Unusual features in the colour classification of Modern Irish

In this thesis I investigate the unusual features found in the Modern Irish colour classification system, relative to features of colour naming found in other languages. Within the Indo-European language family, the Celtic languages are the only ones that have a grue category, which means there is one colour term denoting both green and blue, rather than distinct terms that express both these categories. In Irish, however, there is a term for grue, plus two additional terms for green and blue. This is not just a feature unattested in IE languages, it is an anomaly worldwide as well. Other dissimilarities with IE languages include the basic referents of colour terms when describing humans: in many languages, colour terms refer to complexion, but in Irish this is haircolour. Lastly, the total number of basic colour terms of Irish is unusual as well: despite the colour lexicon being very extensive, the colour terms denoting orange, pink, purple, and brown, are considered non-basic or...Show moreIn this thesis I investigate the unusual features found in the Modern Irish colour classification system, relative to features of colour naming found in other languages. Within the Indo-European language family, the Celtic languages are the only ones that have a grue category, which means there is one colour term denoting both green and blue, rather than distinct terms that express both these categories. In Irish, however, there is a term for grue, plus two additional terms for green and blue. This is not just a feature unattested in IE languages, it is an anomaly worldwide as well. Other dissimilarities with IE languages include the basic referents of colour terms when describing humans: in many languages, colour terms refer to complexion, but in Irish this is haircolour. Lastly, the total number of basic colour terms of Irish is unusual as well: despite the colour lexicon being very extensive, the colour terms denoting orange, pink, purple, and brown, are considered non-basic or secondary terms.Show less

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Unusual features in the colour classification of Modern Irish