Comparative analysis of colour terms for “red” in Russian, Kazakh and English

This article presents an analysis of the word “red” in Russian, Kazakh and English. Comparative analysis includes the study of the vocabulary of color and the color code in different cultures, the definition of the main subsystems of color designations in three languages, the identification of relationships (symmetric, asymmetric) between symbolic meanings and associative representations. Symmetric relationship between the words qyzyl (Kazakh), krasnyi (Russian), and red (English) are realized in the process of matching these words at associative-semantic and cognitive levels. Comparative analysis of the word “red” is conducted under the free associative experiment. It allows revealing the “cultural” specificity of vocabulary units with the greatest objectivity. Free associative experiment includes a selection of words and compilation of an associative field. The associative field is subjected to contrastive-cognitive analysis in order to identify similarities and discrepancies in the meaning of the word “red” in symbolic and cultural senses. This study shows that the word “red” in the associative fields of three languages is equivalent and includes the prototypical image (krasnyi, qyzyl, red - color terms), the peripheral part of the associative field represents figurative representations and cultural meaning.