A practical field method for identifying probable basic colour terms

We describe a quick and robust procedure for establishing likely basic colour terms. We illustrate the procedure with a study of English where the basic colour term inventory is known. The method consists of two tasks: an elicited list task (tell me as many colour terms as you know) and a colour naming task. The list task elicits contenders for the basic colour term slots and the naming task establishes their range of referents. The indicators of the degree of basicness of colour terms converged to confirm that there are eleven basic colour terms in English.