外媒看中国 学中文色彩辨别能力差

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.

全世界的颜色可能都一样，但是我们用来描述颜色的语言对于我们的感知是有很大影响的。

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

在英语中，最具人气的基本色有蓝色、粉色和绿色，不过在中国则是红色、蓝色和绿色更为突出。

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.

一位数据科学家想要将这种理论付诸于实验，通过实验来创建一幅图从而说明，和西方相比，在东方文化影响下有哪些方式来表达颜色。

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.

台北的李穆约创建了这幅信息图，从而说明在维基百科中，用英语和中文给颜色和色调命名的不同。

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.

因为维基百科的用户大多人的母语不是英语，他的研究方法有一定偏差，但是它依然说明了两种语言描述颜色的重要性。

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

在中文中，最受欢迎的基色是红、蓝、绿。颜色还可以和鲑、石和松这样的物体产生关联。

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.

这也许是因为在中国的文化里，红色代表了好运和幸福。它如今仍然是国内最受欢迎的颜色，而且是当今政府的颜色。

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，英语中的人气颜色是蓝色、绿色和粉色，这些颜色是基于蓝色军装、植物和石竹花诞生的。

'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.

“我对都市传奇十分着迷，比如爱斯基摩人对于‘雪’有50个单词来表达，而且文化的繁荣会丰富描述物件的词汇，这十分有意义，”李先生在红迪网上说道。

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

李先生的图像强调了“会说某种语言的人能‘看到’更多颜色，因为他们的表达方式更多样”的论调。

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

许多研究支持这一观点。

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年的研究发现，会说祖尼语的人——一群美国普鲁布诺的当地土著居民，分不清橙色和黄色的区别。所以他们描述两者的区别也有困难。

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

另一个单独的研究致力于说俄罗斯语的人如何区分淡蓝（goluboy）和深蓝（siniy）。

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

麻省理工学院招募了马萨诸塞州波士顿地区的50个人，他们中一半人会讲俄罗斯语。

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.

他们发现，比起区分其他蓝色的分类，它们区分淡蓝和深蓝的速度要快10%。