Polysemy of Coloronyms “White” and “Black” in Proverbs and Sayings of the Russian and German Languages

Given the growth of intercultural professional communication, a profound understanding of culture-specific connotations embedded in language, particularly in paremiological units that encapsulate folk wisdom and cultural attitudes, becomes crucial. Misinterpretation of such units, especially those involving color symbolism, can lead to significant communicative breakdowns in professional situations. This study investigates the polysemy of the coloratives “white” and “black” in Russian and German proverbs and sayings, highlighting its scientific novelty in its comparative aspect and in identifying potential areas of divergence in cultural perception. The aim is to determine and compare the meanings of these color lexemes at semantic and morphological levels. The empirical material comprises proverbs and sayings selected through continuous sampling from internet resources and lexicographical sources. Methods employed include semantic analysis, interpretation via synonym selection, grammatical analysis, and comparative analysis. The findings establish that the coloratives “white” and “black” are highly polysemous in the paremiological funds of both languages, constituting a total of 33 lexical-semantic variants (LSVs). Of these, only 7 LSVs show complete or partial coincidence (e.g., “white” as a synonym for the best, pleasant, light; or signifying distinctiveness). Conversely, 26 LSVs are unique to one language, reflecting ethnocultural specificity. For instance, Russian proverbs attribute meanings to “white” such as ‘difficult, overwhelming,’ ‘beautiful,’ or ‘outwardly beautiful but inwardly bad,’ which are not characteristic of German paremias. Morphologically, these coloratives are most frequently expressed as adjectives. The results, detailing convergences and divergences in the semantics of these color terms across the two linguacultures, hold direct relevance for professional communication. Understanding these differences is vital for preventing intercultural misunderstandings, enhancing the effectiveness of business negotiations, stimulating successful international collaborations, and optimizing foreign language training for professionals engaged in intercultural interaction.

1. Abzhaparova, M.D. (2017). Vospriyatie tsvetooboznachenii v poslovitsakh i pogovorkakh kazakhskogo, tatarskogo, altaiskogo, russkogo i angliiskogo narodov [Perception of color designations in proverbs and sayings of the Kazakh, Tatar, Altai, Russian and English peoples]. In G.A. Kaynova & E.I. Osyanina (Eds.), Aktual’nye voprosy filologicheskikh nauk: materialy V Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii [Relevant Issues of Philological Sciences]: proceedings of the V International scientific conference, 20-23 October 2017, Kazan (pp.1-5). Kazan: «Buk» publisher (in Russian).

2. Avtaikina, N.P. (2006). Kul’turologicheskie vozzreniya na tsvet v Antichnosti, Vizantii i Drevnei Rusi [Culturological views on colour in Antiquity, Byzantine and Ancient Rus]. Vestnik AltGTU im. I.I. Polzunova [Bulletin of Altai State Technical University named after I.I. Polzunov], 1, 3–7 (in Russian).

3. Berlin, B., & Kay, P. (1969). Osnovnye tsveta: Ikh universal’nost’ i vidoizmeneniya [Basic colour terms: Their Universality and Evolution]. Moskva: Znanie, 1969 (in Russian).

4. Vasilevich, A.P., Kuznetsova, S.N., & Mishchenko, S.S. (2005). Tsvet i nazvaniya tsveta v russkom yazyke [Colour and colour designation in the Russian language]. Moscow: Kom Kniga (in Russian).

5. Wierzbicka, A. (1996). Oboznachenie tsveta i universalii zritel’nogo vospriyatiya [Colour designation and universalities of visual perception]. In M.A. Krongauz (Trans.), Yazyk, kul’tura, poznanie [Language, Culture, Cognition] (pp. 231-291). Moscow: Russkoe slovo (in Russian). http://www.philology.ru/linguistics1/wierzbicka-96b.htm

6. Gordeeva, N.V., & Kuznetsova, S.V. (2020). Konnotatsiya tsvetooboznacheniya v poslovitsakh germanskikh yazykov (na primere angliiskogo i nemetskogo yazykov) [Connotation of Colour Designation in Germanic Languages Proverbs (as Based on English and German)]. Modern Studies of Social Issues, 12 (6), 37-48 (in Russian). doi:10.12731/2077-1770-2020-6-37-48

7. Doinikova, M.I., & Volina, S.A. (2020). Frazeologizmy s komponentom tsvetooboznacheniya schwarz (chernyi) v sovremennom nemetskom yazyke [Phraseological Units with the Component - Colour Term ‘Schwarz’ (Black) in the Modern German Language]. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii i praktiki [Philology. Theory & Practice], 13(1), 185-191. Tambov: Gramota (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.30853/filnauki.2020.1.37

8. Dal’, V.I. (1957). Poslovitsy russkogo naroda: sbornik [Proverbs of the Russian people: collection]. Moscow: Goslitizdat.

9. Zakharov, V.P., & Masevich, A.Ts. (2019). Kategorizatsiya prilagatel’nykh tsveta v russkikh poeticheskikh tekstakh (korpusnoe issledovanie) [Categorization of Adjectives of Color in the Russian Poetical Texts (A Corpus-Based Study)]. Trudy Instituta russkogo yazyka imeni V.V.Vinogradova [Proceedings of the V.V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute], 21, 164-181 (in Russian). https://ruslang.ru/doc/trudy/vol21/9-zacharova.pdf

10. Kononov, A.N. (1978). Semantika tsvetooboznachenii v tyurkskikh yazykakh [Semantics of Color Designations in Turkic Languages]. Tyurkologicheskii sbornik 1975 [Turkological collection 1975] (pp. 159-180). Moscow: “Nauka” Publisher, Chief Editorial of Oriental Literature (in Russian).

11. Leonardo da Vinchi. O svete i teni, tsvete i kraskakh [On light and shade, colour and colours]. In L. da Vinchi, Suzhdeniya o nauke i iskusstve [Discussion of science and art] (pp. 69-79). Saint Petersburg (in Russian).

12. Memetov, A.M. (1997). Leksiko-semanticheskaya struktura i fonetiko-morfologicheskie osobennosti tsvetochnykh prilagatel’nykh [Lexical and semantic structure and phonetic and morphological features of colour adjectives]. Vostokovednyi sbornik [Oriental collection], 1, 153–163 (in Russian).

13. Mesyats, S.V. (2012). Iogann Vol’fgang Gete i ego uchenie o tsvete (Chast pervaya) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his research of colour. Part 1]. Moscow: Krug (in Russian).

14. LingvoElf. (n.d.). Nemetskie poslovitsy i pogovorki [German proverbs and sayings]. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://lingvoelf.ru/useful-de/141-sprichwort

15. Nemetskii yazyk onlain. Izuchenie, uroki [German Online. Learning, lessons]. (2012, November 22). Nemetskie poslovitsy [German proverbs]. https://deutsch-sprechen.ru/немецкиепословицы/

16. Newton, I. (1954). Optika ili traktat ob otrazheniyakh, prelomleniyakh, izgibaniyakh i tsvetakh sveta [Opticks: or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light] (S.I. Vavilova, Trans.). Moscow: Gos. izd-vo tekhniko-teoreticheskoi lit-ry [State publisher of technical-theoretical literature] (in Russian).

17. Potapova, N.A. (2016). Analiz ponyatii «poslovitsa» i «pogovorka» v sovremennoi lingvistike [The analysis of the notions of “a proverb” and “a saying” of the modern linguistics]. Mir nauki, kul’tury, obrazovaniya [The world of science, culture and education], 6 (61), 43-47 (in Russian).

18. Million statusov [One million statuses]. (n.d.). Poslovitsy i pogovorki pro tsvet [Proverbs and sayings about colour]. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://millionstatusov.ru/poslovitsi/tsvet.htm

19. Pro Poslovitsy [About Proverbs]. (2017, December 11). Poslovitsy o tsvete, kraskakh, risovanii [Proverbs about colour, paints, drawing]. https://pro-poslovicy.ru/poslovicy-o-cvetekraskax-risovanii/

20. Kupidonia. (n.d.). Poslovitsy i pogovorki so slovom “belyi” [Proverbs and sayings containing the word “white”]. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://kupidonia.ru/poslovitsy/poslovitsy-i-pogovorki-so-slovom-belyj

21. Kupidonia. (n.d.). Poslovitsy i pogovorki so slovom “chernyi” [Proverbs and sayings containing the word “black”]. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from https://kupidonia.ru/poslovitsy/poslovitsy-i-pogovorki-so-slovom-chernyj

22. Raikhshtein, A.D. (1971). Nemetskie ustoichivye frazy [German set phrases]. Leningrad: Prosveshchenie (in Russian).

23. Snegirev, I.M. (1831-1834). Russkie v svoikh poslovitsakh. Rassuzhdeniya i issledovaniya ob otechestvennykh poslovitsakh i pogovorkakh: v 4 kn. [Russians in their proverbs. Discussion and research of Russian proverbs and sayings: in 4 parts]. Moscow: Universitetskaya tipografiya (in Russian).

24. Turner, V. (1983). Simvol i ritual [Symbol and Ritual] (V.A. Beilis, I.M. Bakstein, Trans.). Moscow: Glavnaya redaktsiya vostochnoi literatury izdatel’stva “Nauka” [Chief editorial of Oriental literature “Science”] (in Russian).

25. Ushakova, U.D. (2004). Poslovitsy, pogovorki i krylatye vyrazheniya [Proverbs, sayings and idioms]. Saint-Petersburg: Litera (in Russian).

26. Petlevanniy, G.P., & Malik, O.S. (1980). 400 nemetskikh rifmovannykh poslovits i pogovorok [400 German rhyming proverbs and sayings]. Moscow: Vysshaya shkola [Higher school]. https://imwerden.de/pdf/400_nemetskikh_rifmovannykh_poslovits_i_pogovorok_1980__ocr.pdf

27. Chekulaeva, A.S. (2016). Bazovye tsvetoleksemy v zapadnoi i vostochnoi traditsiyakh: teoreticheskie osnovaniya ikh vydeleniya [Basic colour terms in Western and Eastern tradition: theoretical basis of their definition]. Vestnik of Polotsk State University. Part A. Humanities, 10, 112 – 116 (in Russian).