Semantics of the colour term кара 'black' in the Tuvan language

The article presents the semantic analysis of colour term кара ‘black’ in the Tuvan language. The data is based on lexicographic dictionaries of the Tuvan language and materials of associative experiment with the participation of Tuvan speakers. The purpose of the article is to analyze lexical meanings of this colour term in comparison with its meanings presented in associative thesaurus dictionary of Tuvan speakers. The research has shown that the semantics of the colour term кара, explicated in various textual materials and language uses is polysemous. We have identified in total four lexical-semantic variants of кара in lexicographic sources. It is revealed that lexical and semantic variants of this colour lexeme do not always coincide with the psychologically real meanings presented in associative thesaurus of Tuvans. Some associative meanings, complementing semantics of the colour lexeme under consideration, are closely related to archetypal images, others are determined by the specifics of the Tuvan language. The study shows that the semantics of this colour term is diverse, reflects not only the objective, material world, but also the inner one, conveys emotions and feelings.