學中文的人色彩辨識力差?

Colours may be the same around the world, but the language in which they are described can have a significant impact on how they are perceived.

顏色本身在全球各地沒有什麼區別，但是人們用於描述顏色的語言卻對這些顏色被感知的方式具有重要的影響。

In English, the most popular base colours are blue, pink and green, while in China red, blue and green are more prominent.

在英國，最常見的基本色是藍色，粉紅色和綠色，在中國，紅色、藍色和綠色則更爲多見。

A data scientist wanted to put this theory to the test and, in doing so, has created a graphic that reveals how few ways there are in certain Eastern cultures to talk about colours, compared to the West.

一位數據科學家想要驗證這一理論，他繪製了一張圖標，這張圖表證明，相對於西方文化，東方文化中描繪顏色的語彙要少得多。

Muyueh Lee from Taipei designed the infographic to show the range of names for colours and hues on Wikipedia, in English and then in Chinese.

來自臺北的李慕約設計了這組信息圖表，圖表上展示了所有在維基網上可以查到的表示顏色和色差的詞彙，首先是英語詞彙，然後是中文詞彙。

His method is biased as there are more Wikipedia users that are English speakers, but it does reveal the importance of certain colours in both languages.

他的研究方法存在誤差，因爲說英語的維基網用戶人數更多，不過這項研究的確揭示了在兩種語言中一些特殊顏色的重要性。

In Chinese, most popular base colours are 紅 (red), 藍 (blue) and 綠 (green). Colours can also relate to objects like salmon, stone and pine tree.

在中國人當中，最常見的基本色是紅色，藍色和綠色。這些顏色會讓我們聯想到鮮魚肉，石頭和松樹。

This may be telling as red in Chinese cultures symbolises good fortune and joy. It remains a popular colour in the country and is affiliated with the current government.

這項研究成果值得相信，因爲在中國文化中，紅色象徵的吉祥和喜慶。紅色一直受到中國人喜愛，也被當前的政府加以宣傳利用。

By comparison, popular English colours are blue, green and pink, with some colours based on objects.

相比之下，英國人喜歡的顏色則是藍色，綠色和粉紅色，只有一些顏色與實物對應。

'I was fascinated by the urban legend that Eskimo has 50 words for snow, and the idea that a culture will develop a richer vocabulary for things it cares,' said Mr Lee.

李先生說：“有一種傳聞說，愛斯基摩語中有50個表示‘雪’的詞彙，由此可見，一種文化會爲其關注的事物創造出豐富的詞彙。這種想法令我着迷。”

Mr Lee's graphic highlights the debate over whether speaking a certain language allows people to 'see' more colours, because they have more descriptions.

李先生的圖像研究的重點是解決這樣一場爭論，即，是否由於一種語言中描述顏色的語彙更多，因而說這種語言的人就能“看”到更多的顏色。

A number of studies seem to suggest this may be the case.

一系列研究證明，事實似乎確是如此。

A 1954 study found that Zu?i speakers, a tribe of Pueblo Native Americans, found they do not differentiate between orange and yellow. As a result, they have trouble telling them apart.

一項1954年的研究發現在美國的一個印第安人村莊，說祖尼語的土著居民不會區分橙色和黃色。因而，他們很難將這兩種顏色區分開。

A separate study focused on how Russian speakers have separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy). MIT recruited 50 people from the Boston area in Massachusetts, half of whom were native Russian speakers.

另一項研究旨在揭示說俄語的人羣是如何區分淺藍色和深藍色的。爲此， 麻省理工學院從馬薩諸塞州的波士頓地區邀請了50名參與者，他們中半數都是地道的俄語使用者。

They found they were 10 per cent faster at distinguishing between light (goluboy) blues and dark (siniy) blues than at discriminating between blues within the same shade category.

研究者發現，參與者區分淺藍色和深藍色的反應速度比區分同一明暗度的不同藍色的反應速度要快10%。