Adaptation of the use of colour terms in referring expressions

In a modified Map Task we looked at the use of colour terms. Colour terms in this version of the Map Task are unreliable, because (1) they can mismatch between the maps (2) about half of them are obscured on the Instructions Follower’s map by ‘ink blots’. The data show that the dialogue partners adapt to this property of the task environment by using fewer colour terms over time.