Singing the Russian Blues: An Argument for Culturally Basic Color Terms

Abstract

The universal inventory of basic color terms (BCTs) consists of 11 terms, including a single blue term. Russian has two terms for blue, sinij (dark blue) and goluboj (light blue). The proposed status of goluboj as the 12th basic term challenges theory stating the upper limit of BCTs. This article reviews a body of research on the Russian blues and draws on arguments from lexical-semantic analysis and linguistic and psycholinguistic studies. It is argued that goluboj, being symbolically charged, emerged in Russian as culturally basic. Counterparts of the Russian blues in other languages are considered. Within a context beyond Russian, the potential refinement of the blue area is suggested to follow perceptual-cognitive universals. This is reinforced by language and culturally specific semiotics. By drawing attention to a distinction between denotative and designative meaning, the issue of the Russian blues calls into question the proper definition of a basic color term.