On Monday, I asked my students, intermediate English speakers, to write
the names of fifteen colors on the board. Of course, the standard
Crayola eight -- plus pink -- made their way onto the list in less than
one minute. The spaces for colors ten through fifteen remained blank,
and the classroom fell silent as forty pairs of
Chinese eyes stared at me.
I tried soliciting more color names with leading questions. “What’s the word for a purplish-pinkish color?” Silence. Was “fuchsia” on their vocabulary radars? Nope. Neither was magenta or eggshell, I learned, but one soft spoken teenage boy did add “sky blue” after a few minutes of intense thought.
After class, I flipped through their English book, which is based on British English standards. They learn that color is spelled c-o-l-o-u-r, but advanced color vocabulary never appears in their lessons.
Yesterday, I shared the story with an English-speaking coworker and friend. I complained that the lack of color vocabulary lessons does not do the English language any justice. “What color do you like?” is one of the first English questions the students learn. Apparently, they only learn nine different answers for colors, the Crayola eight plus pink. Six years later, even though their English has progressed to more complex sentences, their ability to answer the original color question has not grown.
My friend scoffed and asked,“Well, can you name fifteen colors?”
“Of course,” I said. “The standard eight plus pink. Fuchsia. Magenta. Ecru.” I paused, counting my tally on my fingers.
“Periwinkle,” he added, and I nodded, confirming thirteen color words.
“Eggshell and sunshine yellow,” I said, “but I don’t know sunshine yellow really counts as a separate color if I am using ‘yellow’ as part of the name."
Does adding an adjective to a basic color make a new color or simply better describe that color? Do my Chinese students care? They can already answer what color they like, even if they offer the most basic color name. They are still communicating. That's the point, right?
PS. Crayola reports that the most popular favorite color, world-wide, is blue. Just blue, the blue without any fancy name.
I tried soliciting more color names with leading questions. “What’s the word for a purplish-pinkish color?” Silence. Was “fuchsia” on their vocabulary radars? Nope. Neither was magenta or eggshell, I learned, but one soft spoken teenage boy did add “sky blue” after a few minutes of intense thought.
After class, I flipped through their English book, which is based on British English standards. They learn that color is spelled c-o-l-o-u-r, but advanced color vocabulary never appears in their lessons.
Yesterday, I shared the story with an English-speaking coworker and friend. I complained that the lack of color vocabulary lessons does not do the English language any justice. “What color do you like?” is one of the first English questions the students learn. Apparently, they only learn nine different answers for colors, the Crayola eight plus pink. Six years later, even though their English has progressed to more complex sentences, their ability to answer the original color question has not grown.
My friend scoffed and asked,“Well, can you name fifteen colors?”
“Of course,” I said. “The standard eight plus pink. Fuchsia. Magenta. Ecru.” I paused, counting my tally on my fingers.
“Periwinkle,” he added, and I nodded, confirming thirteen color words.
“Eggshell and sunshine yellow,” I said, “but I don’t know sunshine yellow really counts as a separate color if I am using ‘yellow’ as part of the name."
Does adding an adjective to a basic color make a new color or simply better describe that color? Do my Chinese students care? They can already answer what color they like, even if they offer the most basic color name. They are still communicating. That's the point, right?
PS. Crayola reports that the most popular favorite color, world-wide, is blue. Just blue, the blue without any fancy name.
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