A DEVELOPMENTAL-STUDY OF THE ACQUISITION OF COLOR TERMS IN SETSWANA

We report a study of the acquisition of colour terms by speakers of Se tswana, the language of Botswana in Southern Africa. This was carried out as a test of Berlin and Kay's theory of colour term universals, on a language with less than the maximum complement of eleven basic colo ur terms, and in order to document changes in Setswana under the impac t of economic development. Seventy-seven five- to nine-year-olds were studied on two colour tasks: elicited lists and colour naming. In gene ral the data were consistent with Berlin and Kay's theory: the rank or der of frequency of correct use of colour terms was similar to the ord er of the Berlin and Kay hierarchy; and primary colour terms were offe red more frequently and were more likely to be used correctly than sec ondary colour terms. The use of English colour terms was prevalent, es pecially amongst the younger groups, but they functioned as substitute s for Setswana terms, rather than as a means to fill the vacant basic colour term slots.