The human eye can physically perceive millions of colors. But we don’t all recognize these in the same way

A form of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

In a 2007 study, scientists at Stanford had English and Russian speakers look at a computer screen where an image was shown of three blocks stacked in a triangle. The top block always matched one of the two bottom blocks, and all blocks appeared in one of twenty different shades of what an English speaker would call blue, and what a Russian speaker would call either goluboy or siniy. Subjects were asked to hit a button once they had identified the matching block. The results showed that Russian speakers could distinguish between dark and light shades of blue 10% faster than English speakers could. This suggests language categories do indeed affect color perception, at least to a minor degree.

In fact, our perceptions of color may change over time if there is a change in linguistic environment. In Greek, as in Russian, there are two different terms used to describe light and dark blue. However, one study showed that after living for long periods of time in the United Kingdom, where English lumps ghalazio and ble into the larger category of blue, Greek speakers begin to see these two colors as more similar

How Does Color Enter Language?

When we consider the differences in color categories across languages, the way we divide up the color spectrum may seem rather arbitrary. And in fact, this was believed to be the case until a groundbreaking study done by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay in 1969. Their research showed that colors enter language in a fixed order. If a language only has two color terms, they will equate to ‘black,’ or dark hues, and ‘white,’ or light hues. This doesn’t mean speakers of such languages are unable to see the full spectrum of colors. But their categories are broader than ours. The third color to enter language is always red, which may include colors that are further delineated in English, such as orange. Next follows either yellow or green, with the other being the fifth term. So, if a language has just five color categories, they will always be black, white, red, yellow, and green. Finally, blue and then brown enter the color lexicon.

Most languages have between two and eleven basic color categories. And yet, some – including Bellonese, Mursi, Pirahã, Warlpiri, Kalam, and Yele – have none. Rather than using color as a principal category for dividing up the world, they focus on other characteristics, such as pattern, ripeness, brightness, translucence, humidity, shape, or location. Where an English speaker might say, “I hate brown bananas,” they might say, “I hate ripe bananas,” or, “I hate soft bananas.” It’s not that they are unaware that a ripe banana is brown, but that color is not the preferred method of interpreting the physical world.