Color Lexis in Arabic

Abstract

In the brief “Introduction” page 227-229) the author pointed out the abundance of the chromatic vocabulary of literary Arabic (the greatest abundance among the Semitic languages). However, the problem of color in Arabic has not been fully studied even in the narrow linguistic area (in the form of a monograph), not even the lexical material itself has been completely compiled. The present paper does not have pretensions to do that, partly because of the size of the problem itself and its complexity, and partly because of the lack of necessary original literature on which further research, even in the limited area of lexicography itself, should be based. The present author just wanted to point out some specific features of that lexis and to stress the need and importance of its further, more thorough and comprehensive study. Color-lexis in Arabic has a large number of roots, that more or less directly denote the idea of color (i. e. its tonality), different shades, combinations and other similar meanings (but it would first have to be established whether those are that original meanings of those roots). Except for those roots, there are in Arabic numerous single words (or smaller groups of them) the meanings of which are connected with the idea  of colour in varying degrees, but have been derived from the roots which originally denoted other ideas, which sometimes, at least at the first glance, had no semantic connection with the meanings of those words (i. e. with the notion of colour). Those words, as well as the roots from which they were derived, should get more attention than before, when etymologically and semantically analysed.

The present paper is limited mostly to the discussion of forms and their meanings in the area of color-lexis in Arabic, compiled in a relatively recent work, the. dictionary·of colors (that was: ‘Abdul-‘Azīz Ben ‘Abdullāh, Mu’ğamu-l-alwān, published in the journal: Al-Lisānu-l’arabî, copy X, part 3, page 216-300, Rabat 1992/1973). The glossary contains 350 lexical units primarily for the colors themselves, and for some related notions as well. That material had to some ·extent been supplemented, from other materials.

At the end of this part it was emphasized that the study of Arabic chromatic vocabulary was of pl1imary importance for the area of Arab lexis as a whole, at the time of the modern renaissance of Arab studies,· but it is ·also important for the related scientific areas such as physiology, psychology, ethnology, sociology, physics and others, each of which can contribute in its way to shedding more light on the phenomenon of color from its various aspects.

The “General part: on the Phenomenon of Color”, (p. 230-232) its physical and optical nature has been concisely discussed, on one hand, and the perception of it, i. e., its psycho-physiological properties, on the other. It has been said there that electro-magnetic waves of the visible specter (the length of 380-760 nm) create in our mind the perceptions of different colors (up to 160 shades) such as: achromatic (white, grey, black) and chromatic (i. e., the colors of the solar specter, the basic colors, seven of which are the following: deep blue, violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red). Then, combinations of colors, such as light and dark are briefly mentioned, etc.

Three basic characteristics of each color are pointed out from the psycho-physiological aspect: l) tonality (the idea of color in the narrow sense of the word) - dependent on the frequency of the emitted or reflected radiation; 2) luminosity - which depends on the intensity of radiation, and 3) saturation - which depends on the quantity (or lack) of white or black color. At the end, psycho-physiological effect of colors on the man was mentioned, and in connection with that, the division into the so-called „Warm“ and „cold“ colors, according to their effect was done: whether they excite, rouse (like red, orange, yellow), or sooth, calm, and pacify the human psyche. They can have such effect in all their shades and combinations.

Special part of the paper, dealing with the Arabic chromatic vocabulary, is divided into two larger chapters I – Morphological Review (page 232-243) and II- Semarr.tic Review (page 244-255). The first chapter on Morphology, deals with the types of roots (trilateral and quadrilateral as almost the only ones that appear in the concrete forms in the corpus). The most important ways of creation of those roots are briefly explained (some of them from the original bilateral), such as the use of the root determinatives, reduplication of bilateral, the metathesis of the radicals, the method „naḥt“ and others.

It is written in more detail about the ways of new form derivation (alternation of the short vowels by the internal flexion, prolongation of the vowels, affixation, gemination of the radicals and reduplication of the third radical with the syllable which it forms) as well as about the structure of the forms derived that way, so that the division of them was done on that basis. They are divided into two larger groups: l) nominal forms (adjectives, participles, and nouns) and 2) verbal forms in the narrow sense. At the end of the morphological review some characteristic, most frequent forms (both nominal and verbal), which have to a certain extent, been specialized in the marking of the suitable meanings in connection with color and similar phenomena, are pointed out.

Two separate chapters deal with lexical and syntactical means of expressing the idea of color and similar meanings, in the „Semantic review “. In the first part, some specific features of the chromatic lexical fund in Arabic are pointed out, although those semantic phenomena are found in varying degrees in other areas of the Arabic lexis in general. Some more important issues in connection with formation, use and formation of the certain semantically interconnected words (or their groups) such as archaisms, neologisms, borrowings, synonyms, antonyms, polysemantic words etc., have been especially emphasized. Problems in connection with that are important not only for chromatic vocabulary or the lexis of Arabic as a whole, but also for the modern Arabic in general: its establishing, cohesion, completion, modernization, livening, popularization, standardisation and similar problems.

In the chapter on „The Syntactic and Semantic Means of Expression „ the present author pointed out only in passing, some more important syntactic constructions by which the ideas connected with colors could be expressed (those are, for example: genitive construction, attributive and prepositional constructions, etc., to complete sentences). Since the paper was limited to the issues of lexis only, it could not deal in more detail with all the possibilities of expression that syntax offers, in the limited sense of the word.

Next comes (page 255-277) „The Basic Fund of the Arabic Chromatic Vocabulary“ in several paragraphs. First, some „More important common names“ in connection with the subject-matter of the present paper (among the others mentioned in the rest of the text), were first explained. „Achromatic colors“ (,page 256-265) first (introductory) the words for the notions of „light“ and „dark“, and then for the achromatic colors in general, i. e., white, grey and black were discussed. The material there (as well as in the case of other colors) has been given in such a way, that the words for the given color (synonyms), were given in general, then the ones used primarily, to denote certain parts of the body, then the words for denoting of the intensity, shades and combinations of that color are given, and at the end, the nouns with meanings in connections with the mentioned color are given, and finally the examples for the figurative use of the word within the scope of the given color are listed. The words are listed in the Arabic alphabetical order, according to the roots from which they had been derived (and not by their first sound). Lexis for the „Chromatic Colors“ follows in the special paragraphs page 265-274) by the order in which they appear in the specter (except that the mixed „brown“ colour was inte11polated behind the orange) as follows: red, orange (brown), yellow, ~green, blue, violet, deep blue.

„Special Combinations of Colors“ (page 274-277) were dealt with separately because of certain 1peculiarities and a rather numerous lexis, and those are the ones denoted by the words such as „dotted“ and „striped“.

The last chapter, The Conclusion“ (page 278-279) deals only with the most essential contents of the paper and the problems discussed in it, and the need and importance for further organized, systematic and more intensive research in this field of the work on Arabic lexis in general. At the time of vigorous reawakening, development and affirmation of Arabic in the world, the Arabic lexis appears to be one of the most important parts of the Arabic language as a whole, therefore it should get the attention it really deserves