Much research suggests that there exist universal colour names. Investigations involving paint and paper media have revealed co-incidence of especially salient names and their concomitant sensations, within and between cultures. These names have been called Basic Colour Terms (BCfs), and their prototypical sensations focal colours (or foci). The highest levelof colour name development within cultures includes eleven BCfs. A literature review revealed certain omissions in the colour naming work. Firstly was a lack of usage of CRT-baseddisplay of colours. This was considered an important omission given the implicit, but largely untested assumption that CRT and surface media may be equivalent. A second omission identified was a lack of detailed quantification of realistic naming behaviour. Two CRT-based experiments were then devised to quantify colour naming, one involving unconstrained naming of colours, one involving selection of which colours were exemplars of (thirteen) pre-generated colour names. These experiments revealed certain regularities in naming within a (perceptually uniform) colour space. Thus a naming space and its underlying structure was obtained. Naming space was found to be a composite of they way membership of (BCf) categories was expressed, and an underlying set of five fundamental colour sensations. Evidencewas then forthcoming that this structure might be modelable. The quantified data obtained was then used to investigate the search-efficacy of easy to name colours. Such easy to name palettes were generated, based on the data obtained, and compared with colorimetrically matched, and highly discriminable palettes. It was found that easy to name as a colour palette variable was meaningful, and capable of adjusting user performance, despite evidence that individuals may possess relatively stable, idiosyncratic colour vocabularies. That CRT work has generality was verified by comparison of foci obtained from a series of studies involving different media. Although some differences were evident, these followed clear patterns which were not inconsistent with universal colour naming. This thesis suggests that there exist complex aspects of colour naming behaviour which are nevertheless understandable, and largely predictable. Such theoretical data should allow for improvements in certain human-interactions, where tasks involve naming colours.

Colour is a basic aspect of perception and the perception of colour varies from individual to individual. This indicates that the perception of colours mean different semantics in various contexts to different individuals. Therefore, these differences in perception forms to behave in different attitudes towards colours among individuals and it is likely to achieve different attitudinal responses to colours from individuals. Relying on the effects of colours on individuals, the initial interest of this thesis is to explore the attitudinal approaches of individuals to colours. This thesis is first and foremost exploratory in nature. This thesis intended as a first step towards exploring the ways in which the individuals think of, construe and give meaning to colours in their own words. The subjective approach proposed in terms of this thesis is based on the underlying philosophy behind Personal Construct Theory (PCT). In order to elicit the individuals&rsquo / ways of construing and giving meaning to colours in their own words, an experiment was conducted with the utilisation of the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). Sixty undergraduate students of Middle East Technical University (METU) Faculty of Architecture were voluntarily participated in the experiment. As a stimuli, eleven basic colours which were black, grey, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, brown, blue and green were utilised. For the second step, this thesis intended investigating the structure and interrelations between the elicited attitudes of individuals and eleven basic colours. As a result of the experiment, 60 repertory grids were elicited and were analysed by using the qualitative and quantitative applications of content analysis. The resulted data afterwards were analysed by using multivariate statistical analysis methods. The overall results of this research can support certain information for further scientific investigations on colour perception and colour psychology. Additionally, the results of this research can help and guide designers to attain objective understandings about the individuals&rsquo / attitudes to colours. This can contribute to designers as a practical worthwhile during colour design and colour planning in their products and services.

Colour is a basic aspect of perception and the perception of colour varies from individual to individual. This indicates that the perception of colours mean different semantics in various contexts to different individuals. Therefore, these differences in perception forms to behave in different attitudes towards colours among individuals and it is likely to achieve different attitudinal responses to colours from individuals. Relying on the effects of colours on individuals, the initial interest of this thesis is to explore the attitudinal approaches of individuals to colours. This thesis is first and foremost exploratory in nature. This thesis intended as a first step towards exploring the ways in which the individuals think of, construe and give meaning to colours in their own words. The subjective approach proposed in terms of this thesis is based on the underlying philosophy behind Personal Construct Theory (PCT). In order to elicit the individuals&rsquo / ways of construing and giving meaning to colours in their own words, an experiment was conducted with the utilisation of the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT). Sixty undergraduate students of Middle East Technical University (METU) Faculty of Architecture were voluntarily participated in the experiment. As a stimuli, eleven basic colours which were black, grey, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, brown, blue and green were utilised. For the second step, this thesis intended investigating the structure and interrelations between the elicited attitudes of individuals and eleven basic colours. As a result of the experiment, 60 repertory grids were elicited and were analysed by using the qualitative and quantitative applications of content analysis. The resulted data afterwards were analysed by using multivariate statistical analysis methods. The overall results of this research can support certain information for further scientific investigations on colour perception and colour psychology. Additionally, the results of this research can help and guide designers to attain objective understandings about the individuals&rsquo / attitudes to colours. This can contribute to designers as a practical worthwhile during colour design and colour planning in their products and services.

<p>This thesis examines usage of English colour terms in context, based on an extensive computerised text corpus, the Bank of English. It describes the ways in which English colour terms may be used to refer to nuances outside their normal area of designation and to attributes outside the colour domain. Usage patterns are analysed on three different levels: with regard to the overall frequency of occurrences, nominal domains and individual tokens, respectively. </p><p>Cognitive linguistics supplies the theoretical framework employed in the analyses of the observed patterns. The study identifies three types of usage where colour terms refer to peripheral colour nuances or to concepts outside the colour domain: classifying, figurative and marked usage. </p><p>When a colour term has a classifying function, it can be used outside the normal area of designation. This usage is analysed as a type of reference-point construction where a term referring to a salient point in the colour domain is used to subcategorise an entity whose actual colour may be only a peripheral member of the category named by the colour term. An analysis of the OED and the Bank of English shows that this type of usage is primarily restricted to a few of the most salient basic terms. </p><p>This study points to the close affinities between classifying and figurative usage. Figurative expressions of colour terms frequently have a classifying function. I argue that figurative meanings are derived through two types of metonymy: +SALIENT ATTRIBUTE FOR OBJECT+ and +SALIENT CONCRETE ATTRIBUTE FOR SALIENT ABSTRACT ATTRIBUTE+. </p><p>Marked usage arises when specific colour terms are used in nominal domains where the specificity is not expected. This phenomenon is consequently confined to non-basic colour terms. </p><p>On the basis of the established patterns of usage and the frequency of occurrences, this thesis suggests that the colour category may be analysed as a radial category, with the basic colour terms forming the centre. </p>

This thesis examines usage of English colour terms in context, based on an extensive computerised text corpus, the Bank of English. It describes the ways in which English colour terms may be used to refer to nuances outside their normal area of designation and to attributes outside the colour domain. Usage patterns are analysed on three different levels: with regard to the overall frequency of occurrences, nominal domains and individual tokens, respectively. Cognitive linguistics supplies the theoretical framework employed in the analyses of the observed patterns. The study identifies three types of usage where colour terms refer to peripheral colour nuances or to concepts outside the colour domain: classifying, figurative and marked usage. When a colour term has a classifying function, it can be used outside the normal area of designation. This usage is analysed as a type of reference-point construction where a term referring to a salient point in the colour domain is used to subcategorise an entity whose actual colour may be only a peripheral member of the category named by the colour term. An analysis of the OED and the Bank of English shows that this type of usage is primarily restricted to a few of the most salient basic terms. This study points to the close affinities between classifying and figurative usage. Figurative expressions of colour terms frequently have a classifying function. I argue that figurative meanings are derived through two types of metonymy: +SALIENT ATTRIBUTE FOR OBJECT+ and +SALIENT CONCRETE ATTRIBUTE FOR SALIENT ABSTRACT ATTRIBUTE+. Marked usage arises when specific colour terms are used in nominal domains where the specificity is not expected. This phenomenon is consequently confined to non-basic colour terms. On the basis of the established patterns of usage and the frequency of occurrences, this thesis suggests that the colour category may be analysed as a radial category, with the basic colour terms forming the centre.