Bleikr, Gulr, and the Categorization of Color in Old Norse
By Margaux Winter
It’s widely accepted that language is used to describe the things around us—just pick up a book, watch a movie, or listen to the radio. However, we are rarely reminded that our language actively changes the way we perceive the world.
Although humans see generally similar objects across the globe, the words that label these thoughts and objects help us categorize information and sort through the massive input of external stimuli in different ways. One of the most widely studied application of categorization is the words we use to describe color.1 People across the world are all able to see the same colors, but we use different words to describe these colors. For example, in English we have the words blue and light blue. This distinction tells English speakers that light blue is related the the color blue and could be described as a variation on the theme of blue.1
Interestingly, this is not the case in all languages. In Russian, light blue (goluboj) and dark blue (sinij) are considered to belong in two different categories. They are not variations of each other as they are in English--goluboj and sinij are as different as green and red.1
In a historical sense, understanding the way past cultures have categorized their colors can give us insight into the way these cultures perceived their world. Jackson Crawford, a lecturer on the history of Scandinavian languages at University of California, Berkeley, has been studying the perception and categorization of bleikr and gulr, words that can be thought of as describing what we call “yellow” in English.1
In Old Norse tests, use of the word gulr is usually used to evoke the color of blonde hair, such as human hair or a lion’s pelt. Although derived from the Northern Germanic word gull, for gold, it has never once been used in reference to a straight golden hue. Even more striking, Old Norse words that are used to describe red objects are also used to describe things we now categorized as yellow or even golden, such as gold metal, egg yolks, or the sun.1,2
This apparent confusion between red and yellow and its use as a descriptor for certain hair colors points to its actual meaning—“red-gold.” The red-gold phenomenon exists in many ancient Germanic languages.1 The Old Norse word rauðr is often used to describe the color of gold, but rauðr’s definition is traditionally thought to be closer to “red”.1,2
This description of gold as “red” can be compared to the way English speakers describe red or white wine. Neither of these wines is a true representation of the hues “red” or “white,” but their color descriptors provide easy ways for us to distinguish the two beverages.1
Old Norse color distinctions can also give us an idea of how our modern categorization of color developed over time. Much in the same way that the taste descriptor “salty” has come to mean “angry” or “agitated” in American slang, color words have warped throughout the course of history. Although gulr is scant found in Old Norse texts, bleikr appears rather frequently.1 Crawford argues that bleikr is a more accurate description of English yellow than the culture-specific reddish yellow of gulr. This more prototypical description of the color yellow is evidenced by bleikr’s use as a descriptor of everything from hair to dandelions and birds’ feet.1
Further innovating the color-classification system of Old Norse, Crawford argues that the use of gulr and bleikr, specifically the use of bleikr as a basic color term for yellow, signifies the beginning of the dissolution of the red-gold hybrid—specifically, that red and yellow were becoming their own separate terms as we know them today.1
Learning more about the categorization of color terms in Old Norse can lead us to a better understanding of the way language about color develops over time, and give us insight into the development of color words across different languages. It is intriguing to think that in thousands of years, perhaps the words we use everyday—toothbrush, pizza, headache—will mean something entirely different.
Works Cited
[1]Crawford, Jackson. (2016). Bleikr, Gulr, and the Categorization of Color in Old Norse. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 115(2), 239. doi:10.5406/jenglgermphil.115.2.0239
[2]Wolf, K., professor, Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin- Madiscn. "Some Comments on Old Norse-Icelandic Color Terms”, ANF 121 (2006), pp. 173-192
It’s widely accepted that language is used to describe the things around us—just pick up a book, watch a movie, or listen to the radio. However, we are rarely reminded that our language actively changes the way we perceive the world.
Although humans see generally similar objects across the globe, the words that label these thoughts and objects help us categorize information and sort through the massive input of external stimuli in different ways. One of the most widely studied application of categorization is the words we use to describe color.1 People across the world are all able to see the same colors, but we use different words to describe these colors. For example, in English we have the words blue and light blue. This distinction tells English speakers that light blue is related the the color blue and could be described as a variation on the theme of blue.1
Interestingly, this is not the case in all languages. In Russian, light blue (goluboj) and dark blue (sinij) are considered to belong in two different categories. They are not variations of each other as they are in English--goluboj and sinij are as different as green and red.1
In a historical sense, understanding the way past cultures have categorized their colors can give us insight into the way these cultures perceived their world. Jackson Crawford, a lecturer on the history of Scandinavian languages at University of California, Berkeley, has been studying the perception and categorization of bleikr and gulr, words that can be thought of as describing what we call “yellow” in English.1
In Old Norse tests, use of the word gulr is usually used to evoke the color of blonde hair, such as human hair or a lion’s pelt. Although derived from the Northern Germanic word gull, for gold, it has never once been used in reference to a straight golden hue. Even more striking, Old Norse words that are used to describe red objects are also used to describe things we now categorized as yellow or even golden, such as gold metal, egg yolks, or the sun.1,2
This apparent confusion between red and yellow and its use as a descriptor for certain hair colors points to its actual meaning—“red-gold.” The red-gold phenomenon exists in many ancient Germanic languages.1 The Old Norse word rauðr is often used to describe the color of gold, but rauðr’s definition is traditionally thought to be closer to “red”.1,2
This description of gold as “red” can be compared to the way English speakers describe red or white wine. Neither of these wines is a true representation of the hues “red” or “white,” but their color descriptors provide easy ways for us to distinguish the two beverages.1
Old Norse color distinctions can also give us an idea of how our modern categorization of color developed over time. Much in the same way that the taste descriptor “salty” has come to mean “angry” or “agitated” in American slang, color words have warped throughout the course of history. Although gulr is scant found in Old Norse texts, bleikr appears rather frequently.1 Crawford argues that bleikr is a more accurate description of English yellow than the culture-specific reddish yellow of gulr. This more prototypical description of the color yellow is evidenced by bleikr’s use as a descriptor of everything from hair to dandelions and birds’ feet.1
Further innovating the color-classification system of Old Norse, Crawford argues that the use of gulr and bleikr, specifically the use of bleikr as a basic color term for yellow, signifies the beginning of the dissolution of the red-gold hybrid—specifically, that red and yellow were becoming their own separate terms as we know them today.1
Learning more about the categorization of color terms in Old Norse can lead us to a better understanding of the way language about color develops over time, and give us insight into the development of color words across different languages. It is intriguing to think that in thousands of years, perhaps the words we use everyday—toothbrush, pizza, headache—will mean something entirely different.
Works Cited
[1]Crawford, Jackson. (2016). Bleikr, Gulr, and the Categorization of Color in Old Norse. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 115(2), 239. doi:10.5406/jenglgermphil.115.2.0239
[2]Wolf, K., professor, Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Wisconsin- Madiscn. "Some Comments on Old Norse-Icelandic Color Terms”, ANF 121 (2006), pp. 173-192
