Origin and significance of color perception in Kazakh language compared with Altai, Tatar, English and Russian languages

The article is dedicated to the process of development of the triad of colors white / black / red on the example of the Kazakh language in comparison with the Altai, Tatar, English, and Russian languages, and related associative fields and phraseological units. We selected these colors due to the fact that white / black / red are considered the primary colors which appeared before all in human culture. The first two symbolize light and darkness, the third is a symbol of fire. Color draws up the most important part of all visual information. The sets of colors in various languages of the world are frequently very different, therefore the basic condition of communication is considered background knowledge, that is, knowledge of realities and culture. The color worldview fixes color performance under the influence of psycho-physiological and cultural-historical experience, reflecting the universal and national character of color. In this paper, we study phraseological units with words for white, black, red as their elements from oral creative works and materials of Kazakh classic literature, as well as works of Russian, Tatar, Altai writers. Phraseologisms are catch phrases and expressions that are perceived by language speakers as natural elements of speech, coming from time immemorial. Phraseology reflects not only modern, but also ancient historical traditions. They can be found in great numbers in modern colloquial speech as well as in different genres of literature. All the phraseological units presented in the work are divided into three thematic microgroups: «Individual: body parts and physiological processes», «Society, legality, law», «Nature and natural phenomena». Analysis of colors from the triad of white / black / red shows that their associative fields are the following: light, darkness, fire, mysticism, evil spirit, joy, natural phenomena, lawfulness, virtue, vice, nobility, social status, political predilections. Our paper shows the similarities and differences in the associative fields in five compared languages. Large numbers of similarities make it possible to conclude that the associative fields are largely determined by the uniform origin of the adjective-color words in the analyzed languages, although historical development has given them specific features within the national linguistic cultures.