hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2017-12-14

■ #3153. 英語史における基本色彩語の発展 [bct][semantic_change][lexicology][terminology]

　「#2103. Basic Color Terms」 ([2015-01-29-1]) で取り上げたように，言語における色彩語の発展には，およそ普遍的といえる道筋があると考えられている．英語の色彩語も，歴史を通じてその道筋をたどったことが確認されている．まず，この問題を論じる上で基本的な用語である basic colour terms (BCTs) と basic colour categories (BCCs) の定義を確認しておこう．Christian and Allan の巻末の用語集より引用する (178) ．

basic colour categories (BCCs) are the principal divisions of the colour space which underlie the basic colour terms (BCTs) of a particular speech community. A BCC is an abstract concept which operates independently of things described by terms such as green or yellow. BCCs are presented in small capital letters, for example GREEN.

basic colour terms (BCTs) are the words which languages use to name basic colour categories. A BCT, such as green or yellow, is known to all members of a speech community and is used in a wide range of contexts. Other colour words in a language are called non-basic terms, for example sapphire, scarlet or auburn.

　Biggam の要約によると，英語の BCCs の発達は以下の通りである．

OE: (1) WHITE/BRIGHT, (2) BLACK/DARK, (3) RED+ (4) YELLOW, (5) GREEN, (6) GREY
ME: (1) WHITE, (2) BLACK, (3) RED+, (4) YELLOW, (5) GREEN, (6) GREY, (7) BLUE, (8) BROWN
ModE: (1) WHITE, (2) BLACK, (3) RED, (4) YELLOW, (5) GREEN, (6) GREY, (7) BLUE, (8) BROWN, (9) PURPLE, (10) ORANGE, (11) PINK

　一方，BCTs の発達は以下の通り．

OE: hwit, blæc/(sweart), read, geolu, grene, græg
ME: whit, blak, red yelwe, grene, grei, bleu, broun
ModE: white, black, red, yellow, green, grey, blue, brown, purple, orange, pink

　BCTs の種類は，古英語の6から中英語の8を経由して，近代英語の11へと増えてきたことになる．その経路は，[2015-01-29-1]の図で示した「普遍的な」経路とほぼ重なっている．

　・ Kay, Christian and Kathryn Allan. English Historical Semantics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2015.
　・ Biggam, C. P. "English Colour Terms: A Case Study." Chapter 7 of English Historical Semantics. Christian Kay and Kathryn Allan. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2015. 113--31.

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