Names of Colours, Names of Quality? Cover Image

NOM DE COULEUR, NOM DE QUALITÉ ?
Names of Colours, Names of Quality?

Author(s): Célia Bernez
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Editura Universitaria Craiova
Keywords: Name of color; Name of quality; Comparative analysis

Summary/Abstract: In this article it will be shown that, on the contrary to what is generally admitted, colors are not handled in the language like a quality. First, with regard to the definition of quality, as an abstract noun, we will justify our position by comparing the two types of lexical units from a syntactic and semantic perspective. Thereafter, the reasons of this particular treatment will be presented. Through the analysis of the behaviour of chromatic adjectives in combination with the adverb très, we will emphasize that chromatic terms (in contrast to qualities) accept two interpretations, either qualitative or quantitative, which definitively distinguishes them from quality nouns.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 1-2
  • Page Range: 20-27
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: French
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