Cognitive Linguistics & Chromatic Language: Applying Modern Theories of Colour Perception to the Hebrew Bible1

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many scholars use the complexity of colour categorisation as a key example in arguments about cognitive linguistics. This paper focuses on two of the main modern arguments of colour perception in relation to language and thought today: Rosch’s “Prototype Theory” and Kay and McDaniel’s “Fuzzy-Set Theory”. It emphasises the need for these theories to be adapted to better understand colour categorisation in the Hebrew Bible. Ultimately, though parts of the modern approaches can apply to biblical texts, the inability to conduct anthropological research means it is extremely difficult to determine any universal truths about colour in antiquity. Colour is a culturally-sensitive phenomenon in the Hebrew Bible and is a unique entry point into understanding a culture’s traditions and values.