Semantic Distributions of the Color Terms, Black and White in Taiwanese Languages

This study, based on a variety of data sources, investigates the linguistic and cultural characteristics associated with the black and white expressions among Taiwanese Mandarin, Taiwanese Hakka, and Taiwanese Southern Min. The meaning distributions of the data profile four types: prototypical meanings, metonymic extensions, metaphorical extensions and idiosyncratic examples; and the associated cultural factors are examined. Some meaning extensions are widespread across the three languages, whereas some are language-specific because of cultural roots. Among the three languages, Taiwanese Mndarin develops the most prolific usages and this may be ascribed to the prosperity of cultural, economic or technological developments of the language.