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The color communication game
Angela M Brown1, Delwin T Lindsey2,3
1Ohio State University College of Optometry, 338 West 10th Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210-1280, USA. brown.112@osu.edu.
Scientific Reports
|September 25, 2023
Summary
Language diversity impacts color communication. Despite varied color naming, both English and Somali speakers demonstrated a better understanding of color terms than predicted, suggesting limitations in information-theoretic analyses of color naming data.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Color naming exhibits significant diversity across languages and speakers.
- Understanding the impact of this linguistic diversity on color communication is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of color naming diversity on communication.
- To assess the gap between general color term understanding and specific color sample interpretation.
- To evaluate the utility of information-theoretic analyses in color naming studies.
Main Methods:
- The Color Communication Game was employed with English and Somali-speaking dyads.
- Participants named color samples, and receivers identified the intended sample.
- Interpersonal Mutual Information (MI) was calculated from color naming data.
Main Results:
- Categorical color understanding was evident, independent of naming data.
- Mutual Information (MI) was below optimal for both language groups.
- Receiver performance exceeded predictions based on sender naming data, indicating superior color term understanding.
Conclusions:
- Color naming diversity does not fully explain communication success.
- Information-theoretic analyses may have limitations in capturing the nuances of color communication.
- Cross-linguistic color term understanding is more robust than predicted by naming data alone.
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