An Overview of the World Color Survey Online Data Archive with - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

An Overview of the World Color Survey Online Data Archive with Suggestions for Creating the Robert

• E. MacLaury Online Data Archive

Presented to the 2015 MDP Project #6 Group

• Jan. 23, 2015

Prutha S. Deshpande Cognitive Sciences Undergraduate

RECAP OF WCS TASKS

• Relevant to understanding the organization of the archive
• 1. Naming Task
• Informants asked to name 330 colored chips
• Always presented in the same random order
• 2. Focus Mapping Task
• Informants asked to select the best example
• r ‘focus’ of the BASIC color terms, produced

in Task 1.

ADDITIONAL MCS TASK

• Present in the data we are working with
• 3. Category Mapping Task
• For the same basic color terms as Task 2,

informants asked to indicate (place a grain of rice on the color palette) every color that could be named with ‘X’ color term.

8 DATA FILES (all .txt format)

• 110 languages, average of 24 informants per language
• 1. inst – Instructions to fieldworkers
• 2. chip – Coordinates of stimuli used
• 3. foci – Chip selected as focus in Task 2
• 4. foci-exp – Same data as 3rd file, different format
• 5. lang – Language information
• 6. spkr – Informant information
• 7. term – Abbreviated color terms produced in Task 1
• 8. dict – Dictionary of all color terms

• 1. inst.txt – Instructions to

fieldworkers

Detailed original instruction sheets available as –

• Plain text
• 8 jpeg images (each opening in a new window)

• 2. chip.txt – Coordinates of stimuli

used

Chip Number Row Column Row + Column

None of the text data comes with headers!

• 3. foci.txt – Chip selected as focus in

Task 2

Language Number Speaker Number Focus Number Term Abbrv. Coordinates

• f focus

selection

• 4. foci-exp.txt – Same data as 3rd file,

different format

Language Number Speaker Number Focus Number Term Abbrv. Coordinates

• f focus

selection

• 5a. lang.txt – Language information
• Language number, language name, geographic

location, fieldworker name

• 5b. lang.txt – A nicer table

Linked to language information entry on Ethnologue: Languages of the World webpage.

Example entry on Ethnologue

• 6. spkr.txt – Informant information

Language Number Speaker Number Age Sex

• 7. term.txt – Abbreviated color terms

produced in Task 1

Language Number Speaker Number Chip Number Term Abbreviation

• 8. dict.txt – Dictionary of all color

terms

Language Number Term Number Color Term Term Abbreviation

Suggestions for Improvement

Example database with really nice features

• 1. Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures

– Data for 76 languages –http://apics-online.info/

• 1a. Introduction

• 1b. Much more informative

background

• Brief overview for those unfamiliar with the

field

• Linked literature
• Description of MCS methods
• Instructions to fieldworkers, stimuli used,

example coding sheets

(Example from Appendix 6)

• 1c. Appendix 6 – Color and Cognition

in Mesoamerica (MacLaury,1997)

• 2a. Interactive Maps
• Dots indicating samples collected in WCS

Color Categorization Database: Including data from 116 Mesoamerican languages, plus 32 additional languages world- wide.

• 2b. Region Maps

• 3a. Listing languages

Search boxes

• Complete table downloadable in several formats – csv, xls, rdf, atom.

• 3b. Appendix 1 – Color and Cognition

in Mesoamerica (MacLaury,1997)

• 4a. Each language listed links to:

Ethnologue Information Color data Informant Information

• 4b. For an overview of each language:
• Basic listing of native color terms for each

language

• Illustrate native color terms with most

common ‘best example’ choices

• Interactive Munsell palette giving an idea of

category boundaries, based on aggregate naming arrays (WCS methodology).

• 4c. WCS Methodology

Link summary table to category map

• 4d. Focal Points/Category Boundaries

Numbers on the Berinmo naming data represent the number of subjects who designated that colour as best example of the category (Davidoff, Davies, Roberson, 1999)

• 4e. Complete data
• Usefully organized in downloadable files
• Smaller file downloads
• Organized by language/region
• Device independent formatting
• Several formats
• Scanned datasheets

• 5. Also organized by features, instead
• f languages

Enabling search by interesting language distinctions:

• ‘Grue’ languages.
• Languages with color terms

for ‘yellow’. Summary table of each feature