Color Idioms of Estonian, Swedish, and Turkish: A Comparative Analysis Based on Empirical Data

ABSTRACT Research on Estonian, Turkish, and Swedish color idioms suggests a prevalence of similarities over differences in the figurative usage of colors in these languages. Previous studies have looked at data collected from dictionaries and web corpora. Grounded in conceptual metaphor theory, the current study extends these findings through an empirical approach, employing a free‐listing task where native speakers of Estonian, Swedish, and Turkish were asked to list color idioms in their language. This empirical approach provides nuanced insights into speakers' mental representations of the world. Directly engaging native speakers helps capture idioms that might be absent from dictionaries, revealing their cognitive salience. The results showed that Estonian and Swedish color idioms share significantly more similarities with each other than either does with Turkish. The finding reflects that while the human experience is largely universal, the cultural experience can be distinct and varied.