“Black Day, White Face”: Color Terms in Kurmanji Kurdish Phraseology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46991/jil/2026.01.01Keywords:
color idioms, Iranian languages, Kurmanji Kurdish, phraseology, symbolism, Yezidi cultureAbstract
This article examines color-related phraseological units in Kurmanji Kurdish, a topic that has received little dedicated attention despite growing cross-linguistic interest in color idioms. Drawing on lexicographic, folkloric, and ethnolinguistic sources, including material from the Yezidi communities of Armenia, it analyzes idioms built on five basic color terms: reş “black”, spî “white”, sor “red”, şîn “green/blue”, and zer “yellow”. For each, the study traces the etymology of the color word and identifies the cultural, social, and symbolic meanings it encodes. The analysis shows that reş is the most productive and diverse term, while the others range from purity and honor to vitality, fertility, and ambivalent symbolism. It offers a systematic account of color phraseology in Kurmanji and its place in Iranian ethnolinguistics.
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