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In:Colour Studies: A broad spectrum
Edited by Wendy Anderson, Carole P. Biggam, Carole Hough and Christian Kay
[Not in series 191] 2014
► pp. 291–306

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Color seeing and speaking

Effects of biology, environment and language

 | University of Messina, Italy
 | University of Messina, Italy
Published online: 26 November 2014
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https://doi.org/10.1075/z.191.19ple
The ability humans have of seeing colors is strongly influenced by three fundamental factors: biology, which constrains the visual system of our species; the environment, which provides our experience with the world; and language, in which colors acquire names. Recent studies on the Berinmo and Himba languages have challenged the mainstream view about the universalism of color terms. These cases can also be helpful in investigating the possible impact the environment can have, since the landscapes in which the two groups live are drastically different.  We propose a computational model of visual and linguistic processing paths in the cortex, previously used for simulating the influence of Berinmo and Himba color terms, and extended for investigating the combined effects of language and environment.
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