More than 100 indigenous languages are spoken in Mexico and Central America. Each language partitions the color spectrum according to a pattern that is unique in some way. But every local system of color categories also shares characteristics with the systems of other Mesoamerican languages and of languages elsewhere in the world. This book presents the results of the Mesoamerican Color Survey, which Robert E. MacLaury conducted in 1978-1981. Drawn from interviews with 900 speakers of some 116 Mesoamerican languages, the book provides a sweeping overview of the organization and semantics of color categorization in modern Mesoamerica. Extensive analysis and MacLaury's use of vantage theory reveal complex and often surprising interrelationships among the ways languages categorize colors. His findings offer valuable cross-cultural data for all students of Mesoamerica. They will also be of interest to all linguists and cognitive scientists working on theories of categorization more generally.

The field of color categorization has always been intrinsically multi- and inter-disciplinary, since its beginnings in the nineteenth century. The main contribution of this book is to foster a new level of integration among different approaches to the anthropological study of color. The editors have put great effort into bringing together research from anthropology, linguistics, psychology, semiotics, and a variety of other fields, by promoting the exploration of the different but interacting and complementary ways in which these various perspectives model the domain of color experience. By so doing, they significantly promote the emergence of a coherent field of the anthropology of color. As of February 2018, this e-book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched.

Since the 1970s the cognitive sciences have offered multidisciplinary ways of understanding the mind and cognition. The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences (MITECS) is a landmark, comprehensive reference work that represents the methodological and theoretical diversity of this changing field. At the core of the encyclopedia are 471 concise entries, from Acquisition and Adaptationism to Wundt and X-bar Theory. Each article, written by a leading researcher in the field, provides an accessible introduction to an important concept in the cognitive sciences, as well as references or further readings. Six extended essays, which collectively serve as a roadmap to the articles, provide overviews of each of six major areas of cognitive science: Philosophy; Psychology; Neurosciences; Computational Intelligence; Linguistics and Language; and Culture, Cognition, and Evolution. For both students and researchers, MITECS will be an indispensable guide to the current state of the cognitive sciences.

This volume presents some of the latest research in colour studies by specialists across a wide range of academic disciplines. Many are represented here, including anthropology, archaeology, the fine arts, linguistics, onomastics, philosophy, psychology and vision science. The chapters have been developed from papers and posters presented at the Progress in Colour Studies (PICS12) conference held at the University of Glasgow. Papers from the earlier PICS04 and PICS08 conferences were published by John Benjamins as Progress in Colour Studies, 2 volumes, 2006 and New Directions in Colour Studies, 2011, respectively. The opening chapter of this new volume stems from the conference keynote talk on prehistoric colour semantics by Carole P. Biggam. The remaining chapters are grouped into three sections: colour and linguistics; colour categorization, naming and preference; and colour and the world. Each section is preceded by a short preface drawing together the themes of the chapters within it. There are thirty-one colour illustrations.

This volume presents authoritative and up-to-date research in colour studies by specialists across a wide range of academic disciplines, including vision science, psychology, psycholinguistics, linguistics, anthropology, onomastics, philosophy, archaeology and design. The chapters have been developed from papers and posters presented at the Progress in Colour Studies (PICS2016) conference held at University College London in September 2016. The book continues the series from the earlier PICS conferences, which have become renowned for their insights into colour in language and cognition. In the present book all chapters have been rigorously peer-reviewed and revised to ensure the highest standards throughout. The chapters are grouped into three sections: Colour Perception and Cognition; The Language of Colour; and The Diversity of Colour. Each section is preceded by a short introduction drawing together the themes of its chapters. There are over 120 colour illustrations.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

The study of colour attracts researchers from a wide range of disciplines from both the sciences and the arts. Along with its companion volume, Progress in Colour Studies 1: Language and Culture, this book offers a fascinating insight into current issues and research into colour. Most of the papers originated in a 2004 conference entitled ‘Progress in Colour Studies’ held in the University of Glasgow, U.K. Some additional invited papers are included from investigators exploring new and exciting avenues of colour research. The contributions to both books represent reviews of state-of-the-art colour research in various disciplines, and some new research findings are reported. This volume, principally psychological in content, focuses on the development of colour perception and colour language, from infancy into adulthood, across a diverse range of cultures, including English, Himba, Chinese, and Mexican, and on the intriguing yet perplexing condition of synaesthesia, thus bridging research from the physiology, psychology and anthropology of colour.