THE CONNOTATIONS OF ARABIC COLOUR TERMS (

Abstract

Following Allan (2009), this paper investigates the X-phemistic uses of Arabic colour terms with especial reference to Jordanian Arabic. The study, adopting colour-based metaphors, explores the figurative uses of black, white, yellow, red, green, and blue; the most common colours that are used figuratively. The connotations of Arabic colour terms are judged on the basis of whether the phrases in which colour terms occur are orthophemistic, euphemistic, or dys- phemistic. It could be said, building on the colours explored in this study, that colours have many orthophemistic connotations, and that dysphemistic connota- tions of the colours under study are more common than euphemistic connotations. It was also found that the uses of black, yellow, red and blue are predominantly dysphemistic. In contrast, white mostly has positive connotations, but green is found to be associated with both euphemistic and dysphemistic connotations.

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