THE BALKAN SPECTRUM OF COLOR TERMS AMONG THE AROMANIANS (ETHNO-LINGUISTIC ASPECT)

Abstract

In June 2022, an ethnolinguistic expedition to the regions of Bitola and Krushevo (North Macedonia) took place. The study of the archaic phenomena of the traditional folk culture of the Aromanians living in this area was the main goal of the field research. However, during the interview, an additional result was compiling a system of coloronyms in the Aromanian. The linguistic status of the Aromanian is still a debatable issue, however, it can be noted that the phonetic and lexical distinctive features of the idiom under consideration is quite large. And the system of color terms, to be discussed in this article, demonstrates precisely these features. The color terms of the Aromanian language have not previously been the issue of special study. Aromanian, once widespread and actively used by the educated population, has developed a rich system of color terms. However, with the loss of the metropolis, native speakers and prestige, the rich system is reduced to the basic coloronyms. The article considers on the basis of the author’s own field research, as well as the published dictionaries and works involving the Aromanian materials, to compile a description of the color terms in this Eastern Romanian idiom. The functioning of the corresponding color terms was illustrated with the ethno-linguistic contexts.