. [en] Interrelation between the Hypernyms and Hyponyms of colour in Spanish and Chinese: a Comparative Analysis from the Cognitive Perspective within Phraseological Units

Abstract

Although there are many studies about the connoted values ​​of colour terms, few studies have focused on the relationship between the connotation of hypernyms and hyponyms of colours. We consider that, being these hypernymous and hyponymous of colour, it is inevitable that a hyponymy-hypernymy relationship exists among its connoted values. However, there’s still a lack of systematic research to confirm whether there will be another type of relationship or not. What’s more, since Spanish and Chinese belong to totally different linguistic families and both have millennial cultures, the intersection between the connoted values ​​of hypernyms and hyponyms of colour is a topic that requires investigation. This study collects a large number of phraseological units related to hypernyms and hyponyms of colour selected from 26 Spanish dictionaries and 20 Chinese dictionaries respectively, and a comparative study has been elaborated based on these data. The results of this study have led us to the following conclusions: 1) Among the connoted values ​​of the hypernyms and hyponyms of colour, apart from the noticeable presence of a hyponymy-hypernymy relationship, there is also a remarkable of synonym and antonym relationship. 2) A certain connoted value of some hypernyms may only exist in one language, but it does not affect to the fact that hyponyms in another language derive related hyponym values, as well as similar or opposite values. There is no doubt that between these two very different linguistic communities, similarities and differences coexist in the comprehension and use of hypernyms and hyponyms of colour. Through this exhaustive analysis of phraseological units we will be allowed to understand better the similarities and differences between these two languages ​​from a cognitive perspective.