
analyzing how color terms are represented in different
languages, what semantic components they contain,
and how their meanings are formed. She proposes a
semantic analysis of color terms based on universal
primitives (NSM - Natural Semantic Metalanguage).
This confirms that even basic colors can contain cultural
and symbolic meanings. At the same time, Wierzbicka,
based on research on the neurophysiology of color
perception, shows that color has a biological basis - the
retina of the eye receives light of a certain wavelength,
and the brain processes this information and generates
color images. This is a universal physiological process
common to all. Despite the universality of physiological
perception, Wierzbicka notes that the semantics and
cultural understanding of color differ significantly
across languages. For example: in Russian, синий and
голубой are different colors, but in English they are
combined into one color (blue). In some African
languages, there are no separate terms for green and
blue, while in Chinese, white can signify morning, and
in Western culture, it can represent purity.
Thus, colors are perceived by all people in
approximately the same way from a physiological point
of view, but their linguistic and cultural analysis can
differ
significantly.
This
confirms
that
the
conceptualization of color is not a mere reflection of
simple physiological processes, but the result of a
complex interaction between language, culture, and
thinking.
An important role in the study of color terms is played
by P.M. Frumkina's (Frumkina R.M. 1984) monograph
"Color, Meaning, Similarity," in which the main task is
"to study the semantic relations in the group of words
and phrases intended for the expression of color," that
is, color terms are studied from a cognitive aspect. She
experimentally studies the features and denotative
meanings of words, thereby providing the structure of
the color names block. The author concludes that the
main color group is conditional and refutes the
statement that "in language A there are five main color
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terms, in language B there are ten colors." It is
suggested that native speakers perceive color terms as
a whole, integrated entity that cannot be divided into
structural parts.
In the work of R.M. Frumkina, the necessity of the
cognitive approach in studying color terms is
emphasized. R.M. Frumkina examines the systematic
relationships between color terms in language,
determining their semantic features, similarities, and
connections. For example, she considers the
relationship between primary and derived color terms
(red - reddish, burgundy) and what metaphorical and
associative meanings different colors have (black
humor, white-hearted). The cognitive aspect of
studying coloratives, according to R.M. Frumkina,
involves considering color terms not only as names of
types but as elements of the entire conceptual picture.
This implies that colors have culturally and cognitively
significant meanings that reflect ways of perceiving and
classifying the world. For instance, in the Karakalpak
language, green might be associated with youth, while
white could be linked to purity and kindness. R.M.
Frumkina
conducts
experimental
studies
of
connotative
and
denotative
meanings.
Thus,
denotative meaning refers to certain words being
assigned as signs to specific colors (blue and its
varieties). Connotative meaning reveals the additional
meanings that color terms acquire in speech (for
example, "blue" can indicate not only the color but also
a state of intoxication). The structure of the color block
suggests models for organizing color names in
language, showing how they are grouped, hierarchized,
and interact with each other. This helps determine
which colors are primary, which are peripheral, and
how they are related in semantic space. R.M.
Frumkina's work is very significant because color in
language is not only a physiological phenomenon but
also a complex system of meanings and categories
shaped by cognitive and cultural factors. She asserts
that it is impossible to study color terms without taking
into account their semantic, psychological, and
cognitive qualities.
A valuable source for studying the development of
color symbolism is B.A. Bazym's work "Psychology of
Color: Theory and Practice." It discusses the analysis
and development of color semantics in the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance, as well as in philosophical
teachings of the 17th-19th centuries and the provision
of color symbolic forms and content in the 20th
century. The author identifies three stages of color
symbolic development:
1)
cosmological
(mythological)
-
this
stage
encompasses the color symbols of "primitive peoples,
the ancient world, and ancient times";
2) religious (theological), which covers the period from
ancient times to the pre-Renaissance era;
3) socio-psychological (Renaissance period). Color is
considered as a socio-political, social, and individual
psychological process and phenomenon (Bazima B.A.
2005).
B.A. Bazima concludes that color is not a blank page on
which a person can write anything they want. Color
evokes specific reactions and changes in a person's
psychological world; analysis of these leads to color
associations and characteristics. According to B.A.
Bazima, color perception is described as either neutral
or with its own dominant element. It carries deep
psychological and symbolic meaning, influencing
human thoughts, feelings, associations, and behaviors.
We oppose the "blank page" concept mentioned in the
quote, as B.A. Bazima rejects the idea of color as a
neutral carrier of meaning that can be freely
interpreted. This contradicts radical relativism, which
holds that the meaning of color depends solely on
cultural traditions and individual experience. Instead,
he points out that color inherently elicits certain
reactions. Colors trigger automatic sensory and
cognitive responses in people. For example, red can be
associated with energy, danger, or aggression; blue is
associated with calmness, confidence, and stability,
while yellow is associated with joy and optimism.
These reactions are influenced by biological and
cultural factors. B.A. Bazima emphasizes that color
perception is not independent but connected to the
properties of the human psyche. Color not only elicits
physiological and sensory reactions but also serves as a
foundation for the formation of symbols. In Western
culture, white symbolizes purity and innocence, while
in some Asian traditions, it signifies mourning. Black
may be associated with elegance (black suit) or death
and mourning. Green is often linked to nature, life, and
rebirth. Thus, color symbolism is a combination of
innate reactions and cultural meanings. B.A. Bazima
notes the close relationship between color, psychology,
and symbolism. Colors cannot be interpreted entirely
independently, as they trigger certain psychological
reactions. Color perception is formed at the
intersection of biological mechanisms and cultural
traditions, creating stable associations and figurative
meanings across different languages and societies.
The research of A.P. Vasilevich (Vasilevich A.P. 2003)
plays a significant role in studying color terms from an
etymological perspective. His work "Etymology of Color
Names as a Mirror of National-Cultural Consciousness"
is dedicated to the history of words denoting colors, the
process of their emergence, and the substitution of
some words with others. The word "qizil" (red) has a
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common Indo-European root preserved in many
languages (compare the English word "red" and the
German word "rot"). The word "qizil" initially meant
"beautiful," but by the end of the 18th century, it
acquired its current meaning. The author thoroughly
analyzed the color terms for brown, dark yellow,
motley, and blue/sky blue.
In a study conducted by N.V. Serov (Serov N.V. 1995),
titled "Symbolism of Color/Color Symbols," color
semantics is presented from the perspective of an
archetypal model accumulated over millennia. Based
on the chromatic relationships in phraseological units,
the author provides the following definition of color:
"ideal (intellectual) connected through material
(physical/physiological)
sensations
as
their
information-energy relations."
Until today, the study of coloronyms in Turkology has
been limited to separate studies and explanations. The
topic of color is not as widely covered in Turkic
philology as it is in foreign and Russian languages. In
scientific research, there are works devoted to the
description of color terms in Turkic languages in
onomastics, comparative analysis of coloronyms, or
analysis of their usage in fiction.
The initial hypothesis of the study is that due to
extralinguistic factors, certain color types are perceived
differently in each nation. This determines the
presence or absence of coloronyms in the speech of
representatives of different nationalities, as well as
their varying frequency. This fact explains the
qualitative and quantitative differences between the
color-related units of the English and Karakalpak
languages as part of phraseological and paremiological
units.
Color words constitute one of the most important parts
of the entire linguistic picture of any ethnocultural
society and are inherently anthropocentric, as they
express in words the result of human consciousness
interpreting many types of the color spectrum. At the
same time, the national-cultural qualities of color terms
are defined semantically and functionally. This is
explained by the differences in the worldviews of
different ethnic groups.
In the compared languages, the semantic structure of
color terms has a three-level organization represented
by core, near-core, and peripheral zones. The core is
created by prototypical color referents, while the near-
core zone contains values close to the prototypical
referents. In English-speaking and Karakalpak-speaking
cultures, color meanings are distinguished by their core
and peripheral areas. Differences are identified in the
peripheral zone due to the unique characteristics of the
cultural and historical traditions of these peoples.
DISCUSSION
Color is not a neutral medium; it is shaped by a culture's
worldview, history, and linguistic traditions. While the
physiology of color perception is universal, its
conceptualization is culturally constructed. Scholars
like Wierzbicka argue that colors serve as cultural
memory devices and prototypes within language.
Structural modifications of phraseological units reveal
the dynamic interaction between culture, cognition,
and language.
CONCLUSION
In various discourses, color units are used in
phraseological expressions with usual (traditional) and
occasional components. The occasional use of
phraseological units containing color names in both
languages involves utilizing a wide arsenal of linguistic
tools to modify the cognitive-semantic structure of
fundamentally stable linguistic units: expanding the
composition of components, replacing structural parts,
contamination, mutual actualization, ellipsis, and
aphorism. Structural and semantic changes in
phraseological units with a color component are
determined by the communicative and pragmatic
conditions for the functioning of stable linguistic units
with the studied component in contextual and
discursive situations, which are also characterized by
the visual aspect of reflection.
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