Colour connotations

Are they universal?

Research question
Are all connotations with colours cultural or are some universal?

Hypothesis
Cultures are known to influence the way people think, so its logical to assume
colour connotations are culture-specific. However, as colours are something of the
natural world (which is heavily influential on culture), its also logical to assume that
some colours may have similar meanings in different cultures.

Methodology
Analysing information from sources that compare the meanings of colours across
cultures. One of these sources contrasts colour connotation between Chinese and
English; the other is a more general overview on how language affects peoples
thinking, and devoted a large amount of its research on colour. Bij comparing the
information from these sources, the research question can be answered.

Results
Some colours seem to have shared meanings across cultures, whilst others do not.
For example, red is always seen as a very strong colour, but the meaning of the
colour is different in different cultures. [1] This seems to be the case with every
colour- something is fundamentally the same across cultures but the connotations
of that colour are mainly cultural. Words for colours share another interesting trait
among cultures; they all developed in the same order, from red to blue.
Furthermore, in some cultures there are more specific words for certain colours than
it others. Purplish-blue would be difficult to name in Chinese, whilst in English, the
darker, somewhat greyish hue of cyan needs, as is obvious, and entire phrase
describing it. (So does, coincidentally, the slightly grey, somewhat light shade of
yellow we would just call beige in Dutch.) It is also noted that the naming of
colours between different languages is different not only in terms of what colours
are named, but also what part of the spectrum those names refer to. For example,
internationally traffic lights use the colour green to indicate traffic may pass. The
definition of this colour of green, however, is decided nationally. This is why, in some
countries, the colour will be more leaf-green, whilst in other countries it will be more
blueish-green. There is a massive difference between the traffic lights in the USA
and in Japan; Japanese traffic lights would be considered cyan-like blue in the USA.
One more point the author mentions, is how our eyesight may have an influence on
what colours we perceive strongly. Because our eyes have three different cones that
register different wavelengths and our brain combines that information to allow us
to perceive different colours, and because were more sensitive to certain
wavelengths than to others, some parts of the light spectrum may seem more
bright to us. (for example, the bright colour yellow, which happens to be
positioned in between green and red in a rather sensitive niche in our eyes ability
to see light)(see diagram below). [2]

Our eyes sensitivity to certain wavelengths peaks around wavelengths with a

length of 560 nm- or alternatively, the colour yellow

Analysis
Generally it seems that most connotations with colours are cultural; for example,
whilst in English red is often seen as a colour which has to do with anger and rage,
in Chinese its the colour of happiness. The historical significance of a colour seems
to be heavily influential on how that colour is perceived by members of that cultural.
[1]
However, there are several similarities of colour connotations that show up in
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almost any culture. These connotations often have to do with nature and
psychology, which means that the reason we relate certain things to that specific
colour is universal and not cultural.
For example, while the connotations of the colour red may differ between cultures,
its seen as a strong colour in all cultures, whilst pastel colours are always
perceived to be more subdued and calming. Different people from different cultures
may think of different things to do with the colour yellow, but all will agree its a
fundamentally bright colour. The simple reason for this is that our eyes are very
good at perceiving the part of the spectrum where light is yellow.
Another interesting fact which seems to indicate our perception, though not
necessarily our connotations of colour is fundamentally the same is that all cultures
develop words for colours in the same order. Some cultures may have more precise
words for some colours than others (for example, cyan and turquoise are more
exact words to indicate a specific kind of greenish-blue), but they all develop
words for colours starting on the red end of the spectrum and moving on to the blue
end. The only difference is that words for green and yellow are sometimes
developed in a different order. This is somewhat logical if red is always perceived to
be a strong colour. After that the most useful words are those for describing the
environment, for example, yellow (and brown, a darker yellow) and green, the
colour of ground and foliage. After that, blue is a very rare colour, all things
considered. In our world we see it often because we are able to produce it
artificially, but if a member of a culture grows up not having bright blue toys handed
to them from when they were small, why would they need a special word for the
colour of the sky when they could just call it sky-green? [2]
After those fundamental connotations with colour, the history of a culture plays a
big role in the meaning of colours. People pass on their experiences through the
generations through media such as art, so if a culture has a longstanding tradition
of showing red in art that depicts festive or just generally happy scenes, people will
continue to keep seeing red as a happy colour and will also continuing on using it as
such.[1]

Discussion
It is possible there is some overlap in these areas of cultural and universal
connotation. For example, red is always seen as a strong colour, but is it always
seen as warm? Is blue always seen as cold? These seem like attributes that are
likely to be cultural, but they might also be natural; fire and hot places like deserts
are more red, snow, ice and water are more blue. But in that case, the geography
would have an influence on the natural connotations colours have in certain
cultures. Also, it may be possible some inherit perceptions of colours overlap, or are
changed by cultural concepts. For example, mint green is a pastel-like, calming
colour, which is why it is applied it hospitals. But people who make regular hospital
visits will start to associate the colour with an unpleasant atmosphere. Moreover,
with some of the more contemporary questions most of our information comes from
western media. The famous blue(or teal)/orange combination found everywhere in
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western media is supposedly based on the orange hue of the (white) skin tone and
the contrasting, colder technological blue- but because this is a globalised media
phenomenon it cannot be compared to other cultures. Might it be possible a
different colour split would occur if this phenomenon had started in a culture where
most of the characters have mainly darker skin tones?
Another discrepancy can be found when looking at our eyes colour sensitivity. Why
is red such a strong colour, if we, by all accounts, actually have difficulty seeing it in
comparison to green, yellow, and orange wavelengths? And how come cyan seems
rather bright, if we are not actually that good at seeing it?
Unfortunately, the available sources dont answer these questions.

Conclusion
Some connotations of colours will be the same across cultures whilst others will be
culture-specific. The reason for this is that psychologically, some colours will always
be perceived the same, while the more nuanced meaning of the colour will depend
on the socio-historical background of a culture.

Bibliography
1) Guimei, H. (2009) English and Chinese Cultural Connotation of Color Words in
Comparison. Qindao University of Science and Technology
2) Deutscher, G. (2010). Through the Language Glass: how words colour your world.
London: William Heinemann.
3) Diagram eyes sensitivity to wavelengths:
http://www.newklages.com/NKI_StandardEye.htm