MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology
Department of English Philology and Intercultural Communication

Color Adjectives in the US Mass Media Discourse

(based on Disney Collection of Fictional Arts)

Bachelor Paper
written by the 4th-year of studies
of the 2nd group of bachelor’s program
“English studies and translation and
two foreign languages”
Field of science – 03 “Humanities”
Specialty – 035 “Philology”
Tеtiana Pomihuieva

Supervised by:
PhD., Daniil Serhiiovych Lytovchenko
«Допущено до захисту»
Протокол засідання кафедри англійської філології
та міжкультурної комунікації
Протокол № 10 від 29.05.2023
Завідувач кафедри _проф. Бєлова А.Д.

Kyiv – 2023
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 3
I. CONCEPT MODELING OF COLOR ADJECTIVES IN ENGLISH .............. 5
1.1. Concept categorization in the universal linguistic patterns ................................ 6
1.2. Spectral approaches to the concept studies of color adjectives .......................... 9
1.2.1. Peculiarities of color palette symbols ......................................................... 10
1.2.2. Classification of colors and their nature ..................................................... 11
1.2.3. Methods of depicting colors ....................................................................... 13
1.3. Methodological approach to the color adjectives evaluation ........................... 14
ІІ. LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC ASPECTS OF COLOR ADJECTIVES
CONCEPTS IN CONTEXT ..................................................................................... 16
2.1. Evaluative integral complex of color images in cognition ............................... 16
2.1.1. Color terms conceptualization .................................................................... 17
2.1.2. Lexical and semantic nature of color spectrum .......................................... 18
2.2. Polysemous relations in the derived senses of color adjectives ....................... 20
2.2.1. Metaphorical nature of colors ..................................................................... 21
2.2.2. Metonymies related to color terms ............................................................. 22
2.3 Phraseological units with a color designation component ................................. 23
2.3.1. Concepts of color names in semantic relations ......................................... 26
2.3.2. Color concepts connotation ....................................................................... 27
III. COLOR ADJECTIVES EVALUATION IN THE US DISNEY FICTIONAL
ARTS .......................................................................................................................... 30
3.1. Componential features of color idioms in the US Arts of Fiction .................... 30
3.1.1. Comparative phraseological units............................................................... 33
3.1.2. Phraseological units with figurative metaphoric meaning ......................... 36
3.1.3. Phraseological units with metonymical significance.................................. 37
3.2. Emotional and expressive functions of color adjective concepts in the US
Disney Crossovers............................................................................................. 40
3.3. Pragmatic potential of color adjectives in American Disney Fictional Arts .... 43
CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................ 48
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 51
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................ 59
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INTRODUCTION
In recent years dissatisfaction of word modeling has been expressed with the
fact that most studies of the combinability of words have followed similar lines. The
linguistic study of word systems is sure to have the potential to be very fruitful
considering the specifics of the human vision system, psychological peculiarities,
lexical and socio-cultural grounds in which different meanings are created. American
scientists B. Berlin and P. Kay were the first to have developed the theories of color
linguistics in 1960. They were followed by such foreign scholars as R. Jacobson,
M. Halle, G. Lakoff, M. Johnsen, E. R. Heider, A. Wierzbicka, I. Davies, G. Corbett,
D. Roberson, J. Davidoff, K. Cherry, L. Iljinska, M. Platonova and native researchers
as I. Babiy, D. Dergach, I. Kovalska, L. Shevchenko, V. Karasik, I. Privalova who
presented their etymological, linguistic and psychological investigations concerning
color terms.
It is necessary to emphasize that each language has its own color scheme which
reflects the features of mentality, history of people, their culture and the world
outlook. In any national culture color has a complex range of symbolic meanings.
The evaluation of color adjective symbolism in semiotics with their semantic
meanings is the reason for the relevance of our study.
The relevance of the research is caused with a proper linguistic modeling of
color adjective evaluative meanings in the US mass media that is made with the
typical use and full referential range of each expression investigated in contexts and
other surfaces in accordance with human expectation for perceiving various semantic,
aesthetic and cultural messages expressed by the phraseological units.
Taking into account the described relevance, the aim of the research is to
attempt at providing a consistent explanation of the ways color adjectives are formed
conducting a more extensive study of their concepts in semantic relations so as to
develop the relations in the derived senses learning the evaluative meanings.
It is the overall aim of the study to respond to the objectives of such a
linguistic description:
− to learn the approaches for modeling color adjective semantics in contexts;
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− to specify semantic and morphological features of color adjectives in the discourse;

− to assume different functions of color adjectives and their usage in context;
− to investigate the specificity of color adjectives in contexts which introduce
additional meanings in the US Disney Tales books and animation collections;
− to provide a detailed modeling of color adjectives in the phraseological units;
− to identify the conceptual processes in the extension of color adjectives meanings
from the prototype.
The subject of the research is the identification of evaluative meanings from
color adjective coding components in the US mass media discourse. The object of
the research is semantic structures of color adjectives in the US Disney Twisted Tales
books, animation collections and human cognition.
The research of color adjective evaluative meanings is based on the methods
of linguistic observations, descriptive criteria and comparative concepts. They help to
describe the semantic nature and relations of color names. Qualitative data collection
methods and analytic approaches are used to identify color adjective patterns and
their classifications to find the concepts. The semiotic, cognitive, discourse
approaches to the described stylistic devices are important to investigate the text
categories, signs, symbols with associative meanings and logics.
The detailed modeling has its theoretical and practical values in Linguistics and
Lexicology. The novelty is in the modeling of color adjective evaluative meanings
that gives the origin, development and their current use depending upon the needs of
social communication for naming things, actions, qualities and their modification that
become better adapted to the needs of the speakers.
The used supporting materials are the articles from the scientific literature of
national and foreign authors, the Internet resources; 1070 extended and brief
examples of color adjectives from the sources of the US Disney Collections of
Fictional Arts; dictionaries, etymological and functional definitions; statistics aimed
at clarifying, elaborating or substantiating different points in the investigation.
The structure of the work is introduction, three chapters, conclusions,
references and appendix.
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I. CONCEPT MODELING OF COLOR ADJECTIVES IN ENGLISH

Color has been an object of research in cognitive linguistics and psychology
since the 1960s. The results of the earliest cognitively-oriented empirical studies into
color proved that color perception influences color language, that cognition
influences language [18, p.12]; this contradicts the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of
linguistic relativity [55, p.139]. The extended meanings of some color lexemes in
English from a cognitive linguistic perspective are studied by the linguists.
In recent years dissatisfaction of word modeling has been expressed with the
fact that most studies of the combinability of words have followed similar lines. The
linguistic study of word systems is sure to have the potential to be very fruitful
considering the specifics of the human vision system, psychological peculiarities,
lexical and socio-cultural grounds in which different meanings are created. The
process of systematization of acquired knowledge is categorization. Coming across
concrete entities or abstract concepts, accommodation takes place by assigning them
to some category. Having the feature of knowledge systematization, categorization is
a cognitive process which allows human beings to make sense of the world by
carving it up for it to become more orderly and manageable for the mind. In
linguistics, categorization is of paramount importance. Language in its spoken form is
no more than a stream of sounds. Linguistics has been concerned with the mapping of
these sounds on to meaning. This process is mediated by syntax which is concerned
with the segmentation of linguistic matter into units, namely categories of various
sorts and groupings of one or more of these categories into constituents. In present-
day linguistics there is no grammatical framework that can do without categories. All
linguists recognize the fact that categorization is of central concern to the study
of language. Indeed, for the American linguist Labov “Linguistics can be said to be
any one thing, it is the study of categories: that is, the study of how language
translates meaning into sound through the categorization of reality into discrete units
and sets of units.” [37, p.353]. As Lyons notes [41, p.51], ‘‘there is very little
consistency or uniformity in the use of the term ‘category’ in modern treatments of
grammatical theory”: different linguists have used wider or narrower definitions of
 6

what they regard as linguistic categories. For some, the categories of language are the
word classes. For others, tense, mood, person, number, etc., are also categories.
Categorization raises a variety of problems mostly having to do with the
determination and delimitation of class membership.

1.1. Concept categorization in the universal linguistic patterns

The word category (from Greek kate´goria) derives from Aristotle, and
originally meant statement. Perhaps the oldest ideas on categorization were those of
Aristotle, as expounded in his “Metaphysics and the Categories”. Aristotle held that a
particular entity can be defined by listing a number of necessary and sufficient
conditions that apply to it [45, p.39]. This view has been referred to as the classical,
scholastic or Aristotelian theory of categorization [39, p.6; 50, p.28].
Turning to categorization in the study of language, there has been a long
tradition of classifying the elements of language into groupings of units, such as word
classes, phrases and clauses. Indeed, for grammarians the concern has always been to
set up a taxonomy of the linguistic elements of particular languages, and to describe
how they interrelate. Linguistic categorization, especially as far as the word classes
are concerned, has been heavily influenced by Aristotle, who stressed the disjunctive
nature of language: “Of quantities some are discrete, others are continuous; and some
are composed of parts which have position in relation to one another, others are not
composed of parts which have position. Discrete are number and language” [12,
p.361].
For a 20th century pre-structuralist linguist like Bloomfield categories are form
classes [20, p.146]. Thus: ‘‘large form-classes which completely subdivide either the
whole lexicon or some important form class into form classes of approximately equal
size are called categories’’ [20, p.135]. The parts of speech are cited as examples of
form classes, such as number, gender, case and tense. Bloomfield allows for a certain
degree of fluidity of classification in remarking that ‘‘form-classes are not mutually
exclusive, but cross each other and overlap and are included one within the other, and
so on.’’ [20, p.270].
 7

Categorization is the process in which experiences and concepts are recognized

and understood. It implies that concepts are classified into categories based on
commonalities and usually for some specific purpose. Categorization is fundamental
in decision making, in all kinds of interaction with the environment, and in language.
Categorization is central issue in Cognitive Linguistics in which it is argued to be one
of the primary principles of conceptual and linguistic organization. However,
categorization in Cognitive Linguistics differs radically from the classical Aristotelian
model [21, p.347].
The classical view of Aristotle claims that categories are discrete entities
characterized by a set of properties which are shared by all of their members. These
properties are assumed to establish the conditions which are both necessary and
sufficient to capture meaning.
According to the classical view, categories should be clearly defined, mutually
exclusive and collectively exhaustive. This way, any entity of the given classification
universe belongs unequivocally to one, and only one, of the proposed categories [24,
p.114].
The Cognitive Revolution of the 1970s, headed by scientists Eleanor Rosch
Heider [28, p.340], Brent Berlin, Paul Kay, George Lakoff indicated that there were
several problems in the classical view:
• Necessary conditions are inadequate: the idea of necessary and sufficient
conditions is rarely met in categories of naturally occurring things or in humans'
categorization of experiences.
• There are degrees of membership: humans tend to regard some members of
categories as better members than others.
• Boundaries between categories are not clear cut: natural categories tend to
be fuzzy at their boundaries and inconsistent in the status of their constituent
members [39, p.304].
Cognitive scientists argue that categorization is the process of grouping things
based on prototypes. Based on prototypes, it is the basis for human development and
 8

this relies on learning about the world via embodiment. Systems of categories are not
objectively "out there" in the world but are rooted in people's experience [52, p.400].
The studying of the phenomenon of the concept becomes increasingly
important in modern linguistics and semiotic. This phenomenon is the area of focus
of both domestic and foreign researchers. An important aspect of modern conceptual
analysis is the definition of the relationship between the concept and culture. Despite
the relevance of this issue, there is a very small number of researches, which are
devoted to the analysis of this aspect, which determines the relevance of the study.
The concepts represent the culture of every nation. They accumulate the cultural
values and determine the differences and similarities of cultures. The concepts are
characterized by complexity, versatility, mentality, integrity, conditionality,
variability, limitation by the consciousness of the certain culture-bearer. The concept
is relevant to the culture on the three levels: language, consciousness and culture. The
relation of the concept is formulated as follows: consciousness is the domain of the
concept and culture determines the concept [23, p.11].
According to V. von Humboldt, a language and culture are the forms of
consciousness that reflect the worldview of a person and is a national form of
embodiment of the material and spiritual culture of the people. J. Galbraith,
J. Charlier, S. Groche, O. Potebnya, G. Terborn and other researchers continued to
develop the concept of V. von Humboldt. The main peculiarity is that a language is a
mean of communication and expressing thoughts [16, p.189].
The definition of “linguistic picture of the world” is fundamental. Formed in
the consciousness of every nation, the linguistic picture of the world represents the
surrounding reality. The picture of the world is a global image, it is the result of
human spiritual activity. A person forms the picture, idea of the world through the
knowledge of the world. The researcher A. Vezhbytska [56, p.318] does not use the
“concept” as a scientific term, but introduces this definition as the “key words of
culture”. “Key words are those words that are important and defining for a particular
culture” [56, p.168]. It is possible to note that every culture has its own specific
cultural concepts, because all cultures and linguistic pictures of the world are
 9

different in traditions, social structure, cultural characteristics, everyday life, own

dishes, etc. Cultural concepts are stored in the collective consciousness of each
particular nation. They form the sphere of the concept. An alternative to the definition
of the “conceptual sphere” can be considered the definition of “linguistic picture of
the world” [23, p.13].

1.2. Spectral approaches to the concept studies of color adjectives

The humanity has become interested in the phenomenon of color since ancient
times. People tried to explain this phenomenon to find out its effect on the brain.
Color is an essential part of how we experience the world,
both biologically and culturally. One of the earliest formal explorations of color
theory came from an unlikely source — the German poet, artist and politician Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832), who in 1810
published “Theory of Colors”, his treatise on the nature, function and psychology of
colors. Though the work was dismissed by a large portion of the scientific
community, it remained of intense interest to a cohort of prominent philosophers and
physicists, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Kurt Gödel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.
One of Goethe’s most radical points was a refutation of Newton’s ideas about the
color spectrum, suggesting instead that darkness is an active ingredient rather than the
mere passive absence of light [70]. Considering the influence of color characteristics
on the formation of language units, it is necessary to deal with the physical qualities
of spectral colors in studying the psychological impact of certain combinations that is
the subject of color aesthetics [68, p.119].
The original colors and forms of the Lüscher-Color-Test and the original
Lüscher-Color-Diagnostic® are protected by the international law.
The Lüscher-Color-Diagnostic® measures a person's psychophysical state, his or her
ability to withstand stress, to perform and to communicate. It uncovers the cause of
psychological stress, which can lead to physical symptoms. Using 5015 precise
definitions, the selections from among these pre-determined test colors measure the
state of 23 personality traits, some of which lie outside the realm of the conscious.
 10

Because the color selections are guided in an unconscious manner, they reveal the
person as he or she really is, and not as he or she perceives him- or herself, or as he or
she would like to be perceived, which occurs when questions are asked directly or by
questionnaires [68, p.252].
The most famous linguist O.O. Potebnia paid much attention to the symbolism
of colors in his works [10, c.8]. To clarify the cognitive aspect of color concepts, it is
necessary to turn to the symbolic meanings of colors and their psychological
characteristics.

1.2.1. Peculiarities of color palette symbols

Color theory has always been full of definitions, concepts and design
applications. The color wheel, color harmony and the context of how colors are used
are three basic categories that are logical and useful. Sir Isaac Newton developed the
first circular diagram of colors in 1666. Since then, scientists and artists have studied
and designed numerous variations of this concept. Differences of opinion about the
validity of one format over another continue to provoke debate [66].
Studying the language of literary works, the scientists distinguish the pictorial
trinity "black - red - white" that establish the basis of color palette. The use of
phraseological units, including coloronyms, confirms the opinion that lexemes for red
and white colors are often found in them. Both black and white are not frequently
included in the spectrum of colors, so some psychologists, in particular M. Lüscher,
ignore them. However, J. V. Goethe considers them to be a basis for the formation of
all other colors: "for the emergence of color, light and darkness are necessary" [17,
p.20]. It is important to know the psychological interpretation of those colors that are
found like a component composition of the phraseological units in the English
language.
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1.2.2. Classification of colors and their nature

According to certain characteristics, the colors and hues can be classified by
linguists, art historians and psychologists. The most successful characteristics depend
on the nature of colors.
1. A primary or original color cannot be created by mixing any other colors. As a
result, mixing primary colors, all other colors and hue can arise. Primary colors
include red, yellow and blue. The mixture of these three colors results in black.
2. A secondary color is created by mixing two primary colors. Red and yellow make
orange, yellow and blue make green, blue and red make purple.
3. Intermediate color occurs when primary and secondary colors are mixed.
For example, blue-green, red-pink, brown-gray, blue-violet, yellow-red, red-
purple.
4. Complementary colors are those ones that are opposite each other in the
chromatic circle.
For example, the complementary color for red is green (a mixture of blue and
yellow), for blue it is orange (a mixture of yellow and red).
5. Warm colors are from yellow to purple.
6. Cold colors are from lilac to yellow-green.
The original research was done by Jonathan Winawer of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. He discovered an unexpected connection between linguistics
and the physiological perception of color. He was interested in whether the features
of a person's native language affect the perception of color and whether it is possible
to draw conclusions about the psychology of a nation based on this. It is known that
colors are divided into certain groups depending on their psychological impact on a
person as follows from table 1.2.2. in Appendix.
Jonathan Winawer drew attention to the fact that there are two different words
for "blue" and ‘light blue’, while in English, French and a number of other languages
only one word ‘blue’ is used to denote both colors. If there is any need to convey the
hue more accurately, the phrases ‘light blue’ and ‘clear bleu’ are used [57]. According
to the results of the experiments, during which three squares painted in one of 20
 12

shades of blue were shown to people on the screen, it turned out that speakers of
Slavic languages distinguish 10% faster blue from light blue. At first, that the
language of communication was proved to affect the perception of color by a person.
Due to the experiments and the characteristics of colors, according to their
psychological impact on a person, it is possible to draw conclusions about the
mentality of a nation. Highlighting blue as a separate color, it appeared to indicate
that people are more balanced and calmer [65].
According to V.G. Hak [5, c.40], the main colors stand out like:
- spectrum colors – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, light blue and violet;
- other important colors – white, black, gray, brown.
The fields of the main colors in different languages coincide with the exception
of blue and light blue, which correspond to blue as the only color in English.
Among the main colors, a small group of nuclear colors can be obviously
distinguished that are the most widespread and used names of colors in this language.
Nuclear colors include achromatic, so-called "colorless" features: white and black (in
Ukrainian gray), as well as red, green, blue and yellow.
There are also specific names of colors that apply only to certain objects [5,
с.39]. In the languages, there are colors that indicate the color of horses: raven, gray,
bay, brown, beautiful; roan, bay, light-bay, spotted on yellow background), in patches
(blotched, piebald, dappled), in apples, apple-like (dappled, piebald).
Special adjectives also denote the color of hair (red, red-haired, red-headed),
(gray, gray-haired, gray-headed), (blond, fair-haired, fair-headed), (white, blond),
eyes (brown, hazel, dark brown, blue, azure, sky-blue), skin (dark, tanned, bronze,
pale, wan, pallid, flesh - flash, carnation, natural, nude, sickly yellow, sallow).
New names of shades appear in the language. They derive from the names of
plants (citrine, mustard, eggplant, plum), minerals (ruby, amethyst, amber), various
substances (sandy, sand, coral). Shades are used to express different tinctures in the
languages. Sometimes a fairly widespread color in one language does not have a
complete counterpart in another one. The frequency of the main color names and the
number of a particular color shades do not coincide in different groups of languages.
 13

1.2.3. Methods of depicting colors

According to the results of language interrelations, the names of colors are
motivated. Methods of color rendering refer to various techniques and approaches for
representing color in different contexts [11, с.9].
Some color names are created by copying from another language. Calque
(from French calque, "copy") is a word-for-word translation from one language to
another. In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from
another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation [7, с.131].
It should be noted, there are the methods of depicting shades for which there is
no special verbal designation [3, с.37]. First of all, this is the use of a literal
translation with an analytical approach to using the word ‘color’ itself. The
modification of the basic color is the means of transferring shades.
There are the following specifications to clarify the color:
− intensity suffixes (bluish, yellowish, reddish);
− the words specifying the color (light, dark, deep, dark, pale, bright, etc.);
− a metaphorical reference to the object that has the same shade (snow-white).
In addition, a shade that has a significance in one language is possible to lose it
in another. In this case, the shades are not separated from the main color and do not
differ from each other. It is possible to find out that there are several English
equivalents that differ from each other in terms of shades or specificity (colors of
fabrics, faces, etc.). For example: pink, rose-colored; rosy; lilaс, light violet, purple,
violet; crimson, raspberry pink.
There is a special word denoting a shade in the English text and a reference to
a general color or its modification. The image of shades that do not have a special
designation in the definite language is a very difficult task. In fiction, it is not often
possible to use the explanation, and interpreters being unable to accurately translate
the name of the shade, use the method of conveying it with proximity to the original.
Understanding the peculiarities of color symbols can help us better appreciate the
complexities and their role in shaping culture, identity and personal experiences.
 14

Thorough studying of the etymology of native phraseological units with

colorative component demands using different methods of investigation. First of all,
etymological analysis is of great importance in finding culture-bound items and
events in the history of the language bearers. Secondly, comparative method is
considered to be invaluable while comparing phenomena of two languages belonging
to different language families. The structural-grammatical analysis is also applied to
research the connection between the direct meaning of phraseological units
prototypes based on culture-bound items and events of two language bearers (which
are in fact word combinations), and the phraseological units’ transferred meaning.

1.3. Methodological approach to the color adjectives evaluation

The methodological approach to the color adjective evaluation is an attempt
“to understand and interpret the world of color adjectives” or to understand and
interpret the perspectives of their lexical and semantic aspects. Regarding the
methodological approach for this study, the research design, and the selection of
research versions, the used resources and the data, it is important to start with the
research approach. This methodological approach essentially aims to understand the
subjective and changing world of human experience knowledge about color adjective
evaluation. To make sense of this world, and the phenomena that are encountered,
individuals construct their own realities and interpretations for this purpose. It is
through conducting research that outsiders are able to access these personal
understandings. The assessment of these understandings acknowledges in advance
that there is a level of subjectivity inherent in the interpretation and in making
meaning from the data starting with the Proto-Indo-European period to Modern
English.
Passing over to the qualitative research, it is concerned with rich meaning and
allows for the re-creation of a vicarious experience for the reader. A key assumption
of qualitative research is that the meanings of events, occurrences, experiences and
interactions can only be understood through the ways they are expressed by the
substances or participants. Therefore, the aim is to focus on better understanding
 15

peoples’ experiences and how they interpret the meanings of interconnected

originated words. In the context of this study, the qualitative approach has enabled the
collection of stories proving the origin of color names.
Combining and integrating either quantitative or qualitative elements, mixed
methods design contribute to a better understanding of the various etymological
phenomena under investigation. While quantitative research is useful towards
generalizing research findings, qualitative approaches are particularly valuable in
providing in-depth rich origins.
The study of color adjectives has been traditionally carried out from a
structural perspective (synchronic or diachronic), from a sociolinguistic perspective
and from a rather psychological perspective, centered on the linguistic and
communicative competence of the multilingual individual. However, linguistic and
sociolinguistic modeling tackles the pragmatic viewpoint. This perspective takes into
account color adjectives used in various contexts, at different levels that deal with the
structures and the evolution of their meanings. The language context situations from a
pragmatic perspective consider the adaptation processes of the characters, their
particular interactive strategies and the social meaning generated. Understanding
pragmatics in its original sense, these phenomena should be understood as the result
of context adaptation to changing sociocultural circumstances. This adaptation creates
a new distribution of the verbal resources and modifies its varieties as far as
evaluative meanings are concerned.
So, the linguistic modeling of color adjective semantics in Modern English is
effective in the clarification and development of the evaluated concepts with
modification before becoming applicable to other fields. Semantic aspects have to be
taken into account when developing a concept modeling which can be applied in the
research. The process of selecting color adjectives in contexts, their determination,
identification and defining results in concept modeling with semantic relations.
 16

ІІ. LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC ASPECTS OF COLOR ADJECTIVES

CONCEPTS IN CONTEXT
The useful findings in color adjectival meanings are the basic concepts
presented in the field of color adjective semantics. Conceptual representations seem
static as the concept meaning does not vary. A variety of contexts that have typically
been considered informative has become the basis of a semantic system. There are
instances of context-dependent conceptual activation at many different timescales
from long-term experience, to recent experience, to the current task goals and to the
unfolding process of conceptual activation itself. The effects of context indicate that
conceptual representations are constantly changing and are inextricably linked to
their contexts.

2.1. Evaluative integral complex of color images in cognition

The theory stated above corresponds to categorization that is pivotal to any
understanding of how our minds work and in particular how language works since
there is an explicit link between color terms categorization, on the one hand, thinking
and understanding, on the other hand. A crucial claim made by cognitive linguistics is
that categories are formed through interaction with the world. This interaction is
experienced through our bodies and as a result category are ultimately grounded in
bodily experiences [53, p.284]. Consequently, abstract thinking and imagination,
which are not directly grounded in bodily experience, are considered to be based on
them mediated through metaphor, metonymy or analogy in different contexts [32,
p.78].
Considering Langacker’s view of categorization, a distinction is made between
two types of categorizations: by prototype and by schema. The two modes are viewed
as intimately linked, but emphasize different aspects of the same phenomenon. A
mental phenomenon is grounded in bodily experience and structured by abstract
image schemata. Structuring principles (image schemata) are the result of bodily
experiences and the body’s interaction with the real world. Categories of color
 17

adjectives are only indirectly linked to the real world. They are mental phenomena
and their contact with the world is based on the body [40, p.238].
According to linguistic realism, the conceptual system of color terms grows out
and is constrained by the limitations set by our bodies to experience in terms of
perception, movement, physical and social interaction that are the result of a human
cognition.

2.1.1. Color terms conceptualization

With regard to the viewing sequences in the context of cultural and historical
factors it is possible to identify the subject-field concepts, the relevant concepts, and
determine which words, phrases or symbols are used as terms to designate them,
select contexts to illustrate their usage that are the consequents of conceptualization.
As it is investigated by Dr. Nassau, a famous American scientist who authored
the article “Color” in the Encyclopedia Britannica in use since 1988, the least defined
and most variable color in daily life is the most important aspect. It influences art,
fashion, commerce, and even physical and emotional sensations. Color and emotions
are linked. That is the common perception that red, orange, yellow, and brown hues
are “warm”, while the blues, greens, and grays are “cold”. The red, orange, and
yellow hues are said to induce excitement, cheerfulness, stimulation, and aggression.
The blues and greens render security, calm, and peace. The browns, grays, and blacks
deal with sadness, depression, and melancholy. The concepts of warm and cold colors
are essentially the same, blue and green hues are perceived to be “good” and the red-
purple range “bad,” while in the United States the red-yellow-green range is
considered “good” and oranges and red-purples “bad.” The color of mourning is
black in the West, yet other cultures use white, purple, or gold for this purpose. Many
languages contain expressions that use color metaphorically. The common examples
in English are “green with envy”, “feeling blue”, “seeing red”, “purple passion”,
“white lie” and “black rage” and therefore cannot always be translated literally into
other languages because the color may lose its associated symbolic meaning [69].
 18

Considering the effect of color combinations on a critic, it depends not only on

the individual effects of the colors but also on the harmony of the color terms
combined in patterns and the composition of the pattern. The perception of color
adjectives in contexts depends on individual experience.

2.1.2. Lexical and semantic nature of color spectrum

It is important to note that the evolutionary sequence of basic color terms
discovered by B. Berlin and P. Kay is followed by many scientists. One of them is
Janet Zhiqun Xing, a Chinese scientist, who investigated that many Chinese color
terms appeared to have different extended meanings from those of genetically
unrelated languages such as English that is the basis to other languages. The study
provides diachronic and synchronic evidence to show that color spectrum consists of
five basic colors, such as “white”, “black”, “red”, “dark blue”, and “yellow”; though,
many other languages recognize eleven basic color terms, such as “white”, “black”,
“red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue”, “gray”, “brown”, “orange”, “purple” and “pink”
[58, p.87]. For the convenience of comparison with other languages, this study
discusses the seven most commonly used colors in modern English “white”, “black”,
“red”, “yellow”, “green”, “blue” and “purple”, and focuses on the process and
development of their modern meanings.
Janet Zhiqun Xing points out that there are three types of meanings that are
identified for the color spectrum. They are original, extended and abstract. Original
meaning refers to the etymological meaning of the color term. Extended refers to the
meaning extended from the original meaning through metaphor, metonymy or other
cognitive means. Abstract refers to the meaning that has been further abstracted from
the extended meaning [58, p.89]. The suggested survey of color spectrum evaluation
suggests the original meaning that can be the basis to the development of color
adjectives semantic structures. The extended and abstract meanings are contextually
depended.
Taking into consideration the original meanings of seven basic colors, it is
important to realize that extended and abstract meanings appear in human cognition.
 19

According to Janet Zhiqun Xing’s investigations, “white” and “black” are the two
colors that have the longest history among color terms in all languages, because they
are the most contrastive and easily identified colors with original meaning “white
color”, for example: “white silver”, “snow white”.
The semantic functions of “black” are simpler than those of “white”. Its
semantic extension process may be generalized into the following thread: color
“black” – spatial concept “dark” – abstract concepts “bad”, “evil”, “illegal”. Its
original meaning is “black color”, for example: “black and white (are) clearly
distinguished”, “black head hair”.
The third color developed in Modern English is “red” with original meaning
“red color”, for example: “blood red”, “fire red”.
Early studies show that following “blue” two colors were developed “yellow”
and “green”. The comparison of these two colors indicates that “blue” has undergone
a more complicated semantic extension. The semantic functions of “blue” is different.
Its original meaning is “color of the earth”, for example “The earth is yellow.”
“Green” was developed at about the same time as “yellow”, however, its semantic
evolution is much simpler than “yellow”. Its original meaning is “green color”, for
example “green leaf”, “green forest hero/rebel”. “Blue” was developed after the
colors “yellow” and “green” and its etymological meaning denoted the indigo plant.
It was referred to the color of that plant through metonymy. Its original meaning is
“indigo plant”, for example: “pick (things) from the indigo plant”.
“Purple” is the last color developed among the seven basic colors. Being an in-
between color, it has limited semantic functions. Its original meaning is “blue-
red/purple”, for example: “Intense purple can overshadow red.” [58, p.88-89].
Learning the semantic functions of seven English color adjectives, they prove
to possess the unique characteristics in their development and extend their meanings
like the universal order of their evolution. The development of extended and abstract
meanings depends on cognition of people in different languages that have the same or
similar cognitive ability when it comes to identifying and interpreting color adjectives
that deal with human experiences which are the foundation of color concepts.
 20

2.2. Polysemous relations in the derived senses of color adjectives

Polysemous relations refer to different meanings that a single-color adjective
can have in various contexts. The aspects of the language and lexical semantics,
cognitive linguistics, linguistic typology and metaphor may provide insights into how
polysemous relations in color adjectives arise and are used in the language. Being an
integral part of lexical semantics, it is concerned with the meanings of words and how
they are structured in the language. Color adjectives are a particularly rich area for
the study of polysemy, as color terms are often used metaphorically to describe
emotions or other abstract concepts.
For example, the color adjective "red" can be used in its direct meaning, but it
can also have the derived meaning "angry" that may be metaphorically extended from
it.
For example, the color adjective "blue" can be used in the direct meaning, as in
"the sky is blue," but it can also have its derived meaning "sad" or "melancholy" as in
"I'm feeling blue today." These derived meanings may be related to the color
sensation through metaphorical extension, where the abstract concept is mapped onto
the physical peculiarities of color. The study of polysemous relations in color
adjectives can provide insights into how language users understand and use these
words in different contexts, as well as how meanings of words can shift over time. It
can also shed light on how language reflects and shapes understanding of the world
around us. Some possible approaches to studying polysemous relations in color
adjectives include corpus, cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics. Researchers
may use these approaches to model large datasets of language use, investigate the
cognitive processes involved in meaning construction or study how language is
processed in the brain.
Language evolution reflects the tendencies in the development of text that have
caused changes in the development of vocabulary, initiating the on-going process of
metaphorization and an extension of meaning of the existing and newly created
words. Disney Twisted Tales books collection is the contemporary text that has the
blurred boundaries between styles and genres. There is a tendency for
 21

metaphorization of color adjectives and the classification of the color-based

metaphorical terms in it. The patterns of the color-based adjective creation are
frequently applied by Liz Braswell, an English-born American writer, to denote the
emerging concepts.

2.2.1. Metaphorical nature of colors

The names of colors and shades are indicated metaphorically by comparison
with an object that has a corresponding shade (sky-colored, blood color) [6, c.160].
Such metaphorical meanings can become fixed in the language and become part of
the general gamut of colors: cherry, pink have already become familiar color
adjectives; expressions like the color of steel have also become stable analytical
notations.
It is very difficult to make an exact translation of the name of the color. In
order to successfully complete this task, it is necessary to know the basic principles of
translation theory related to the selection of words. Word choice is one of the most
important and difficult issues in translation practice. It is highlighted in the comments
of linguists in different ways, depending on the task. The choice of a word may
depend both on the ambiguity of the Ukrainian or English word, and on the presence
of synonyms that have approximately the same meaning. In the first case, more cross
errors can be assumed, but the second task like selection of synonyms is more
difficult.
There are several types of respondents, such as:
a) usual or dictionary equivalents;
b) analogs or variant counterparts (red - ginger, rust-colored, reddish-brown;
blue - light-blue, sky-blue, cyan);
c) adequate substitutions.
There are cases when the author of the work does not name a color and uses
associated names of flowers, phenomena or objects. Such process is not just a transfer
of color, but an important comparison. The substitution reproduces this color without
 22

losing the primary comparison, but using a familiar and understandable name. [9,
c.21].
Color adjectives in phraseological units demonstrate the cognitive meanings of
metaphors from the perspective of color terms. There are also their dissimilarities
comparing to other languages that provide vital evidence for the influence of cultural
variation on metaphors and contribute to overcoming barriers in language teaching
and learning, cross-culture communication as well as translation practice [59, p. 30.].

2.2.2. Metonymies related to color terms

The color concepts are expressed by the lexemes the focus of which is
speculated on the basis of previous color-related research [26, p.123]. where the
concepts are predominantly associated with states of the mind or the body. The
modeling is conducted through the prism of the theories of conceptual metaphor and
metonymy [38, p.147], which treat metaphor and metonymy not as linguistic devices,
but as cognitive structures on the basis of which we perceive, organize and structure
our knowledge. Since conceptual metaphor is defined in terms of mappings from a
source domain, which is concrete and more readily graspable, to a target domain,
which is more abstract and diffuse, it is claimed here that the domain of color serves
the function of a source domain since it is part of our everyday sensory experience.
The initial hypothesis is that color lexemes are commonly used for expressing
personal issues, i.e. emotional, mental and physical states, such as being angry,
unrealistic or ill, which are seen as eligible target concepts. Furthermore, it is
believed that these transferred metaphoric meanings of color lexemes are essentially
metonymically based. Thus, the aims are to show that color lexemes have transferred
meanings relating to a person’s emotional, mental and physical states, to identify the
conceptual metaphors associating concrete color concepts with the abstract concepts
of emotional, mental and physical states, to determine the metonymic motivation of
color-related metaphors.
Taking into consideration some of the basic principles of cognitive semantics
the structure of which is conceptual, the language refers to concepts in the mind
 23

rather than to objects in the external world. The embodied cognition which holds the
conceptual organization arises from the bodily experience, from sensorimotor
experience and recurrent patterns of interaction with the physical world from our
earliest days [32, p.95]. Meaning extension in polysemy and the meanings of idioms
are motivated by cognitive mechanisms such as conceptual metaphor, metonymy,
image schema transformations and conventional knowledge [32, p.39].
Dealing with the interaction between metaphor and metonymy, quite a few
authors claim that metaphor is typically motivated by metonymy, which makes
metonymy the most fundamental cognitive mechanism [33, p.44].
The research of color terms conducted by Sonja Filipović Kovačević from the
University of Novi Sadhas in Serbia confirmed the initial hypothesis that the domain
of color, being a part of our concrete sensory experience, has the function of a source
domain in metaphorical transfers, in particular expressing emotional, mental and
physical states of being. Furthermore, the established metaphorical meanings of color
lexemes are essentially motivated by metonymy, which supports embodied cognition
[34, p.64].

2.3 Phraseological units with a color designation component

In linguistics, phraseology is the study of set or fixed expressions, such
as idioms, phrasal verbs and other types of multi-word lexical units. Phraseologism
as a linguistic phenomenon is actual in both linguistics and psychology. The works of
V. Humboldt, F. de Saussure, and O.O. Potebnya vividly testify that the nature of
language phenomena should be sought in the human psyche. According to
investigations by O.O. Potebnya, convergence of linguistics with psychology makes
it possible "to look for solutions to questions about language in psychology, and to
find out new discoveries in the field of psychology from the language research" [10,
c.8-9].
Considering a language as a system of signs, F. de Saussure defines that a
language sign, in turn, is a "bilateral mental entity", "both sides of a language sign are
mental and are connected in our brain by the associative link" [47, p.185].
 24

Taking into consideration phraseological units and names of colors, which are
a part of them, called coloronyms, there are different types of language signs.
The uncertainty of the status of phraseology is related to the question of the
equivalence of phraseological units, the uncertainty of the term itself and the subject
of this science. Phraseological units, "on the one hand, are characterized by all the
main properties inherent in language units, and on the other hand, they differ from
other language units only by their inherent features." As it is known, lexemes and
phrasemes cannot be combined into one linguistic level for several reasons: "because
the syntagmatic connections between phrases and lexemes are not linguistic, but
speech in nature, and secondly, because phrasemes can enter into syntagmatic
relationship with syntactic units, and then the non-existent syntactic and
phraseological level should be highlighted" [1, c.46].
The debatable question of phraseological units’ origin remains actual. Some
tend to consider the Swiss linguist of French origin Sh. Balli as the founder of this
science. Being a French stylist, he is known to describe word combinations.
According to his definition, phraseology is a branch of lexicology, because
phraseology is equivalent to a word. Though there is a view that the science of
phraseology originated when V.V. Vynogradov defined the main concepts and tasks of
phraseology.
There is no single interpretation of the terms "phraseology" and
"phraseologism". Most linguists adhere to a broad definition of the term
"phraseology" (Greek phrases - "expression, phrase", logos - "word, doctrine"), it is
defined as:
1) a set of phraseological units of a certain language;
2) a section of linguistics that studies the phraseological structure of the
language [7, c.148].
Oxford Dictionary gives a completely generalized meaning: "phraseology is a
choice of words" [62, p.276]. In Merriam-Webster's dictionary this term is explained
as "the way of using and systematizing words" [64, p.238]. In other languages the
 25

interpretation of phraseology is as "a branch of linguistics that studies fixed turns of

speech, phraseology" [61, p.71].
According to the definition from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of
Current English the term idiom is a set of consecutively connected words that must
be learned as a unit, the general meaning of which is difficult or impossible to
understand based on the meaning of each word [62, p.234]. In Merriam-Webster's
Dictionary, idiom is an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself
either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its
elements (such as up in the air for "undecided") or in its grammatically atypical use
of words (such as give way) [64, p.181].
The terms "phraseological unit" or "phraseologism", "phrase", "phraseological
term" can be used as synonyms to denote semantically connected word combinations,
which unlike syntactic structures, being similar to them in form, are not created
according to the general regularities of the choice and combination of words in the
organization of utterances, reproduced in speech in a fixed form. The main features of
phraseological units are "reproducibility in the process of communication, "over-
wordiness" and integrity of meaning" [47, p.83].
Determining the role and meaning of phraseological units in the English
language, color is considered to be a component of the cultural connotation of
phraseological units, having its classification and the meaning with a color
designation component. Undoubtedly, color is of great importance in the life of a
modern person. It is difficult to imagine a person's life without it. It can be viewed
from various perspectives: artistic and aesthetic, psychological, physical, social,
environmental and many others. Color opens up a special world to us, filling it with
an amazing opportunity to admire the beauty of everything that surrounds us. After
all, figurative expressions, idioms and sayings accumulate socio-historical,
intellectual, emotional information of a specific national character. Phraseological
units are quite common means of expressing images. They help to perceive
information in a different way, influencing the human imagination [14, p.826]
 26

2.3.1. Concepts of color names in semantic relations

Dealing with semantics of phraseological units, special emphasis should be
placed on the interpretation of phraseological meaning. The fact that this
phenomenon is quite complex is "due to a specific relationship to the signified
objects or phenomena of reality, the nature of the internal figurative basis, over-
wordiness, the dependence between the lexical components of phraseological units
and their fully or partially reinterpreted meaning" [27, p.118].
Language is the most essential factor of characterizing every nation’s belief,
culture and the attitude to the world. As beliefs, worldviews and cultures do not look
like to each other, proverbs and sayings of different nations are not the same [51,
p.55].
English and American researchers such as L.P. Smith, A. Mackay, J. Seidlou,
and W. McMordi use the term ‘idiom’ in their writings on the study of PU. By an
idiom they mean an expression whose value is not inferred from the value of its
individual elements.
The richness of vocabulary of every language depends on not only the ways of
forming new words, but also on the permanent idioms it may form. The science
which studies the ‘world’ of those units is called phraseology. Phraseology is the
science about idioms, and it was firstly used in 1928 by Y.D. Polovinov [15, p.208].
The meaning of phraseology is not deduced from the value of the sum of its
elements, but is determined by rethinking. This is because the phraseological phrase
is not a free phrase, but one of its main properties is reproducibility. The free
combinations are the expressions ‘white snow’, ‘black pen’, ‘yellow pencil’, which
are created from separate words in the process of communication, at the same time,
the expressions ‘white lie’, ‘black gold’, ‘black market’, ‘yellow papers’ are PU that
are retrieved from the memory just like individual words. Any violation in the
syntactic or semantic structure of these PU irreparably leads to the loss of their
meaning.
It has been repeatedly pointed out that word-groups analyzed as functionally
and semantically inseparable units are considered to be the subject matter of
 27

phraseology. It should be noted that proper scientific investigation of English

phraseology has not been attempted until quite recently. English and American
linguists tried to collect various words, word-groups and sentences by presenting
some features of view, style, origin and usage which are peculiar to them. These units
are usually described as idioms but no attempt has been made to analyze these idioms
as a separate class of linguistic units.
However, the existing terms, [35, p.48] such as set-phrases, idioms, word-
equivalents reflect to a certain extent the main debatable issues of phraseology. The
term set-phrase implies that the basic criterion of differentiation is the stability of
lexical components and grammatical structure of word-groups. The term idioms
generally imply that the essential feature of the linguistic units under consideration is
the idiomaticity or lack of motivation.
Phraseological units are habitually defined as non-motivated word-groups that
cannot be freely made up in speech but are reproduced as a ready-made system. This
definition proceeds from the assumption that the essential features of phraseological
units are considered to be the stability of the lexical components [35, p.94]. Taking
into account mainly the degree of idiomaticity phraseological units may be classified
into three big groups: phraseological fusions, phraseological unities and
phraseological collocations. It is frequently assumed that unlike components of free
word-groups which may vary due to the needs of communication, words of
phraseological units are reproduced as single unchangeable collocations.

2.3.2. Color concepts connotation

Color brings life to the story. The colors can set the mood and push the plot in
the right direction. The shades and hues of the setting build tension… or relieve
tension. The sights and sounds of the picture have to match the expectations of the
audience. The psychology of color depends on music and art where it plays a huge
role in creating a good horror movie. If they don’t match the theme, it’s more a
comedy. Our minds automatically filter upbeat and happy sound and colors as
“good”. While, on the other hand, we interpret slow, deep sounds with dark shades as
 28

“bad”. The danger of colors is partly a learned behavior. Collective memories create
associations in our society. From the point of view of historical connotations of
colors, they could have parallels to a certain historic event or movement. The
audience is always ready to interpret the spread of colors in a story according to their
upbringing and culture. Colors can also have strong connotation with certain brands.
Starting with white, it shows purity and innocence.
English is full of idioms involving white, such as a white knight, white list,
whitewash. Pure white is not common in branding because it’s hard to read the
information and the physical ad will show dirt more than other colors. However, most
companies will have a black and white version of their main logo. Color is expensive.
Black connotes mystery, evil, death, or authority. The color black absorbs all
light and other colors of the spectrum. The unknown is usually hidden in dark
shadows. White light reveals things, but blackness conceals.
Something dark and hidden would actually be more desirable to the average
person. We want the elusive and rare more than the mundane.
There are idioms like blackmail, black sheep or blackout.
Red connotation traffic light and sign. Red is strong color that can mean anger,
love, sexuality, and assertion. The color has powerful emotions that could be either
very positive or negative. Red means stop in traffic and flashing red indicates an
emergency. If your teacher gives back your essay covered in red, you need a lot of
edits. On the other hand, red is the theme of Valentine’s Day with its many flowers
and hearts.
If you’re “in the red”, you’ve fallen in debt. Then a “red carpet” event is a
formal occasion. If your character is “seeing red”, he’s enraged.
Probably due to its connotation with desire, red is used in a lot of food brands,
like Pizza Hut, Arby’s and Coca-Cola.
Blue is a very calming hue that shows creativity, intelligence, and trust.
Like the endless waves of the ocean, studies have shown blue to relax and
comfort us. If you have an interview or important meeting, a blue tie is the best
 29

choice. Blue might be the most divine color. Purple usually is associated with youth,
creativity, and royalty.
Green symbolizes nature and health. As a negative, green can show greed and
envy. Someone having a “green thumb” means they especially care for nature. Green
products are from recycled material. You could describe someone new to a job or
skill as green in experience.
Yellow indicates wealth and happiness. Gold is yellow. The myth of King
Midas is an example to learn about it. Smiley faces are usually yellow! Thus, it’s
usually seen as a childish color along with purple. Because the color is easily visible,
school busses, taxis, and road signs are usually bright yellow. On a negative note,
yellow can mean a warning, like in sports. Yellow street lights mean that it will soon
turn red. Calling someone a “yellow jack” means they are a coward. Yellow
journalism is shameful reporting that usually stretches the truth (like modern day
“fake news”). Most people would be turned off by pure yellow as it’s too
overwhelming. It blends well with red, green, or black. McDonald’s famous has their
yellow arches with the red background, reminiscent of their delicious fries and
ketchup. Subway, UPS, and Best Buy also use a yellow mix [67].
So, it is important to summarize that lexical differentiation of meanings based
on the textual cognition is changed due to the semantic relations taken from the
context. In this connection the present study of colour adjective semantics is from the
perspective of adjectives, while ‘sense’ refers to the lexical sense of the adjective,
leaving aside how this lexical sense is described. A number of senses derive from the
objects while the other senses affect the full semantic structure of the color sense.
 30

III. COLOR ADJECTIVES EVALUATION IN THE US DISNEY FICTIONAL

ARTS
3.1. Componential features of color idioms in the US Arts of Fiction
Color idioms are formed in speech and reflect those phenomena and objects
that directly surround people who give them certain characteristics, including signs
by color. It is quite natural that in some idioms that express the color imagery in
speech emotionally, the color itself is a constituent part. Color helps to create bright
visual images from senseless abstractions. This process makes speech colorful and
emotionally rich.
Since the phraseological unit is a linguistic universal, it can be assumed that in
any language there are phrasemes which include the names of colors because
phraseological units reflect the realities of life. Undoubtedly, the psychological
interpretation of colors which is indicated in the chosen US Books of Tales, Motion
Pictures and Animation, such as “Almost There” by Rochon
Farrah, “Conceal, Don’t Feel” by Jen Calonita, “The Frog Princess” by Elizabeth
Dawson Baker, “Unbirthday” by Liz Braswell, “Part of Your World” by Liz Braswell,
“Once Upon a Dream” by Liz Braswell when translating phraseological units, is
different for each language. Differences in a certain people's perception of the
environment affect the number of phrases with the same color in different languages.
As follows from table 3.1. in Appendix that establishes the frequency indicator of 70
used colors and hues in the US Disney literature, motion picture and animation, it is
important to conclude that black, white, blue, red, green have the highest index of
usage in their direct and indirect meanings to perform the quality, contrast, feelings
and emotions expressed by the color adjectives.
As the research of the US Disney literature, motion pictures and cartoon
animation showed, the largest number of phraseological units with the black
component in the English language enrolls 24.71%. Phrases with the blue component
make up 16.86%. In descending order there are such names of colors as white
(15.01%), red (14.31%), green (9.47%), yellow (6.47%), rosy or pink (3.24%), gray
(2.78%), brown (2.54%), purple (0.69%), orange (0.23%). Among them there are
 31

those that include two or more coloronyms. They make up 3.69% of those analyzed
by the phrase as follows from diagram 3.1. in Appendix.
As it is known, the names of such colors as black and white, that do not exist
according to Newton's theory, are most often used. According to Goethe, black and
white are the primary basis for the formation of other colors: "for the emergence of
color, light and darkness are necessary" [70].
The second most frequently used color word is blue. Y.V. Goethe pointed out
that the color closest to darkness is blue [70]. Tracing some psychological
interpretations of these colors, they are common. Both black and blue can mean
night, gloom. English phraseological units with the components black and blue
mostly carry a negative color, although there are fewer of them with the coloronym
blue than with black.
The frequency of usage is followed by the names of the colors red and green.
From the point of view of physics, blue, red and green are the main colors which are
reflected in the language. The number of phraseological units with the coloronym
yellow naturally follows green. There are few phraseologisms with such coloronyms.
Studying lexemes denoting color in the composition of phraseological units, the
etymology of these words should be taken into account because the etymological
meaning of the component is essential for the semantics of the phraseological unit.
Studying the phenomenon of color, some historical tendencies of color changes
should be mentioned. It is known that every era has its own colors and sometimes
they are bright, saturated and sparkling, but they can also be pale, dark and gloomy.
Some writers and artists feel their era rather delicately, displaying colors in a special
manner in their works.
It is obvious that the allocation of associative fields is impossible without
defining the etymology of color naming words. It is so because associations are
historically and culturally motivated. The process of the initial nomination always
depends on the environment.
Speaking about national peculiarities of the color perception, it is necessary to
connect them with the basic concepts of the optics which studies color and light.
 32

Physical properties of the color perception and sociocultural features of the color
usage are complementary. They also influence perception and rate of the use of
various colors [54, p.150; 60, p.274].
In the English culture, colors were initially associated with natural phenomena
or objects of the same coloring which are defined as standards, such as the sky, soot,
the sun and blood [29, p. 57]. Later there appeared particular words to define concrete
coloremes, such as yellow, black, white.
In the English language the formation of the adjectives meaning colors has
originated since the first tribes' migration. At the same time, color terms of that time
contained roots of the Indo-European and German languages. [2, c.49–58].
According to A.A. Braginа, the process of the formations of new coloremes
took some centuries to transform the object which designated a color into an
appropriate adjective. At the same time, the English language of the 15th century
observed no more than 20 of such coloremes. Due to some geographical and
historical factors, the process was uneven and the cases of language borrowings
became frequent. The quantity of coloremes in the language was directly ratio to the
level of the English cultural development [56, p.172].
Being part of phraseological units, the names of colors in some cases lose their
primary meaning (a sign of color) and acquire completely different semantic shades.
In certain idioms, the meaning of the component can be singled out, but in others it is
impossible, because the interaction of all the components of the phrase generates its
meaning. The semantics of each of the components is manifested differently in
different types of phraseological units. In order to identify certain regularities within
one type of phraseme, they should be distributed so that they are visible
deactualization of the phraseology component. Since the de-actualization of a word in
a phraseology is directly related to the reinterpretation of the meaning of the
expression itself, it is advisable to classify the phraseological units, which include the
name of a color, according to the types of reinterpretations. It is possible to
distinguish idioms of comparison, idioms-metaphraseological units, idioms of
 33

metonymy. O.V. Kunin also includes euphemism as the most important types of
reinterpretations [36, p.76].

3.1.1. Comparative phraseological units

Structural and semantic models of phraseology can be used in the field of
phraseology. This type of modeling is found in stable comparisons, also called
comparative inversions. Adjective comparatives, such as "as + adjective + as + noun
(or phrase)" are the main ones [36, p.76].
Phraseological comparisons are based on partial reinterpretation. According to
V.M. Mokienko, in comparisons the meaning of the phraseology is expressed almost
explicitly [43, p.167].
In the exemplified idioms as black as night, as black as a crow, as green as a
grass, as blue as a badger, as red as a rose, as red as a lobster, as white as snow, as
white as sheet, as white as death, as yellow as gold the first significant component
(coloronym) is used in a literal sense. According to the classification of types of
lexemes, suggested by O.V. Kunin, the name of the color in this case refers to real
words [36, p.77]. In idioms-comparisons the direct meaning of each coloronym
component can be highlighted.
Black.
1) black: as black as a crow's wing, as black as a raven, as black as a coal, as
black as ink (very black);
2) dark: as black as hell, as black as my hat, as black as pitch (completely
dark, nothing visible: even a shot in the eye);
3) gloomy (about a person): as black as a thunder cloud, as black as sin, as
black as thunder;
Among the comparative phraseological units with the component black there is
the expression to work like a black (it is difficult to work). In phraseology, black in
the substantive form expresses the literal meaning of the first component, for
example: black like onyx [74, p.310], as black as a tar-barrel [77], black as coal [71,
p.183], black as the deepest night [71, p.183].
 34

Blue.
Although the number of idioms containing the blue component is second-rated,
there are some comparison idioms with this component as blue as a badger (very
bluish, blue as a naval) and like blue murder (very fast, in the wind).
The meaning blue can be extracted from the phraseology as blue as a badger.
The blue component was included in this phrase due to the similarity of blue and gray
colors.
In the like blue murder comparison, it is impossible to distinguish the
semantics of any of the components. The general meaning of the phraseology has an
emotionally reinforcing color (to cry blue murder – to throat, to rehearse). The visual
effect can be established to strengthen the feelings and emotions, for example: His
eyes were as clear and blue as the hot summer sky [73, p.288].
White.
In phrasemes, the coloronym white has two meanings:
1) white: as white as a lily, as white as chalk, as white as ivory, as white as
milk, as white as wool (white as snow, snow-white);
2) pale: as white as a ghost, as white as ashes, as white as marble (pale as
canvas).
Phraseologisms with the first value of the white component are positively
colored. It is evidenced by another component a lily, ivory, milk. The same phrases
that include the coloronym white in the meaning pale have a negative color which is
also due to the comparative lexeme ghost, ashes, for example: so pale as to be milky
[74, p.51], powdered white like a ghost (extremely and unnaturally pale) [74, p.504].
Red.
The coloronym red in comparative idioms has two meanings, for example:
1) red: as red as a poppy (red like a poppy flower), as red as a beetroot (red like a
beet), as red as a turkey-cock (red like a turkey), as red as a lobster (red like a crab),
as red as fire (red as fire), as red as blood (red as blood); red like precious coral [73,
p.178], red like blood [73, p.178], bright red, red like blood, red like precious coral
[73, p.178].
 35

2) ruddy: as red as a cherry, as red as a rose (blood with milk).

Green.
Phrases as green as a gooseberry and as green as grass mean inexperienced,
green which is due to the figurative use of the component green. In the above-
mentioned phraseological units, one of the values necessarily indicated a color, it is
not observed in the case of green.
Yellow.
Although the number of idioms with the coloronym green exceeds those with
the component yellow, the number of idioms-comparisons which include the above-
mentioned name of the color prevails.
In the expressions as yellow as a crow’s foot, as yellow as a guinea, as yellow
as a kite’s claw, as yellow as corn and as yellow as gold mean yellow as a lemon;
golden; golden the yellow component retains its original meaning. Golden as the
shade of yellow is added, for example: flowers were as bright as the sun [75, p.45],
"evil" as gold [73, p.338], like an upset goldfish [73, p.417].
Gray.
The lexeme gray in the expressions as gray as a bat's wing (gray like a
mouse), as gray as lead (gray like lead) has its first dictionary meaning gray, but the
comparative lexemes (bat's wing and lead) give these phrases different shades of
meaning.
Brown.
This coloronym indicates that there is only one phraseology-comparison
recorded in phraseological dictionaries. As brown as a berry means very dark, very
tanned, chocolate-colored. From the etymological point of view the word brown in
this expression retains its old meaning "dark".
Other colors were not found in the idioms-comparisons.
Lexemes denoting color in comparative expressions necessarily have their
primary meaning of color. Only in two cases green, brown are the names of colors
that are used figuratively. Comparative phrases are motivated idioms. They have a
connection with the semantics of prototypes.
 36

3.1.2. Phraseological units with figurative metaphoric meaning

Color-based lexical items comprise different aspects of life, including the ideas
shared by the individuals of a particular group of people, traditions, customs, beliefs
and values. The metaphorical terms are very extensively used in the English
language. L. Iljinska and M. Platonova from the Institute of Applied Linguistics in
Riga and Technical University in Latvia suggested the classification of color terms
like the indicators of a person’s perception of the world [31, p.61].
Thorough color adjectives evaluation from nine sources of Disney Books and
Animation proves that 60% of color terms with metaphoric meaning are established
by Liz Brazwell. The classification of the color-based metaphorical terms [31, p.64]
has been elaborated from the book by Liz Braswell “Once Upon a Dream” as the
examples of cognitive modeling as follows from table 3.1.2. in Appendix.
On this account, focusing on some of the metaphorical term categories from
the classification, the usage of expressive means and cultural references in the text
often determines the context-dependent character of some terms. Relations between
meaning and context are of particular importance as they represent an interactive
process that enables cognition and productive communication.
Metaphors are mentioned to be the most widespread type of phraseological
reinterpretation that is defined by O.V. Kunin as "the transfer of a name from one
denotation to another which is associated with it on the basis of real or imagined
similarity" [36, p.76]. Phraseologisms-metaphors are quite figurative. According to
V.M. Mokienko, a metaphraseological unit is a "factor of creating imagery" [43,
p.167]. This group of phraseological units is the most numerous.
For example, to look black, the pot calling the cattle black, to have a fit of
blues, once in a blue moon, to show the white feather, white elephant, red cock, to
paint the town red, in the green, to turn yellow, the gray mare is the better horse, to
see through rose-colored spectacles, in a brown study, a purple patch, the pink of
health.
In order to clarify the meaning of a coloronym in the composition of
metaphorical idioms, these idioms are considered to be free word combinations.
 37

"Most of the phraseological units were initially free word combinations, the
replacement of components was natural for them" [42, p.16] as follows from table
[Link]. in Appendix.
Taking into consideration the interpreted examples, there are 5% of
phraseological units that contain two or more coloronyms. The most common
coloronyms that occur simultaneously in phraseological metaphors are black and
white.
In metaphorical phraseology due to the highest degree of reinterpretation of the
components, the meaning is expressed implicitly. Trends in the use of the coloronym
can be traced in both direct and figurative (especially psychological) meanings.
In all cases of the formation of the meanings of phraseological units, the
semantics of the coloronym is either meaningful or significantly affects the general
interpretation of the phraseological units. The exception is single phrasemes with the
blue component.
Among all groups of phraseological metaphors with lexemes denoting color,
the largest number are those that include the name of the color in its literal meaning.
Meanings related to the interpretation of color are found in phraseological units with
the coloronyms black, green, rosy (pink), brown, purple, partially white. Expressions
with such lexemes as blue, yellow and gray do not contain psychologically loaded
semantics. As far as red is concerned, its psychological interpretation is directly
related to the color sign, so they are almost indistinguishable.

3.1.3. Phraseological units with metonymical significance

G. Lakoff and M. Johnsen, American cognitive linguists, prove that metonymy
is different from metaphor in different kinds of processes. Metaphor is principally a
way of one thing conceiving in terms of another, and its primary function is
understanding. Metonymy, on the other hand, has primarily a referential function,
that is, it allows us to use one entity to stand for another. However, metonymy is not
merely a referential device. It also serves the function of providing understanding
[38, p.36]. As far as metonymical models are concerned, they are actually considered
 38

as special cases of metaphorical ones: similar to metaphors, where a source domain

stands for a target domain, in a metonymy a part stands for a whole or another
element with which this part forms a whole. Metonymy is also like metaphor is not
just a poetic or rhetorical device. Metonymic concepts are part of the ordinary,
everyday way we think and act as well as talk [38, p.37]. Based on the theory of
metonymic concepts suggested by G. Lakoff and M. Johnsen there are models
including patterns place-for-event, object-for-people, place-for-inhabitants, place-for-
product elaborated from the book by Liz Braswell “Once Upon a Dream”. The study
includes the pattern color-for-person. The fairies are characterized in the examples
like “a red”, “a black”, “a blue”, “a green”. In these metonymies, a person with a
certain skin color or emotional opinion is referred to as a whole by the color of their
skin or the color associated with certain emotions. Another pattern is color-for-object.
With regards to the examples mentioned in table 3.1.3. in Appendix,
metonymy in the shape of reference point construction is extremely important for the
understanding of color adjectives extensions. Metonymy is also the basic process
through which color adjectives acquire figurative meaning. Learning their semantic
components, a lot of meanings are distinguished from the context.
Phrases of this type are based on metonymic reinterpretation, which, according
to O.V. Kunin, is the transfer of "a name from one denotation to another, which is
associated with it by contiguity" [36, p.76]. Since metonymy is based on the real
connection of the object of nomination with the object it denotes, the reinterpreted
meaning of such phraseological units is associatively connected with the literal
meaning of the components.
Within metonymy periphrasis and euphemisms are used. Although the line
between them is rather vague as follows from table [Link]. in Appendix.
Periphrasis is a stylistic figure that originates from the Greek word
periphrazein, which means “talking around.” It is a stylistic device that can be
defined as the use of excessive and longer words to convey a meaning which could
have been conveyed with a shorter expression, or in a few words. It is an indirect or
roundabout way of writing about something [63].
 39

A coloronym, as a constituent part of a phraseology, mostly indicates a

characteristic feature of the subject and is therefore used in a literal sense. With the
names of colors, the idioms-periphrasis can be found, for example: yellow
metal(gold), white fuel ("white fuel", hydropower), black gold(oil), black
diamonds(coal). These expressions mean substances. There are also those that mean
the animal world, for example: the little gentleman in black velvet (mole), the
gentleman in brown (bug). There are also periphrasis for objects and phenomena, for
example: the long green (money), green stuff, green meat (vegetables, greenery), the
blue blanket (sky), red, white, and blue (about bunting, flags, hat, an American, to be
extremely or excessively patriotic or nationalistic, often used humorously or
sarcastically, primarily heard in the US. [74, pp.225, 502, 506]. Some idioms mean
people (metonyms), for example: priest of the blue bag (lawyer), knight of the green
cloth (carter), black-coated workers, white-collared workers (labor intelligentsia),
the red-coated gentry (British soldiers), white people (to describe people's skin [79,
p.155]. White Rabbit (a person who is in a hurry and complaining of being late,
supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the month and is a UK and North
American superstition) [74, pp.23, 50, 68, 109, 112, 118, 153, 187, 248], white savior
(a white person who takes action to help non-white people) [74, p.439]. It should be
noted that white savior complex is a term that's used to describe white people who
consider themselves wonderful helpers to Black, Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC) — but they “help” for the wrong reasons (and sometimes end up doing
more to hurt than help).
Euphemisms is a linguistic-social phenomenon determined by the conditions
and nature of communication. They can be considered from a psychological point of
view. Phrases like the black man, the gentleman in black mean the devil. In such
phraseological units, the color black symbolizes the world of darkness, where Satan
reigns.
So, coloronyms are part of metonymic, periphrastic and euphemistic idioms
with their primary (color) semantics. As a rule, the names of colors carry an
 40

attributive load. They not only affect the overall meaning of the phraseological unit,
but also perform a meaning-distinguishing function.
The evaluation of the phraseological unit by types of reinterpretations made it
possible to reveal certain regularities in the semantics of coloronyms within one type.
They consist of:
1) lexemes for the designation of colors that aquired their primary meaning,
denoting color;
2) phraseological units that contain the names of colors that have a
psychological load. In some cases, the psychological interpretation is not taken into
account at all, the coloronym may not have a literal, but a figurative meaning;
3) depending on the type of reinterpretation of lexemes to indicate color, they
have different degrees of deactualization. In phraseology-comparisons, coloronyms
necessarily denote color, in metonymies this component also has a color sign, but in
metaphraseological units, where there is the highest level of reinterpretation, the
degree of deactualization of the word is the highest;
4) the names of colors not only affect the general meaning of phraseological
units, which is quite natural, but also in some cases perform a meaning-distinguishing
function.
Thorough color adjective evaluation from nine sources of American Disney
Fictional Arts, that consist of literary sources, motion pictures and animated cartoons,
proves that the main names of colors are used in all types of phraseological units,
with the exception of rosy, pink, purple which can be found only in metaphorical
phraseological units as follows from table [Link]. in Appendix.

3.2. Emotional and expressive functions of color adjective concepts in the US

Disney Crossovers
Most often color is considered in relation to the emotion it evokes [19, p.141].
Studies tend to evolve around the material and visual aspects of color and the
environment, architecture, fashion and graphics. Color and preference are
interconnected. There are three studies that are specifically in relation to color study.
 41

The first study is by da Pos and Green-Armytage [22, p.15] that employs the six
emotions indicated by Ekman [25, p.184]. Their study considers the basic emotions as
being fundamentally universal, though they found variation and degrees of intensity
in interpretation of the emotions. It claims that the results would appear to confirm
consensus among individuals in perceiving emotional expressions, colors and the
relationships. The second study, by Simmons, on color and emotion, observes that the
associative links between certain colors and emotions have not always been proven,
and argues for the need of a protocol for establishing empirical links between color
and emotional terms [48, p.400]. The accent is concentrated on the evaluation of
visual color stimuli with word associations, such as “pleasant”, “unpleasant”, “mood
enhancing” and “calming”, developing an experiment for each term. The main
conclusion in his study is that it is not always the hue dimension that is prominent in
emotional responses, but saturation and brightness/lightness. This is also confirmed
in da Pos and Green-Armytage’s work [22, p.17]. Simmons states that color affects
the body stimulating or relaxing according to the context. The third study, by
Steinvall, uses a corpus analysis to verify the collocational patterns of color terms and
emotion terms [49, p.350]. Steinvall observes the fundamental aspect of a dual
associative approach: emotions in relation to color categories and colors in relation to
emotion categories. Such constructions are not lexically filled, but represent a
grammatical schema, which can be instantiated with particular words. [46, p.68].
Having polysemantic meanings, color can be interpreted to depict emotions that
becomes an adjective component of a linguistic construction.
The creation of polysemy by metaphorical and metonymical models depends
on semantics of color adjectives, their meanings that can be independent or context-
bound. One of the characteristic features of adjectives is that depending on the
context, adjectives may refer to features of the nouns they modify.
To gain a deeper insight into substantiating of “Once Upon a Dream” by Liz
Braswell, 755 color adjectives have been enumerated in it. Based on morphological
structure, 270 color adjectives have been chosen to be classified and state their types.
In some cases, the same color was represented in all three forms, as a root word, for
 42

example “green”, as a derivative “greenish” and as a compound “black-and-green”

(as shown in Table 3.2. in Appendix).
It is significant to point out that most compound color adjectives are lexemes
expressing properties of complex adjectives, mostly compounds and derivatives. The
large proportion of compounds can be partly on account of the peculiarity of color
adjectives being often based on comparison. For example: ‘bloody red’ [72, p.190],
‘bronze fountains’ [72, p.29] or ‘snow-white hair’ [72, p.202]. The suggested
examples of color adjectives feature a great number of compound words and
derivatives made up with adding different suffixes to the roots, for example: golden,
smoky, ashy, whitish, mousy, greenish, rosy, colorful. 182 compound adjectives
(66%), are monosemous, while only 88 words (34% of color adjectives) have more
than one dictionary sense (as shown in Table 2.3.1.).
The exemplified color subdivision based on the contextualized modeling from
“Once Upon a Dream” by Liz Braswell distinguishes the most polysemous words of
three colors that are widely used in the metaphorical meaning, for example:
1. “black” – “cool” and “cold” color (warlike, envious, jealous, dirty, fool,
disgusting, unreal, painful, angry, frightening, ill-mannered, sad, mournful), for
example: black dragon [72, p.10], black servants [72, p.18], black-and-gray monsters
[72, p.19], the blackest reaches of her mind [72, p.23], black-and-green vines [72, p.
43], black death [72, p.87], black evil thing [72, p.99], black-and-white world [72, p.
120], black smile [72, p.122], black blood [72, p.123], the blackest part of the world
[72, p.150].
2. “white” – “warm” and “cold” color (pure, luxury, clean, perfect, fair, true,
hopeful, reliable, angry, dangerous, painful, tricky), for example: snow-white hair
[72, p.11], white face [72, p.14], white and pink softness [72, p. 63], white mustache
[72, p.85], white-hot pain [72, p.122], white sunlight [72, p.159], silver-white greaves
[72, p.165].
3. “green” – “cool” and “down-to-earth” color (calming, relaxing, reserved,
refreshing, renewed, growing, envious, romantic, fantastic, unreal), for example:
 43

green smoke [72, p.13], green fog [72, p.14], green balls of light [72, p.57], green
mist [72, p.95], oily green fairy [72, p.96], green ball of fire [72, p.144], green world
[72, p.153], green ladies [72, p.161], green queen [72, p.178].
The above modelled system of examples from the Disney Twisted Tales books
provides the average number of meanings per word that is ascertained for root
adjectives, derivatives and compound words to explore the relations between
polysemy and morphological structure. The data of morphological typology of color
adjectives prove that root word polysemy is about twice higher for root words than
for derivatives or compound words, while compounds hold the monosemy record of
the sample (perhaps, partly due to their length).

3.3. Pragmatic potential of color adjectives in American Disney Fictional Arts

Much attention is paid to semantics that is the study of the relationship between
color adjectives and how the meanings from them are drawn in the US Disney Books
of Tales, Motion Pictures and Animation.
Taking into account Dr. Nassau`s theory described in his article “Colour”, the
process of interpretation depends on human cognition and textual dependence [69].
Lexical concepts of “warm” colors include red, orange, yellow and variations
of those three colors. These are the colors of fire, blood, fallen leaves, sunsets and
sunrises, and are generally energizing, passionate and positive. “Warm” colors reflect
passion, happiness, enthusiasm, and energy. Being “hot color”, red is associated with
fire, violence, and warfare. It’s also associated with love and passion. It can actually
have a physical effect on people, raising blood pressure and inner feelings. “Red” can
be associated with anger, for example: The red fairy let out a strangled cry of rage
[72, p.175]. “Red” also indicates danger, for example: The red fairy didn’t turn
around but instead thrust her sword back [72, p.175]. “Orange” is associated with
the fruit of the same name. It can be associated with health and vitality. It’s often
considered more friendly and inviting, for example: A huge red-and-orange bonfire
crackled merrily in the commons [72, p.100]. “Yellow” is often associated with
 44

happiness and sunshine, for example: A one of suns: a shining yellow ball... The sun
seemed so joyous at its own energy... [72, p.25]. “Yellow” renders hope, for example:
“. ... the air was thick and dusty ... she could see a faint flicker of yellow light ...
bloody Aurora ... walked toward sunshine [72, p.56]. “Yellow” centers on danger,
though not as strongly as red, for example: ... hellfire yellow..., ... yellow eyes of a
demon ... [72, p. 98].
“Cool” colors include “green”, “blue”, “purple”, but they are often more
subdued than “warm” colors. They are the colors of night, water, nature, and are
usually calming, relaxing, and somewhat reserved, for example: “‘Sky and Water
Blue.’ Very poetic.” [72, p.18], the blue ones were very light, like the tiny flowers in
ancient tapestries ... [72, p.21]. “Purple” is a combination of “red” and “blue” and
takes on some attributes of negative senses, for example: ... on ugly purple fire ...
[72, p.174].
The given above examples point out that apart from the main conceptual
meanings, color adjectives have additional or peripheral meanings. Taking into
account not only a narrow context of color adjectives substantiated from the book by
Liz Braswell “Once Upon a Dream”, there is also a broad one encompassing nearby
sentences and paragraphs under the influence of human cognition and interpretation.
Conceptual meaning is a core dictionary meaning of a word encompassing the
features of a concept and distinguishing it from all other words. As Bem P. Ianna, a
Senior Lecturer who teaches Applied Linguistics at the Nasarawa State University in
Keffi (Nigeria), defines that “each lexical item (form) is associated with a concept,
which in turn represents a referent in the ‘real world’” [30, p.85].
Bem P. Ianna provides insights into the aspect of language concerned with
expressing and giving shape to events in the external world and of the internal world
of consciousness for a more effective information sharing system, especially in
specialized domains in less widely used languages [30, p.90]. Using the young
scientist’s theories of cognitive framing/modeling that could be used in understanding
a word, term or concept for effective translation from and into as many languages as
 45

is desirable, it should be noted that color adjectives are a reliable tool of

communication that can be employed to prompt an action, influence physiological
reactions and the mood by linking kinds of colors to specific emotional responses,
that are the composites of color concepts in semantic evaluation [30, p.93].
Summarizing the comparative features, morphological, metaphorical and
metonymical modeling of color adjectives from the US Disney Books of Tales,
Motion Pictures and Animation that have got plenty of evaluated meanings
depending on the context, great emphases is placed on the investigated adjectives that
have qualitative characteristics of “good” and “bad” colors with sense specification of
“hot”, “warm”, “cold” and “cool” colors that can be resulted in the thematic sphere of
book topicality of tale concepts “LOVE” and “EVIL”. The abstract evaluative
features of concept “LOVE” reflected by “good”, “hot” and “warm” colors are
energizing, passionate, positive, friendly, inviting, calming, relaxing, reserved, bright,
renewed, responsible, refreshing, spiritual, romantic, luxury, pure, important, creative,
imaginative, wealthy, royal, dependable, cheerful. The evaluated meanings of “red”,
“orange”, “yellow” colors are passion, love, importance, happiness, enthusiasm,
abundance, spirituality, growth, warmth, hope, vitality, health, energy, friendship,
peace, sunshine. Concept “EVIL” specifies in the characteristic peculiarities of
“cool” and “cold” colors, such as violent, warlike, dangerous, mistaken, deceitful,
coward, useless, envious, jealous, inexperienced, hopeless, dirty, dishonest, disloyal,
dull, messy, mean, impolite. “Blue”, “green”, “gray”, “purple” colors center on the
meanings of night, water, nature, stone, new beginnings, innovation, purity, spirit,
nature, creativity, imagination, wealth, royalty, spring, romance. The contrastive
“black” and “white” are the colors of opposition, though there are examples that
depict the negative characteristics of “white” reflecting pain, death, emptiness,
illness. In this case the overlapping of meanings is observed in opposed colors
“black” and “white”. Such modeling neglects their contrastive meanings placing both
of them in the rank of contextual equality.
Phraseologisms evaluated from the US Disney Books of Tales, Motion
Pictures and Animation and referring to colors can make positive, negative or neutral
 46

impression and cause certain emotions. The nature of the influence is determined by
three main factors:
− the context of the statement;
− the perception of the message depending on the nature of the signs that makes up
the statement;
− the pragmatic impact of the statement depending on the receptor that perceives it.
It should be emphasized that the relationship between the pragmatics of the
original and the translation of phraseological units with the concept of color may be
different and the pragmatic adequacy of the translation does not necessarily consist of
preserving the pragmatics of the original text. The German translation expert
A. Neubert from Leipzig University, ‘Leipzig School’ of Translation Studies, Kent
State University in Ohio suggested distinguishing four types of pragmatic relations in
translation from the highest possibility of translating in a pragmatic sense to the
impossibility of reproducing the pragmatics of the original in the translation. Such
gradation is established depending on the nature of the original text. The pragmatic
orientation of the original, which has the same pragmatic interest for the readers of
the translation, is fully conveyed [44, p.169]. The first type of pragmatic adaptation
aims to ensure adequate understanding of the message by translation receptors,
focusing on the "averaged" receptor. The second type aims to achieve the correct
perception of the content of the original, conveying the emotional impact of the
original text to the receptor. The third type of pragmatic adaptation relates to the
interpreter who focuses on a specific receptor and communication situation. The
fourth type is the solution of the "extra-translational overtask" that solves some
personal problem without relating to exact reproduction of the original.
Pragmatic meaning is the relationship between a sign and a person, the
subjective attitude of people to language units and through language to objects and
concepts. It includes all issues related to different degrees of understanding certain
language units in speech or their interpretation depending on the linguistic or non-
linguistic experience of people participating in the communication process.
 47

Pragmatics is the study of extralinguistic factors of speech like the subject, situations,
broadcasting participants.
So, when determining the pragmatic aspect of the concept color, it should be
noted that the meanings of phraseological units do not always coincide in the original
and translated languages. It is important to conclude that lexical differentiation of
meanings based on the textual cognition is changed due to the semantic relations
taken from the context that influences the evaluative meanings of color adjectives.
 48

CONCLUSIONS
Learning the theoretical aspects of color adjectives semantics in Modern
English, we have come to conclusions that a language is a constantly growing
flexible area with an immediate response to a developing strategy in concept
modeling. One of the most frequent patterns of concept creation is based on
knowledge, perception and cognition of colors, due to their universal character. With
regards to diachronic and synchronic approaches to the studies of color adjectives, it
has become clear that the empirical study of the color-based adjectives centers on the
fact that users of color adjectives should rely upon corresponding background
knowledge of cultural and social contexts. Linguistic methodologies have been used
to focus on better understanding the meanings of interconnected originated words, to
explain the ways color adjectives are formed and classified, define their typology,
conduct a more extensive study of their concepts in semantic relations. In the context
of this study, the qualitative approach has enabled the collection of tales proving the
origin of color names as it is shown in the suggested examples.
Specifying semantic and morphological typology of English color adjectives, it
must be stressed that color categories follow a consistent pattern across all languages.
There is a larger domain of linguistic relativity in which color adjectives can be
divided into three types that are polysemantic due to their morphological structure
and culturally dependent. The basic color terms are black, white, red, green, yellow,
blue, brown, purple, pink, orange and gray, though that order cannot be followed, as
some unexpected connections can be observed between them.
Assuming different functions of color adjectives and their usage in context,
investigating the specificity of color adjectives which introduce additional meanings,
it is important to note that modern color adjectives substantiated from the US Disney
Books of Tales, Motion Pictures and Animation pose polysemantic problems that are
caused by various reasons, such as lack of referential equivalence, contextual
polysemy, culture specific allusions embodied in the meaning of an adjective and the
impossibility to transfer the metaphoric component of meaning of it into the target
language. Providing modeling of color adjectives in the contemporary usage of color
 49

adjectives proved that their meaning is not only determined by the field, but is also
dependent on the context regardless of which color concepts hardly ever exist. The
contextual cognition is changed due to the semantic relations that are taken from the
context. All color adjectives are associated with the emotions and possess different
connotations in different cultures. Such colors as “black” and “white” are ambiguous
with the overlapping of evaluated meanings.
Identifying the conceptual processes in the extension of color adjectives based
on the associative world of cognition suggested by Bem P. Ianna, the great
significance is observed in thematically contextualized tale concepts “LOVE” and
“EVIL” that are lexical sense specification of “hot”, “warm”, “cold” and “cool”
colors. Events, states, places, amounts, things and property are reflected by color
adjectives to name their peculiarities and features. These semantic primes are
conceptualized in the human brain and become compositional. The meanings of
phrases, clauses and sentences are determined from the lexical concepts that make up
phraseological units. Reproducing the semantics of a phraseological unit with a color
component in the US Books of Tales, Motion Pictures and Animation, the method of
phraseological tracing and descriptive reproduction is used. The color component is
preserved if there is a full or partial phraseological equivalent with it in the receiving
language, as well as in case of component-wise reproduction. The meaning of the
phraseological unit is adequately reproduced due to the transparency of the meaning
of the actualized internal form.
It is necessary to emphasize that the influences of color concepts on cognition
and behavior are considered to be the result of learned associations. In daily life,
some situations in the context of different colors are often accompanied by particular
experiences. When repeatedly encountering these situations, people can form specific
associations between colors and these experiences or concepts.
So, it is important to conclude that conceptual semantics breaks lexical
concepts of color adjectives up into ontological categories, such as events, states,
places, amounts, things and property. Touching upon them, any concept in the human
brain is expressed using these semantic primes. Judging from the typologically
 50

grouped color-based lexical items from the US Disney Fictional Arts that mostly
refer to life, traditions, customs, beliefs and values reflecting human cognition,
progressively greater parts of decomposed meanings are conceptualized according to
the emotional state, sense perception, feelings, associations that reflect social and
cultural levels, morality in the evaluated meanings of color adjectives.
 51

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 59

APPENDIX
Table 1.2.2.
Psychological Impact of Color on a Person
№ Psychological feature Color division
1. Stimulating (warm) colors a) red, bright red (crimson, scarlet,
promoting excitement and act like vermillion)– strong-willed, life-affirming;
irritants b) yellow-hot, orange (orange, apricot,
marigold) – warm, cozy;
c) yellow, lemon, golden (yellow, lemon
yellow, pale yellow) – contacting, radiant
2. Disintegrating (cold) colors reducing a) violet, lilac, lavender (violet, prune) –
irritability deep, heavy
b) blue, indigo, cobalt (blue, marine,
sapphire blue) – emphasizing the distance
c) blue, azure, turquoise (sky-blue, azure,
turquoise) - directing to space
d) blue-green – emphasizing movement,
variability
3. Pastel colors a) pink (pink, flesh color) – gentle, giving
the impression of some mystery
b) lilac (lilac, amethyst) – closed, isolated
c) grayish-blue (blue-gray, pastel) -
restrained
4. Static colors capable of balancing a) true green (green, malachite green) –
demanding, refreshing
b) olive green – soothing, softening
c) yellow-green (mustard-yellow) –
renewing
d) purple (purple, magenta) –
sophisticated, pretentious
5. Colors of muted tones that do not gray, white, black
cause irritation, extinguish it, help to
concentrate.
6. Warm dark tones (brown), which a) ochre (yellow and red ochre) - reduces
stabilize irritation, act inertly the growth of irritation
b) brown, earthy (brown, sallow) –
stabilizing
c) dark brown (umber) – softens
excitability
7. Cold, dark colors that isolate and dark gray, black-blue, dark green-blue,
suppress irritation dark-gray, pitch-black, jet-black, deep
black
 60

Table 3.1.
The Frequency Indicator of Colors, Hues and Shades
in the US Disney Books of Tales, Motion Pictures and Animation
Color/hue/ Baker E. The Rochon Liz Braswell Alice in Alice in Jen Liz Liz
D. The Princess Farrah “Unbirthday” Wonderland Wonderland Calonita Braswell Braswell
shade Frog and the “Almost (book) (cartoon) (movie, “Conceal, “Once “Part of
Princess Frog There” 1933) Don’t Upon a Your
(book) (cartoon) (book) Feel” Dream” World”
(book) (book) (book)

White + - + + + + + + +
Black + - + + - + + + +
Blue + + + + + + + + +
Orange - - - + - - + + +
Red + + + + + + + + +
Green + + + + + - + + +
Purple + - + + - - + + +
Yellow + - + + - - + + +
Hazel - - + + - - + + +
Pink + - + + + - + + +
Brown + - + + - - - + +
Gray/grey + - + + - - + + +
Azure - - - - - - - + +
Magenta - - - - - - - - +
Navy - - + - - - + - -
Cyan - - - - - - - - -
Ruby - - - + - - - + -
Turquoise + - - - - - - - +
Gold (golden) + - + + + + - + +
Silver + + + + - - + + +
Maroon - - - - - - - - +
Lime - - - - - - - - -
Lemon - - - + - - - + +
Ivory - + - + - - - - -
Violet + - + + + - + + +
Crimson - - + + - - + - -
color + - + + + - + - +
Rainbow - - - - - - - + +
Beige - - - - - - + + +
Lavender + - + + - - - - +
Amber - - - - - - - - -
Plum + - + + - - - + +
Scarlet - - - - - - - - +
Sand - - - + + - - - +
Emerald + - + + - - - + -
Vinous - - - - - - - - -
 61

Table 3.1. continuation

Color/hue/ Baker E. The Rochon Liz Braswell Alice in Alice in Jen Liz Liz
D. The Princess Farrah “Unbirthday” Wonderland Wonderland Calonita Braswell Braswell
shade Frog and the “Almost (book) (cartoon) (movie, “Conceal, “Once “Part of
Princess Frog There” 1933) Don’t Upon a Your
(book) (cartoon) (book) Feel” Dream” World”
(book) (book) (book)

Coral - - - - - - - - +
Chocolate - - + + - - + - +
Olive - - - - - - - - +
Salmon - - - + - - - - -
Lilac - - + - - - - + -
Wheat - - - + - - - - -
Khaki - - - - - - - - -
Fuchsia - - - - - - - - -
Indigo - - - - - - - - -
Charcoal - - - - - - - - -
Pea - + - - - - - - -
Teal - - - - - - + - -
Aquamarine - - - - - - - - +
Ceruline - - - - - - - - -
Seagreen - - - - - - - - -
Jade - - - - - - - - -
Celadon - - - - - - - - -
Sage - - + + - - - - +
Slate - - + + - - - - +
Mauve + - - - - - - - -
Taupe - - - - - - - - -
Amethyst + - - - - - - - -
Eggplant/ - - - - - - - - -
aubergine
Carmine - - - - - - - - -
Seashell - - - - - - - - +
Cream - - + + - - + + -
Bisque - - - - - - - - -
Tan - - - + - - - - -
Sepia - - - + - - - - -
Ocher - - - - - - - - -
Peach - + + - - - - + +
Alabaster - - + - - - - - -
Dark + + + + + + + + +
Light + + + + - + + + +
 62

Table 3.1.2
The Classification of the Color-Based Metaphorical Terms
Elaborated from the Book by Liz Braswell “Once Upon a Dream”
№ Cognitive model Exemplified model
1. based on allusion golden onion domes [72, p.6], the Dark [72,
p.14], the nobles of the castle were dressed in
brilliant blues: Prussian velvet doublets,
cerulean linen skirts, periwinkle bodices,
sapphire roundlets, cobalt capes [72, p.30],
golden and bloody Aurora [72, p.56]
Note: Allusion is ‘... a passing reference, without explicit identification, to a literary or historical
person, place, or event, or to another literary work ...’ [13, p.11]. The motivation for applying
allusion is hidden in its ability to create a desired mental image for the readership of the text,
establishing clear relations between the denotative (general) meaning of the lexical item and a
concept in the scientific meanings of terms, not their forms.
2. named after minerals bright green gems (spark) [72, p.15], bright
(gemstones) and metals, and metal [72, p.34], gray rock [72, p.42]
which in the majority of cases
are allusive
3. historically-bound golden plates [72, p.29], golden numbers [72,
p.30], golden light [72, p.34], golden lock [72,
p.38], silver pouch [72, p.43]
4. based on literary works fairy tale personages, cultural heritage: a white-
bearded man (Santa Claus) [72, p.27], golden-
hued crowd (kind of drink) [72, p.50]
5. created by analogy in the blackest reaches of her mind [72, p.23],
green patch surrounded by trees [72, p.26],
grayish skin [72, p.26], aqua (eyes) [72, p.27],
red bloodshot and watery eyes [72, p.29], black
eyes [72, p.42]
6. based on comparison black as death [72, p.6], as dark blue as she
imagined the sea [72, p.27], it was really like a
sea [72, p.30], white bloodlike pus [72, p.99]
7. based on the phenomena blue hung [72, p.29], white-hot pain [72, p.122]
typical of the distant
unrelated domains of
knowledge (synaesthesia)
8. named after plants a melon day [72, p.14], orange light [72, p.15]
9. named after the thick raven-black hair [72, p.7], mutant
representatives of fauna bluebirds [72, p.48]
 63

Table 3.1.2 continuation

№ Cognitive model Exemplified model
10. named after liquids, food and glittering onion domes [72, p.9], blue dishes
spices [72, p.29], gray food [72, p.37], black-and-
green vines [72, p.43], black wine [72, p.50],
golden soups [72, p.50], the dark green dome of
vines [72, p.54]
11. containing elements of black Maleficent [72, p.30]
classical languages
12. named after a natural the blue sky [72, p.25], white and black mount
phenomenon [72, p.25-26], a golden sun [72, p.27], spot of
sunlight [72, p.34], dark greenish-black murk
[72, p.42], perpetual twilight [72, p.43]
 64

Table [Link].
The Interpretation of a Coloronym Meaning in the Composition of Metaphorical Idioms
(Based on the US Disney Collection Books, Motion Pictures and Animation)
№ Color Color lexeme Metaphorical Exemplified
meaning reinterpretation phraseological units
1. Black 1. bad, terrible – The metaphorical Coloronyms in their primary
devil is not so reinterpretation of some meaning, denoting color, for
black as he is other phraseological units is example: black hen lays a white
painted (he is based on similarity both in egg (a black cow and white milk),
not as bad as he terms of color and black and white (pen drawing), in
is portrayed), to characteristic of another black and white (black on white,
depict in black component. In such idioms, quite clear, understandable), to
colors (to the semantics will not call white black (to defend an
present in a bad necessarily have a negative obvious lie); to be at somebody
light), to paint connotation. In the black and blue (beat to bruises),
smth. black phraseology black eye, the the Red, White and Blue (the
(show in the lexeme eye does not mean English national flag – by the
worst tones); the eye itself, but the place colors that are included in it) [74,
2. unhappy, around it, and black indicates pp.225, 502, 506].
difficult – a a color sign (the place In the phraseology every
black year around the eye becomes white has its black, every sweet
(black, unhappy dark), to black out (to sour (there is no sweet without
year), a black become unconscious, to bitter; everything has its reverse
day (difficult, prevent someone from side) the psychological
bad day); reading or seeing something interpretation of the names of
3. gloomy, bad by covering it with colors can be clearly seen. In
– black looks something dark, to make a everything pure, unsullied (white)
(gloomy, place dark by turning off all some kind of evil (black) can be
disapproving the lights, for example so found.
looks), to look that the enemy cannot see a Devil is not so black as he is
black (to have a place at night) [74, p.412] painted, black year, black books,
displeased, The use of the words Black the black dog is on one's back,
gloomy, angry to describe people's skin in there's a black sheep in every
look), things black people (African- flock, black frost, black in the
look black Americans) [79, p.464], face, black will take no other hue,
(things are bad). black music through her etc.
body (music created by There are color names in
African-American some idioms that can denote
musicians) [73, p.430]. dishonesty, for example: black
The phraseological unit conscience (black, unclear
black wax (earth that conscience), black market (black,
becomes sticky after rain) speculative market), to be all in
was formed in a similar way. black (with money in your bank
The component wax contains account, or with more money than
the meaning sticky substance you owe) [74, p.86].
and the coloronym specifies In the specified phraseological
the color of this substance. units, the lexeme black gives the
There is a descriptive feature expression a negative color. In this
of interpreted context in the case, the psychological
phrases with figurative interpretation of the black color,
meaning, for example: which always carries the imprint
 65

black-letter day (weekday, of death, sorrow, destruction plays

ordinary, unremarkable day), a great role [4, c.22].
black flag (pirate flag), black In some old sayings, black has the
in the face (crimson from meaning melancholy, for example,
anger, tension), black cloud the black dog (rags, boredom) and
(fury or ill-temper, especially the black dog is on one's back (to
foul, angry or depressed be bored).
mood) [79, p.213], [71, In the phrasemes black art, black
p.70], black and ashy and magic, black sheep, the name of
ugly as sin (ugly, miserable) the color expresses something
[73, p.12], look at smb. sinister associated with dark
Blackly (facial expression forces. Having a similar meaning,
that is full of anger and a black sheep is a part of the
hatred) [73, p.279]. proverbs it is not as mall flock that
There are other has not a black sheep and there is
phraseological metaphors a black sheep in every flock,
with the component black which means "there is not a freak
that also contains a dark, sad in the family". As O.V. Kunin
beginning in their meanings, defines, according to an old
for example: black beast (a English belief, the black sheep is
person who is hated), black marked with the seal of the devil
ox has trod on his foot (he [36, p.76].
had misfortune), to look at In the idioms black lie and black
the black side of things (to ingratitude, the name of the color
look pessimistically), pitch adds an emotional color. In the
black (no light at all) [79, considered phraseological units
pp.99, 291, 425], hope for in there is a phraseological
a black sheep (a person who reinterpretation, but this
has done something bad that phenomenon is not characteristic
brings embarrassment or of all phrases, for example: in the
shame to his or her family) reversal of a black cap (court cap,
[74, pp.24, 39]. which is worn by a judge at the
In conclusion, phraseological time of sentencing), a figurative
metaphors, which include semantic transformation occurs by
the color word black, are narrowing the meaning of the
mostly negative in their prototype a black cap [36, p.77].
semantics. This lexeme is The narrowing of semantics is
meaningful for these also observed in the phrase a
phraseological units. black swan (a black swan is a rare
phenomenon, so the phraseology
denotes an anomaly). to fade to
black (of a movie or TV screen: to
change gradually until it is
completely black) [75, p.289] .
2. Blue 1. boredom, The lexeme blue is part of Among the meanings acquired by
gloom, sadness the metaphorical idioms to the color name blue, there are the
– to be in the be in the blues, to drink till following interpretations that can
blues, to get the all’s blue, a bit of blue sky, be distinguished:
blues, to have a true blue, to see through blue The blue component in
fit of blues (to glasses, a blue stocking, blue phraseological units is also used
be bored, rose. In contrast to the for emotional reinforcement of the
grumpy, upset, meanings of the coloronym statement, for example: blue fear
 66

to be black, which mostly carry a and blue funk, which means fright,
depressed), to negative color, the semantics panic fear, to feel very blue (to
give smb. the of the component blue has a feel sad) [74, p.354], to pinch
blues (bring wider spectrum. black and blue (badly bruised)
boredom to The phraseological units are [71, p.201], to stay blue (scared
someone), the also metaphorically and feared) [75, p.140].
blued evils reinterpreted, in which the Being a part of some
(sadness, coloronym blue does not phraseological units, the lexeme
boredom). In the have its own semantics, but blue in combination with the
dictionary of the expresses the meaning of the component murder in different
English phraseology itself. These are phraseological units has a
language, there such expressions as to turn different, unrelated meaning. The
are some the air blue, to make the air phraseology to cry blue murder
clarifications of blue (swear a lot, swear at means to scream violently, to
the given all screensavers); by all shout, to rehearse; like blue
semantics of the that's blue! (Damn him), to murder - very fast, every breath.
lexeme blue: be blue in the face (to talk or The expression to get away with
gloomy, argue for a very long time to blue murder means to do as
melancholic; in try to persuade someone but someone pleases, to remain
a depressed it's useless, because of unpunished.
mood [64, having no agreement) [74, The semantics of the lexeme blue
p.199]. p.311]. is also related to hope. The
2. hopeless, bad The component blue with the phraseological units bit of blue
– to look blue meaning sky, air was sky and blue bore mean ray of
(to look included in the following hope.
depressed; to be phrases, for example: a bolt As for the psychological
hopeless), from the blue (like thunder in interpretation of the color blue as
things look blue the middle of a clear sky), to the color of purity, dreams, truth,
(things are bad, vanish (disappear) into the wisdom, the meaning of the
things are blue (go up with smoke; lexeme blue in the composition of
getting worse); disappear without a trace), a phraseological units does not
3. white fever – shot in the blue (error, miss), carry a similar semantic load.
to drink till all's midnight blue (a deep Among the phrases that include
blue (to drink blackish blue, a very dark the blue component, there are
white fever), the blue color, almost black) [79, those in which the mentioned
blued evils p.158], the sky was a sea of lexeme does not significantly
(white fever is blues, much like the ocean in affect the overall meaning of the
the second the distance, and the air felt phraseology. It can be omitted
meaning); warm, but not sticky [75, which does not result in the
4. decent, p.42], lips are blue!” (being phraseologism losing its
faithful, very cold or having poor semantics. Such expressions
constant – true circulation) [75, p.294]. include between the devil land the
blue will never The similarity in terms of deep blue sea (between two
stain (a decent color is reflected in the lights), where blue serves as a
person will following metaphorically signifier for the noun sea, and to
never fail), true reinterpreted phraseological get away with blue murder (to go
blue (a faithful, units: blue rose (something unpunished), where blue is used
constant unattainable), blue blood for emotional reinforcement.
person). (aristocratic origin), blue of Thus, according to its semantics,
the plum (freshness, beauty, the coloronym blue is the closest
charm of youth), blue in the to black. These two lexemes have
face (crimson from anger), similar meanings. The
 67

blue mouth (someone who psychological interpretation of the

swears and/or talks "dirty" color blue does not affect the
sometimes using words of a formation of meanings in the
strong sexual nature) [74, phrase, which includes the
p.181], blue anger (passive- component blue. As a constituent
aggressive behavior) [73, part it acquires its own meanings
p.360]. unrelated to the primary
semantics.
3. White The component The vast majority of phrases The expressions white feather,
of which is the in this group are such white slave, white night, to wash a
white sayings where the basis for black moor white, lily white, at a
component in its metaphorical reinterpretation white heat, to bleed white, to turn
primary is similarity in terms of up the whites of one’s eyes, to slick
meaning of color, for example: a white white hair back (about The Duke)
color, for crow (a white crow, a strange (characteristics of age) [75,
example: white phenomenon), the white trap p.120], white mustache and beard
slave (white girl (a white trap, a poison used (characteristics of age [75, p.33].
exploited by the for hunting), white meat The coloronym white in
master), white (white meat - pork, veal, combination with another lexeme
slaver (supplier chicken), white frost, white is used in some idioms to denote
of live goods), caps (white crests of waves, cowardice: white liver
white-slave lambs), to hang out the white (cowardice), white feather
traffic (trade in flag (surrender, admit, (cowardice), to show the white
live goods). defeat), reef suddenly turned feather (to be scared, to show
white and died for no cowardice), hair has become very
apparent cause (susceptible white (very worried or upset,
to disease and death) [73, showing characteristics of age,
p.45]. extremely scared [76], his beard
In most cases the meaning of was white (showing
the lexeme for color plays a characteristics of age) [73, p.448].
dominant role in the The component white, separated
formation of the content of from the data by a phrase, does
the phraseology. This is the not have independent semantics,
primary meaning of the but acquires meaning only when
coloronym. However, the two lexemes of the phraseology
psychological aspect of the interact, for example: to go
color white is also present in completely white (the skin on the
the semantics of the face becomes very pale because of
considered phraseological fear, shock, anger, or illness) [79,
units. p.399].
Grimsby turned White (to become
pale, usually due to an
uncomfortable situation) [73,
p.264].
In the idioms, the semantics of the
component white is very close to
the psychological interpretation of
white as the color of purity and
innocence. These are such
expressions as a white man (a
decent, well-bred person), white
lie (an innocent lie, a lie for the
 68

sake of salvation), to put on a

white sheet (to repent, publicly
admit one's mistakes).
4. Black and There is a unification of colors to
white depict some opposition in black
and white (in a written or printed
form, true or definite, good and
bad, right and wrong, black-and-
white pictures) [79, p.194], black
and white (easy to understand)
[79, p.286].
5. Red The lexeme red The examples of The prototype of the
in its phraseological metaphors phraseological units was
substantive with the red component: a reinterpreted thanks to the
form can also red cent, red cock will crow combination of a color sign and
mean deficit. in his house, to act as a red the meaning of another constituent
This is due to rag act upon a bull, to be in part of the phrase.
the fact that the red, to see a red light, to Due to the color sign, the
losses were paint the town red, agony in coloronym red was also included
recorded in red red, the red carpet. in the phraseological units, the
ink in the bank The semantics of such component of which is the noun
account books. metaphors as red man (red- herring. Smoked herring acquires
The value of the skinned Indian) and the a reddish color. The prototype of
red component derived phraseological unit a red herring was metaphorically
in this case red man's fire (hearth in reinterpreted, and the phraseme
tends to the Indian) are almost explicitly came to mean an excuse to divert
color sign, for expressed. The skin of attention, to make the eyes fondle.
example in the Indians has a red tint, and the The more elaborate phrase to
red (to be in lexeme for color is used in draw a red herring across the path
debt, to be in its direct or primary means deliberately diverting
debt), to go into meaning. However, the attention with trifles from the
red (to suffer phrase itself has been main thing.
losses, deficit). partially reinterpreted. In the Red as a symbol of warning,
A copper coin is same direct meaning, the danger is a component of
also red in component red entered such expressions to see a red light (to
color, so red in idioms as red meat (meat - see or suspect danger) and to
combination beef, lamb), red in the face some extent such idioms as red
with the lexeme (crimson from anger), red- lamp (public house) and red-light
cent in a letter day (festive, joyful, district (district of public houses).
reinterpreted memorial day), … face went The psychological association of
meaning of the a little red and his voice did the color red with such a mental
phraseology is lower, uncharacteristically. state as anger is also reflected in
interpreted as He even looked at his feet … the language, for example to see
something not (feel shy, be modest) [74, red (to get angry), red rag (which
valuable at all, p.266], [73, p.98]. Ariel felt annoys), to act as a red rag act
broken money. her face redden upon a bull (to annoy a lot, to
This phrase is (embarrassed or angry) [73, make angry), red-faced woman
included in the p.69], red-rimmed eyes (being embarrassed, angry, hot or
following (crying) [71, p.41]. ashamed) [74, p.37], full of red
compositions eyes were red (revealing of and rage (angry) [74, p.177], red
not to care a red crying, feeling sick) [71, in the face (angry) [74, p.377],
cent (not even p.158], [75, p.306], cheeks the people’s outlines turned red
 69

the slightest turned red (feeling shy, being (became very angry) [75, p.140].
interest), not modest) [75, p.122], fingers Another interpretation of red as
worth a red cent were bright red (being burnt) the color of fire is found in the
(not worth a [75, p.129]. expressions red cock (fire), red
penny), not to So, the coloronym red in the cock will crow in his house (it will
give a red cent composition of be set on fire).
(not to value at phraseological units- Red can also mean something
all), not to have metaphors mainly has a bright, something that catches the
a red cent (not color load, or a meaning that eye, which is directly related to
to have money is directly or indirectly the specificity of the red color
at all), to get related to the color red. If itself as in vibrant red (bright-red)
another red cent there are such phrases that [79, pp.120, 167, 188, 238].
from smb. (no have a psychological Such semantics can be observed in
money at all) meaning, it is still connected the phraseology to paint (smth.)
[79, p.287]. with a color sign. In the red (to depict something in a vivid
composition of phraseology, sensational form), to paint the
the lexeme red carries a large town red (to riot, have fun loudly,
semantic load and to go out and enjoy yourself by
significantly affects the drinking alcohol, dancing,
interpretation of the phrase laughing with friends) [79, p.49].
as a whole.
6. Green 1. blooming, The phraseological The following meanings of both
full of strength metaphors with the the lexeme green and the
– in the green component green, for phraseology as a whole are related
wood (in the example: green finger, a to the color feature. In the
prime of life), in green wound, a green wound expressions green goods
the green tree is soon healed, in the green (counterfeit banknotes) and green
(during wood, a green hand, the goodsman (counterfeit coin), the
flowering, green light, green winter. color green is related to the green
prosperity), Green as the color of envy is color of banknotes. Green as a
green old age found in the following symbol of permission is a
(healthy or examples green with envy constituent part of the phrases the
happy old age); (ready to burst with envy), to green light (permission) and to
2. fresh – green look through green glasses give a green light (untie hands,
wound (fresh (to be jealous, envy give freedom of action), … and the
wound), a green someone's success). green leaves represent faith. [79,
wound is son p.59].
healed (heal The description of being pale and
until the ill is rendered by the expression to
wedding takes go green [74, p.114], feeling of
place); freedom and being rich by to take
3. unskilled, [78].
young – a green The psychological interpretation
horn of the color green, as well as the
(newcomer, boy, color sign, can be clearly traced in
person without the acquisition of its semantics by
experience), a phraseological unit. There were
green labor no such phrases in which the
(unskilled value of the green component
labor), green would not significantly affect the
year overall value.
(childhood), to
 70

see green in
one's eye
(consider
someone
stupid).
These values
coincide with
the
psychological
understanding
of the color
green.
7. Yellow 1. cowardly – a The phraseological There are such expressions as
yellow streak metaphors, for example to be yellow boy, yellow jacket (gold
(tendency to yellow about the gills, yellow coin), yellow flag (yellow flag - as
treachery, jacket, yellow dog, to turn a symbol of quarantine), yellow
cowardice), to yellow, yellow back, yellow jack (yellow scapula, fever), to be
turn yellow (to journalism. yellow about the gills (to have an
be frightened, With such meanings as unhealthy appearance - the yellow
show yellow and golden (i.e., a color of the gills indicates that the
cowardice), color sign), the component fish is not fresh), off-white
yellow dog (a yellow became part of some (slightly yellow or gray, about to
mean, cowardly, metaphorically reinterpreted fade) [74, p.22], many dead
worthless phraseological units. yellow companions (being scared,
person); having no courage) [74, p.173].
2. tabloid – Comparison of the color with the
yellow journal nature signs is reflected in yellow
(tabloid flowers were as bright as the sun
sensational [75, p.45]. to look green and
magazine), yellow (to feel sick) [73, p.339].
yellow
journalism
(tabloid press),
yellow back
(cheap tabloid
novel).
When forming
the semantics of
phraseological
units, the
psychological
meaning of the
color yellow is
not taken into
account. In
many cases, it is
the coloronym
yellow in the
phrase that is
considered to be
the meaning-
making
 71

component.
8. Golden Yellowish hue in the figurative
meaning, for example: as he
glided it down the scroll, tiny
writing appeared in gold lettering
(to remember person or thing that
is important) [79, p.222], golden
opportunity (an excellent chance
to do) [76], not to eat off golden
spoons and forks (people's classes
according to the type of spoon, a
rich environment from birth to
adulthood, royalty, nobility,
commoners) [73, p.160], "evil" as
gold [73, p.338]. On every golden
scale! (all that glitters are not
gold, never judge by outside
appearances) [76], an upset
goldfish (having a very poor
memory [73, p.417], to forget
quickly), drink golden wine with
his closest friends [73, p.458].
9. Rosy, pink The lexeme was The phraseological units of Pink is associated with positive
included neither metaphors, for example to experiences, it is consonant with a
on the basis of a feel rosy about the gills, to joyful, open attitude to the world
color sign nor take a rosy view of smth., [8, p.58]. Phrases like to see
on the basis of rosy in the garden, in the everything through rose-colored
psychological pink, the pink of perfection, spectacles, to take a rosy view of
interpretation, pink tea. smth. (to be optimistic about
for example The color can also describe something), rosy in the garden
pink tea, the somebody frozen or being (everything is fine) are built on
pink of cold. this very association, blushing a
perfection, paint Despite the small number of deep shade of pink (expressing
me pink if... phraseological units with the embarrassment) [71, p.215], the
coloronyms pink and rosy, pink in her cheeks from the heat of
these lexemes have entered the stove growing deeper (having
the phrase-metaphors both to high temperature) [75, p.59].
denote color and to convey a The idioms are associated with
psychological state. pink as a healthy complexion: in
Although rosy and pink have the pink (in the prime of life, in
the same meaning, they are excellent health), the pink of
not interchangeable. health (healthy looking). The
coloronym pink, having the
feature of color, is a constituent
part of such a phraseological unit
as to feel rosy about the gills (to
feel healthy - the gills of fresh fish
have a reddish color).
10 Gray Used as a metaphor in the The coloronym gray in its primary
phraseology, there are no meaning was part of such idioms
psychological or as gray matter (gray matter of the
metaphorical meanings of brain; mind), gray of the dawn
 72

the phraseology, for (pre-dawn fog), all cats are gray

example: those murky in the dark (all cats are brown at
shades of gray didn’t exist night). Thanks to the color sign,
(unclear situation what is the meaning of phraseological
right and wrong) [79, units is motivated. There is no
p.286]., gray hair (an older motivation in such a phrase as the
person with a lot of gray mare is the better horse.
experience, very worried or
upset) [79, pp.391,392,416)],
[74, p.407], his thick black
hair had thinned, and the
gray was seeping through
(an older person) [75, p.95],
Carlotta's black hair was still
thick though shot through
with grey (experienced
person) [73, p.102], in the
midst of all this gray (gray
area) [74, p.311].
Queen looked grey
and exhausted and absolutely
filthy (boring and
unattractive, and very similar
to other things or other
people) [74, p.136], the day
of the rally was grey (the sky
is completely overcast or
dull, uninteresting, ordinary)
[74, p.499], the land was
rocky and grey (underused
real estate) [73, p.76] and
then... all was grey (a
mixture of good and bad
aspects) [73, p.189].
11 Brown As for phraseological To some extent, such expressions
metaphors with the lexeme as to do brown and to do up brown
brown, this coloronym is (to bring to the end) are also
included in their composition related to the color sign, where
with different meanings. In brown preserves the semantics of
such phraseological units as nicely toasted.
brown bread and brown From a psychological point of
ware, the component brown view, brown color is associated
has its primary meaning of with vital inactivity [4, p.21].
color tincture. This interpretation is present in
some idioms containing the
lexeme brown: brown study
(gloomy thought).
Thus, in this group of
phraseological units, the isolated
coloronym brown contains both
color and psychological
semantics.
 73

12 Purple There are several In such phrases as to wear the

metaphorical phraseological purple (to belong to the royal
units with the coloronym family) and to marry into the
purple. One of them is a purple (to marry a member of the
purple patch (the best place royal family), the name of the
in a literary work). In it, the color entered in a figurative sense
meaning of the color where purple – royal purple is the
component can be identified power of the monarch.
with the sacred interpretation So, when forming the semantics
which means the spiritual of a phraseology, both the
principle, the highest degree psychological interpretation of the
of knowledge [4, c.21]. purple color and one of its
figurative meanings are taken into
account.
 74

Table 3.1.3.
Color-for-Object (for-People) Associations Elaborated from the Book
by Liz Braswell “Once Upon a Dream”
№ Сolor Association Example
index
1. “Blues” Clothes as velvet doublets, “The nobles of the castle were
cerulean linen skirts, periwinkle dressed in brilliant blues …” [72,
bodices, sapphire roundlets, p.30]
cobalt capes
2. “Black” Clothes or appropriate things “Maleficent wore all black as
used to express the festivities usual, but with a nod to the
theme of the festivities, …” [72,
p.30]
3. “Browns”, The names of stones “She was pretty sure the stones
“whites”, had been normal stone colors,
“blacks” not bright, shiny browns and
whites and blacks, like a picture
painted by a child.” [72, p.157]
4. “Fire” Emotionally-colored state “It spewed fire that changed
different, hideous colors: bloody
red, sickly black, hellfire
yellow.” [72, p.190]
5. “Red”, The living organism “Immediately, the three fairies
“blue”, shrank into red, blue, and green
“green” balls of light and went whisking
through the air, will - o’- the -
wisps on a mission.” [72, p.58]
“From inside the green, a
strange, strung-out drop of red
began to pulse, caught within but
not part of the rest of the liquid.”
[72, p. 80]
 75

Table [Link].
The Designation of Identified Metonymic Phrases
in Groups of Phraseological Units
№ Item Examples
1. the designation of outerwear blackcoat (priest, pips), red coat
persons through an (coat, jacket, shirt) (English soldier), blue-coat boy
element of the clothing (student of a noble school),
black shirt (fascist), bluejacket
(sailor of the English navy),
black gown (Catholic priest));
headdresses red hat (rank of cardinal),
bluebonnet, bluecap (Scottish);
accessories red tab (staff officer).
Note: Coloronyms in these metonymies act as meaning-making components, thanks to which the
semantics of these idioms are distinguished, for example: blackcoat, redcoat - both phrasemes
contain the lexeme coat that is the lexeme denoting color that is meaningfully discriminating.
2. the designation of the clothes in general the light blues (Cambridge
whole (related to the wearer students at sports competitions),
of garment) the dark blues (Oxford students
at sports competitions), gray
friar (Franciscan monk), black
friar (Dominican monk)).
Note: The names of colors carry the main semantic load and are used as a constituent part of a
holistic concept.
3. the designation of non- a part of the object the green cloth (pool table),
beings components green room (artistic dressing
room - once the walls were
green), black bottle (poison - the
name of the dish is used instead
of the content), black letter (old
English Gothic script), black
literature (books with Gothic
script), white letter (Latin
script).
 76

Table [Link].
Common and Distinctive Colors in Different Types of Idioms
Names of Black Blue White Red Green Yellow Gray Brown Rosy Pink Purple

Colors
Phraseologisms + + + + + + + + - - -
comparisons
Phraseologisms + + + + + + + + + + +
with
metaphors
Phraseologisms + + + + + + + + - - -
with
metonymies
 77

Table 3.2.
“Morphological Typology of Color Adjectives”
(Exemplified from “Once upon a Dream” by Liz Braswell”)

Type of Number of adjectives Examples

Adjective
1. Root 35 (13%) multicolored, orange, black, green,
adjectives purple
2. Compounds 182 (66%) snow-white, ice blue, bloody red,
black-and-green
3. Derivatives 53 (21%) bronzy, greenish, golden, blackened
 78

Diagram 3.1.

Diagram 3.1. Color Component of Phraseological Units

in the US Disney Books, Motion Pictures and Animation