外媒看中國 學中文色彩辨別能力差

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.

全世界的顏色可能都一樣，但是我們用來描述顏色的語言對於我們的感知是有很大影響的。

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

在英語中，最具人氣的基本色有藍色、粉色和綠色，不過在中國則是紅色、藍色和綠色更爲突出。

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將這種理論付諸於實驗，通過實驗來創建一幅圖從而說明，和西方相比，在東方文化影響下有哪些方式來表達顏色。

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.

臺北的李穆約創建了這幅信息圖，從而說明在維基百科中，用英語和中文給顏色和色調命名的不同。

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.

因爲維基百科的用戶大多人的母語不是英語，他的研究方法有一定偏差，但是它依然說明了兩種語言描述顏色的重要性。

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.

在中文中，最受歡迎的基色是紅、藍、綠。顏色還可以和鮭、石和鬆這樣的物體產生關聯。

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

這也許是因爲在中國的文化裏，紅色代表了好運和幸福。它如今仍然是國內最受歡迎的顏色，而且是當今政府的顏色。

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

相比之下，英語中的人氣顏色是藍色、綠色和粉色，這些顏色是基於藍色軍裝、植物和石竹花誕生的。

'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 on Reddit.

“我對都市傳奇十分着迷，比如愛斯基摩人對於‘雪’有50個單詞來表達，而且文化的繁榮會豐富描述物件的詞彙，這十分有意義，”李先生在紅迪網上說道。

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

李先生的圖像強調了“會說某種語言的人能‘看到’更多顏色，因爲他們的表達方式更多樣”的論調。

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

許多研究支持這一觀點。

A 1954 study found that Zuñi 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.

一份1954年的研究發現，會說祖尼語的人——一羣美國普魯布諾的當地土著居民，分不清橙色和黃色的區別。所以他們描述兩者的區別也有困難。

A separate study focused on how Russian speakers have separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy).

另一個單獨的研究致力於說俄羅斯語的人如何區分淡藍（goluboy）和深藍（siniy）。

MIT recruited 50 people from the Boston area in Massachusetts, half of whom were native Russian speakers.

麻省理工學院招募了馬薩諸塞州波士頓地區的50個人，他們中一半人會講俄羅斯語。

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.

他們發現，比起區分其他藍色的分類，它們區分淡藍和深藍的速度要快10%。