from brown to weekend in the country · basic mod_basic nonbasic basic mod_basic nonbasic...

FROM BROWN TO WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY: IS THERE A PLACE FOR BASIC COLOR TERMS IN

ADVERTISING

Alena Anishchanka, Dirk Speelman, Dirk Geeraerts

RU Quantitative Lexicology and Variational Linguistics

University of Leuven

Outline

PLM 2012, September 9, Poznań

Theoretical background:• color in thought and language

Case study: variation patterns in the usage of BCT in advertising• operationalizations• univariate analyses• multivariate analysis

Theoretical framework

• linguistic analyses of color term semantics

• experimental studies of color categorization


Linguistic perspective on color concepts:

Qualitative analyses of the color term semantics• lexicographic representation of the color meanings including

terminological usage (Vasilevich 1987)• extension of color concepts through metonymical and

metaphorical patterns (Merzliakova 2003, Wanzeck 2003, Plümacher 2007)

• diachronic change in the semantic structure of color terms (Casson 1994, 1997; Kerttula 2002)

• variation of color word meaning in different types of discourse, e.g. advertising (Stoeva‐Holm 1996, Graumann 2007, Bergh 2007, Whyler 2007)

• etc.



Qualitative analyses of the color term semantics

• diversity of color terms• multidimensional structure of color concepts• color reference is only part of the semantic structure of color

words

• context‐related variation

red flowerred dress

red winered fox

see redcaught red‐handed


Corpus‐based studies: definition of meaning through usage and distribution (Kerttula 2002; Steinvall 2002)

Steinvall (2002)BoE



• experimental studies of color categorization across languages (Berlin & Kay, 1969; Rosch 1972)

• focus on the universal principles of color categorization

black white red green

yellow blue brownpurple

pink, grey orange

primary secondary

Experimental framework: Berlin & Kay’s eleven


Bridging the gap in cognitive modeling of color semantics

empirical/data‐drivenquantitative

reference‐related factors………….

multivariate color concepts

contextual variation


Data


Data

cars (12358/45292) clothing (17098)

make up (5773) house paints (8651)

Data: linguistic information


Data: context-related sociolectal parameters


Data: color referent

rgb 108, 1, 8


Referent information: from Munsell chart to 3d color spaces

• language‐independent modeling of the color term reference


Dimensions of variation in the use of basic and non-basic color terms in

advertising

Color naming in advertising

... We Call It Brown. They Call It ‘Weekend in the Country.’


Variation in the usage of BCT in four product categories

Research question 1:

• Is there a universal pattern in the usage of BCT in advertising?


11982 15019 5383 8633

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

auto clothes makeup paint

nonbasicbasic

Linguistic dimension


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


nonbasicmod_basicbasic


11982 15019 5383 8633monolexemic and modified BCT



basic non‐basic

brown weekend in the country

chocolate brown

mocha

coffee brown coffee

espresso bean

dark brown

monolexemic and modified BCT



11982 15019 5383 8633

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


nonbasicmod_basicbasic


Variation in the usage of BCT in four product categories


• What factors determine the preference for basic or non‐basic terms?


Existing research suggests several situational factors behind the usage of non‐basic color terms in advertising

(Whyler 1992, 2007; Stoeva‐Holm 1996, 2007; Bergh 2007; Graumann 2007 ):

• number of the colors to be named reference‐related

Hypothesis: more colors = more non‐basic names

• appeal to the consumer marketing factors

Hypothesis: luxury products = fancy non‐basic names

Dimensions of variation: situational


Universal cognitive principles of color categorization:

• prototypicality of the color referent exemplar level

Hypothesis: more prototypical= basic

• basicness of the color category (primary vs. secondary)

Hypothesis: primary= basic category level

Dimensions of variation: ‘universal’ prototypicality effects


black white red green

yellow blue brownpurple

pink, grey orange

primary secondary

Dimensions of variation: ‘universal’ prototypicality effects

Bivariate analyses

Referential factors: situational

• number of shades



Jeep Wrangler 2009 Max Factor MAXalicious Lip Glaze



• mean pairwise distance between colors in a model• mean nearest neighbor distance


basic mod_basic nonbasic

010

020

030

040

050

060

0

number of shades per model0

2040

6080

100

120

mean pairwise distance

020

4060

8010

012

0

mean nearest neighbor distance

Kruskal‐Wallis rank sum test: p < 0.001

basic mod_basic nonbasic basic mod_basic nonbasic



010

020

030

040

050

060

0

number of shades per model


020

4060

8010

012

0

mean pairwise distance


020

4060

8010

012

0

mean nearest neighbor distance


nonbasic

mod_basic

basic


Referential factors: prototypicality effects

computer simulation of color categorizationparametric TSE model (Benavente et. al 2008)assignment of membership value in the 11 basic categories


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


Prototypicality effects: color category basicness

Cramer's V: 0.357


Prototypicality effects: category membership value

auto clothes makeup paint0.

20.

40.

60.

81.

0

basic color category membership

basic mod_basic nonbasic0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

basic color category membership

Kruskal‐Wallis rank sum test: p < 0.001


Sociolectal factors

15112 25905 31130 6805 3082

brand status country

Cramer's V: 0.092 Cramer's V: 0.174

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%

premium standard


usa europe asia



Interim summary:Dimensions of variation in the usage of BCT


Linguistic a cline of ‘non‐basicness’

ReferentialSociolectal

marketing strategy

Situationaldiversity and number

of shades

Context‐independentprototypicality

Next step

• What is the relative importance of the different dimensions?

• Can contextual factors override the universal principles of categorization?

• Are marketing factors more important than reference‐related factors?


Multivariate analysis


• What is the relative importance of the different factors in the usage of BCT?

Method

• conditional inference trees and random forests(implemented in R package party)


Random forest model

nearest neighbor

status

pairwise dist

number shades

country group

product category

prototypicality

color category

0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020 0.025 0.030

Conclusions:

• several dimensions of variation in the usage of BCT (linguistic, reference‐related: universal vs contextual, sociolectal )

• complex interactions between the dimensions

hierarchy of factors• color category membership and prototypicality• product‐related and brand‐related marketing parameters • color diversity in a model

• hidden dimensions within product categories


Special thanks to:

Tom Ruette – data extractionDirk De Hertog – distance calculations

for further information:[email protected]


References:• Bergh, Gunnar. 2007. "The Semiosis of Swedish Car Color Names: Descriptive and Amplifying Functions." In Anthropology of Color: Interdisciplinary Multilevel Modeling, ed. Robert E. MacLaury, Galina. V. Paramei, and Don Dedrick, 337–345. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

• Berlin, Brent, & Kay, Paul. (1999 [1969]). Basic Color Terms. Stanford: CSLI.

• Casson, Ronald W. 1997. "Color Shift: Evolution of English Color Terms from Brightness to Hue." In Color Categories in Thought and Language, ed. Clyde L. Hardin and Luisa Maffi, 224–239. Cambridge University Press.

• Kerttula, Seija. 2002. English Colour Terms: Etymology, Chronology, and Relative Basicness. Mémoires De La Société Néophilologique De Helsinki, Vol. LX. Helsinki: Société Néophilologique. PhD dissertation.

• Merzliakova, Alfia. 2003. Tipy Semantičeskogo Var'irovanija Prilagatel'nyx Polia "Vosprijatie"" [Types of Semantic Variation of Adjectives in the Lexical Field "Perception"]. Moscow: Editorial.

• Plümacher, Martina. 2007. "Color Perception, Color Description and Metaphor." In Speaking of Colors and Odors, ed. Martina Plümacher and Peter Holz, 61–84. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

• Rosch Heider, Eleanor. 1972. "Universals in Color Naming and Memory." Journal of Experimental Psychology 93 (1): 10–20.

• Steinvall, Anders. 2002. English Colour Terms in Context. Ph.D. Dissertation. Umeå University: Skrifter från moderna språk 3.

• Stoeva‐Holm, Dessislava. 1996. Farbbezeichnungen in deutschen Modetexten. Eine morphologisch‐semantische Untersuchung(p. 134). [Studia Germanistica Upsaliensia, 34]. Uppsala: Universitetsförlag Almqvist & Wiksell.

• Vasilevich, Alexander P. 1987. Issledovanie Leksiki v Psixolingvističeskom Experimente: Na Materiale Cvetooboznačenij v Jasykax Raznyx Sistem [An Investigation of Nomenclature Lexicon in a Psycholinguistic Experiment: On Material of Color Terms in Languages of Different Systems).Moscow: Nauka.

• Wanzeck, Christiane. 2003. Zur Etymologie Lexikalisierter Farbwortverbindungen: Untersuchungen Anhand Der Farben Rot, Gelb, Grün Und Blau. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

• Wyler, Siegfried. 2007. "Color Terms Between Elegance and Beauty: The Verbalization of Color with Textiles and Cosmetics." InSpeaking of Colors and Odors, ed. Martina Plümacher and Peter Holz, 113–128. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.


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