Re: [tied] Re: Color and caste

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 3741
Date: 2000-09-16

 
----- Original Message -----
From: HÃ¥kan Lindgren
To: Cybalist
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 8:31 AM
Subject: [tied] Re: Color and caste
 
Yes, it's the Berlin and Kay hypothesis, well supported by cross-linguistic evidence.
 
Piotr

Your discussion about colours makes me remember a theory I once read. According to this theory, all languages develop colour names in the same order. First, there are no colour names, just words for "light" and "dark". Then they get red, which always is the first colour. Then a common word for blue and green. Then yellow. Then blue-green splits into separate words for blue and green. Etc..
 
Has anyone else heard this? Is this credible?
 
Hakan.