1. Introduction
Berlin and Kay (1969) proposed linguistic implicational universals for the occurrence of color terms in the world’s languages. Based on data from 98 spoken languages, the authors established the implicational order presented in Figure 1, according to which all languages would have at least one word for white and another for black, and if they had a word for a third color, it would necessarily be for the color red, and so on.
Implicational ordering for the occurrence of color terms in spoken languages (Berlin & Kay, 1969, p. 259).
In his study of colors based on data from ten unrelated signed languages, Woodward (1989) showed that these implicational universals appear to be valid for languages of this modality as well. Despite this, the author observed variation between languages in the incidence of native color terms, that is, terms formed without the influence from the majority’s spoken language with which the deaf community has constant contact, and terms for colors formed from linguistic loans. In American Sign Language (ASL) for example, he found that there is a small number of native color terms and a large incidence of linguistic loans from English. However, in Indian Sign Language, he observed that the number of native terms for designating colors is greater than that of terms formed from loans from the spoken language (Figure 2).
Terms for colors in 10 sign languages (Woodward, 1989, p. 149).
The model for the implicational relations between basic color terms proposed by Berlin and Kay (1969) has undergone revisions in later studies (Kay, 1975; Kay & McDaniel, 1975). The new approach, presented in Figure 3, was adopted by Witkowski and Brown (1977). As shown in this figure, two main differences from the original model are: (1) the order of some terms has been adjusted, taking into account the exceptions found in the different languages of the world, and (2) the term “gray” has been placed outside the implicational order, since it appeared in different orders in the linguistic systems analyzed.
Reformulation of the implicational order of occurrence of color terms in spoken languages (Witkowski & Brown, 1977, p. 51).
Unlike Berlin and Kay (1969) and Woodward (1989), this article, an excerpt from Fischer’s (2024) master’s dissertation, does not aim to conduct a typological study on terms for colors in different signed languages. In fact, with this study we aim, in general, to analyze the phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects of signs that specifically express the colors black and pink in Brazilian Sign Language, Libras. We intend to analyze, in relation to their phonological aspects, their variation and stability; in relation to their morphological aspects, their structure, simple or compound and, in the latter case, their sequential or simultaneous characteristic, and the formation process they were created through; and, finally, in relation to their lexical aspects, whether they are formed with or without the influence of Brazilian Portuguese, and in the latter case explore their iconicity (motivation). In addition to that we also intend to determine whether they result from a linguistic loan from other signed languages. Nevertheless, we drew on Berlin and Kay’s and Woodward’s work to select the signs to be analyzed here, black and pink, and to raise the hypothesis we intend to test in this paper. Do more basic color terms, such as those for black, differ from less basic terms, such as pink, in relation to their phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects?
To reach our goals, we have organized this article as follows. In the next section, we present a brief literature review on phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects of signed languages, with emphasis on Libras, in order to support the analysis carried out with the variants for the colors black and pink in this language. Next, we describe our methodological procedures and present our results. Finally, we conclude this work with our final considerations, where we summarize the results reported here on the forms of expression of the colors black and pink in Libras.
2. Literature review
In this section, we will summarize research on Libras phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects that will support the analysis of Libras color terms. More specifically, in the following subsections, we will present what is already known about phonological variation and stability, morphological structure and lexical origin of signs in Libras, respectively.
2.1. Phonological aspects
2.1.1. Phonological variation
In addition to proposing the major phonological building blocks of signs, handshape, location, and movement, Stokoe (1960) also observed the occurrence of phonological variation, that is, different realizations of the same phonological aspect of a sign, without changing its meaning. Xavier and Barbosa (2017) cite as analogous cases in Libras the signs CANCEL, SILENCE, and ALSO. As can be seen in Figure 4, they can be produced with the hand configured in 1 (B) or in B (]), distinctive in other contexts, but allophonic in those signs.
Examples of signs that vary in their hand configuration in Libras (recreated by Fischer, 2024, p. 28, based on Xavier & Barbosa, 2014, p. 987).
Studies on phonological variation in ASL have reported that signs can vary in terms of thumb (Battison et al., 1975) or pinkie (Hoopes, 1998), extension, location (Woodward et al., 1976), and number of hands (Woodward & DeSantis, 1977). Xavier and Barbosa (2014) have found the same types of phonological variation in Libras, but can also, as shown in Figure 5, involve other phonological aspects such as movement, palm orientation, and non-manuals.
Different patterns of phonological variation by parameter (Xavier & Barbosa, 2017, p. 989).
As an illustration of variation in location, we reproduced in Figure 6a the two productions of UNDERSTAND. As Xavier and Barbosa (2014) explain, this sign can be articulated with the hand in contact with the ipsilateral temple or cheek. The variation in movement, orientation, nonmanuals, and number of hands is illustrated, respectively, by the signs FAT, LETTER-A, UNITED-STATES, and ACCEPT. According to Xavier and Barbosa (2014), FAT (Figure 6b) can be produced with a repetitive wrist rotating movement or with a zigzag movement; LETTER-A (Figure 6c), with the palm facing forward or sideward; UNITED-STATES (Figure 6d), with or without puffed cheek; and ACCEPT (Figure 6e), with one or two hands.
Examples of signs that vary in their movement, orientation, non-manual markings, and number of hands (Xavier & Barbosa, 2014, p. 384).
2.1.2. Phonological stability
One of the results of the work by Xavier and Barbosa (2014) contradicted the authors’ initial view regarding phonological variation. Contrary to their expectations, the same signs can vary in more than one phonological aspect individually or simultaneously. This is shown in Graph 1 below. Although most signs in their dataset varied in only one phonological aspect, they found a considerable number of signs that exhibited variation in two of them and some that exhibited variation in three, four, and even five phonological aspects.
Numbers of signs by number of articulatory parameters in which variation was observed (Xavier & Barbosa, 2017, p. 990).
According to Xavier and Barbosa (2017), the sign TALL is one of those that present variation in four parameters: the active hand and the passive hand can vary in their configuration: the first can appear in 1 (B), with the index extended or in a hook, while the second can appear in 1 (B) or B (]). The movement can be produced upwards in a circle or just circular. Nonmanuals may or not include a look to the side and upwards. Finally, TALL can be realized with one or two hands (Figure 7).
Despite all this variation, in a follow-up study, Xavier and Barbosa (2017) demonstrated that there are stable aspects in all productions of the sign TALL that guarantee the perception of all these productions as different “pronunciations” of the same sign, and not as different signs. The authors came to this conclusion by placing the different realizations of TALL side by side. As can be seen in Figure 8, there are, in fact, many variable aspects.
Different realizations of the sign TALL (Xavier & Barbosa, 2014, p. 403).
Variability and stability in the different pronunciations of TALL (Xavier & Barbosa, 2017, p. 992).
However, there are aspects that remain constant. These are marked in blue and concern the index finger of the dominant hand (dh) (although this may appear extended or hooked), the downward orientation of the nondominant hand (ndh) (although this may not appear in some productions), the initial location on the chest and the circular movement of the dominant hand (dh) and the participation of this hand in all productions (note that there is no production in which only the nondominant hand appears).
Morphologically, signs can be simple or compound. That is, they can be formed by a single sign or by more than one, respectively. In the following subsection, examples of signs of each type will be presented.
2.2. Morphological aspects
2.2.1 Simplex signs
Simplex signs are formed by a single sign, therefore by a single significant unit or morpheme. An example of a simplex sign is the ASL sign BABY (Figure 9).
Example of a simplex sign (reproduced from Klima & Bellugi, 1979, p. 32, apud Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 125).
This is illustrated by the representation in Figure 10, in which the curly brackets { } indicate the boundaries of the morphemic unit.
Representation of the morphemic structure of the sign BABY in ASL (created by Fischer, 2024, p. 32, based on Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 125).
2.2.2 Compound signs
Compound signs, on the other hand, are signs formed by at least two morphemes. Meir (2012) apud Xavier and Ferreira (2021a) proposes a typology of compounds for signed languages (Figure 11). According to the authors, these can be sequential, when the morphemes are produced one after the other, or simultaneous, when they are produced at the same time, generally one on each hand.
Types of compounds (adapted from Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 124).
As an example of a sequential compound, Meir (2012) apud Xavier and Ferreira (2021a) cites the ASL sign BRUISE, formed by two signs, BLUE and PLACE, produced in sequence (Figure 12).
Example of a sequential compound in ASL (reproduced from Meir, 2012, p. 98, apud Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 125).
This morphological structure is more evident in the representation in Figure 13, in which the curly brackets { } represent both the morphemes that make up the compound and their sequentiality through their linear arrangement and the arrow (→).
Representation of the morphemic structure of the sign BRUISE in ASL (created by Fischer, 2024, p. 33, based on Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 125).
Regarding simultaneous compounds, Meir (2012) apud Xavier and Ferreira (2021a) proposes four subtypes: (1) formed by free signs, that is, by signs that can occur alone, (2) formed by classifiers, that is, by hand configurations that represent entities or their handling (Brito, 1995/2010), (3) formed by the incorporation of numerals and (4) formed by initialization, that is, the incorporation of manual letters. Regarding this last subtype, as explained by Xavier and Ferreira (2021a), it consists of replacing the hand configuration used in a given sign with another configuration that refers, in the manual alphabet, to the initial letter of a written word of an oral language. Meir (2012) apud Xavier and Ferreira (2021a) cites as an example of initialization in ASL the signs FAMILY, ASSOCIATION, TEAM, and DEPARTMENT, derived from the sign GROUP (Figure 14).
Example of a simultaneous compound formed by the initialization of a base in ASL (reproduced from Lapiak, 1995–2021, apud Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 127).
The representation in Figure 15 indicates the morphological structure of initialized signs, very similar to that of signs that undergo numeral incorporation, except for the fact that in the sign FAMILY both hands simultaneously produce parts of the signs that form it. Precisely, in such a sign the palm orientation (PO), location (LOC), movement (MOV) and number of hands (NH) come from the sign GROUP and the handshape (HS) comes from the sign LETTER-F.
Representation of the morphemic structure of the sign FAMILY in ASL (created by Fischer, 2024, p. 39, based on Xavier & Ferreira, 2021a, p. 127).
2.3. Lexical aspects
2.3.1. Signs formed without the influence of the majority’s spoken language
According to Klima and Bellugi (1979), lexical iconicity is a striking feature of signed languages. The authors attribute this to the mimetic origin of signs. To illustrate, they cite the sign VIDEOCASSETTE-RECORDER from ASL (Figure 16).
Sign VIDEOCASSETTE-RECORDER in ASL (reproduced from Klima & Bellugi, 1979, p. 12, apud Xavier & Ferreira, 2021b, p. 376).
Klima and Bellugi (1979) say that they witnessed this sign being first made by a deaf colleague in their laboratory, at a time when there was no conventionalized sign in ASL to express this concept. In the form observed by the authors, the movement of both index fingers was clockwise, thus imitating the movement of the reels. Later, the fingers began to rotate in the opposite way: the finger of the nondominant hand in a clockwise direction and the finger of the dominant hand in a counterclockwise direction. Based on this, they argue that, despite their mimetic origin, signs must conform to the phonological rules of the language.
Thus, according to Klima and Bellugi (1979), iconic signs are those in which a relationship between the shape of the sign and visual aspects of what the sign refers to can be observed. As an illustration of this, see Figure 17, where the ASL sign for tree is depicted. As Figure 17a suggests, in ASL TREE the dominant hand represents the treetop while the arm, the trunk. The nondominant arm, in turn, represents the ground.
Correspondence between the imagistic aspects of the concept “tree” and the sign that represents it in ASL (reproduced from Taub, 2004, p. 29).
2.3.2. Signs formed with the influence of the majority’s spoken language
Adam (2012) explains that lexical borrowings occur when speakers or signers of a language use words or signs from another language to express a concept for which their language does not yet have an established form. Because sign languages are of a different modality than spoken languages, that is, they are produced and perceived differently, the manual alphabet is one of the main resources that these languages have to incorporate elements of the majority’s spoken language. Below is the manual alphabet used in Libras (Figure 18).
Manual alphabet of Libras (Batista-Souza, et al., 2024, p. 14).
According to Quadros and Karnopp (2004), among the most frequent cases of fingerspelling use in Libras are those in which reference is made to proper names, and technical terms, as illustrated in Figure 19.
Example of a technical term expressed through manual spelling (reproduced from Quadros & Karnopp, 2004, p. 88).
In their study of Libras signs formed from the manual alphabet, Xavier and Batista-Souza (2023) observe that, among these, there are those that originate precisely from fingerspelling. As the authors report, in the data collected from the dictionary by Capovilla and Raphael (2001), fingerspelled signs formed by two manual letters are more frequent. Despite this, there are cases in which more manual letters may be present (Graph 2).
Borrowings in Libras formed through manual spelling classified by the number of letters (adapted from Xavier & Batista-Souza, 2023, p. 317).
To illustrate each of these identified types, Xavier and Batista-Souza (2023) cite the examples in Figure 20. They show the sign B-O (boletim de ocorrência) ‘police report’ formed by two manual letters, B and O (Figure 20a), the sign C-L-T (Consolidação das leis trabalhistas) ‘labor legislation’, formed by three manual letters (Figure 20b) and, finally, the sign V-O-V-O ‘grandparent’ (Figure 20c), made up of four manual letters.
Examples of borrowings from Portuguese in Libras formed through manual spelling (reproduced from Capovilla & Raphael, 2001, apud Xavier & Batista-Souza, 2023, p. 318).
Xavier and Batista-Souza (2023) also report that, in addition to signs formed from fingerspelling, there are other morphological patterns (Graph 3). The most frequent in their dataset refers to those formed by the combination of a manual letter with other phonological parameters of Libras, such as FRANCE (Figure 21c). The second most frequent cases are the initialized ones, such as DICTIONARY (Figure 21b), simultaneously formed by the sign BOOK and the manual letter D. Fingerspelling, already mentioned, is the third most frequent morphological pattern (cf. A-L-H-O ‘garlic’, Figure 21a). The fourth most frequent pattern is illustrated by Xavier and Batista-Souza (2023) with the sign J-A-Ú ‘city name’ (Figure 21d). This sign is referred by the authors as a mixed sign, because it consists of the fingerspelling of the Portuguese city name and a semicircular movement in contact with the body, which potentially refers to some aspects of its meaning.
Frequency of different types of borrowings from Portuguese in Libras (adapted from Xavier & Batista-Souza, 2023, p. 320).
Examples of the different types of borrowings from Portuguese in Libras (reproduced from Capovilla & Raphael, 2001, apud Xavier & Batista-Souza, 2023, p. 321).
2.3.3. Signs incorporated from other signed languages
In addition to contact with the majority’s spoken language, signed languages may be in contact with other signed languages and, as a result, incorporate elements from them. Machado and Quadros (2020) document signs from French Sign Language (LSF) and ASL that were incorporated into Libras more recently. As can be seen in Figure 22, these are technological (VIRTUAL-LEARNING-ENVIRONMENT) and scientific (PHONOLOGY, LANGUAGE, and LINGUISTICS) terms for which Libras did not have conventionalized signs.
Borrowings from other sign languages in Libras (adapted from Machado & Quadros, 2020, p. 188).
3. Methodology
3.1. Data source
The data collection on color signs in Libras was carried out using the National Inventory of Linguistic Diversity (INDL), described in the work Língua Brasileira de Sinais: Patrimônio Linguístico Brasileiro ‘Brazilian Sign Language: Brazilian Linguistic Heritage’ (Quadros et al., 2018). The INDL consists of productions in different discursive genres (narrative, interview, vocabulary based on the Swadesh list) by deaf men and women of different age groups from the city of Florianópolis and surroundings and productions by 35 deaf individuals, representing 16 Brazilian states. For this work, only the data related to color signs produced by the deaf reference individuals were analyzed. The color signs were collected by presenting images (Figure 23) by a local deaf person. After seeing the image, the participants individually produced the target signs.
Stimuli used for the elicitation of colors in Libras (adapted from Quadros et al., 2018, p. 55).
The deaf individuals who participated in the creation of the INDL represent 15 Brazilian states plus the Federal District: four from the northern region, six from the northeast region, three from the southeast region, two from the central-west region and two from the south (Figure 24). The selection of these deaf individuals, who totaled 35 and include researchers, teachers, and deaf people involved in the deaf political movements (Figure 25), was due to their recognition as such by the deaf community. More specifically, Quadros et al. (2018) report that these deaf individuals play social roles that involve leadership in a variety of actions and activities at different social levels, including political, social, intellectual, and community-related.
Brazilian states covered by the INDL (Fischer, 2024, p. 58).
List of deaf individuals (adapted from Quadros et al., 2018, pp. 73–82, by Fischer, 2024, pp. 59–60).
Therefore, the data analyzed include productions from 18 deaf women and 13 deaf men from 16 Brazilian states.
3.2. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
It was possible to find data on the color signs for 31 of the 35 deaf reference individuals in the INDL corpus. Because of this, the following were excluded from the analysis: (a) Antônio Carlos Cardoso – PE; (b) Fabíola Morais Barbosa – BA; (c) Nelson Pimenta de Castro – RJ; and (d) Sandro dos Santos Pereira – SP. Despite this, as can be seen in Figure 26, this did not affect the number of states represented by the INDL.
As we adopted the same criteria established by Berlin and Kay (1969), we removed responses that did not refer to colors considered by the authors as basic in languages, such as beige, or that are referred to by words that do not originally refer to a color, such as wine and salmon, or that are not monolexemic, that is, that are morphologically compound forms, such as light pink, dark pink, light green, dark green, light blue, dark blue, light brown, dark brown, dark wine, and dark gray. As a result, we restricted the sample to a set of 11 colors: black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, brown, orange, purple, pink, and gray.
Reference deaf individuals included and excluded from the analysis by state (Fischer, 2024, pp. 61–62).
3.3. Analytical categories
The analytical categories were subdivided into phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects. Specifically, with regard to phonological aspects, they are divided into two subcategories: phonological variation (including hand configuration, place of articulation, movement, palm orientation, number of hands, and nonmanuals) and phonological stability. Regarding morphological aspects, we have two subcategories: simplex and compound signs. Finally, with regard to lexical aspects, we propose three subcategories considering whether the signs are formed (a) without or (b) with the influence from Portuguese, or (c) incorporated from other signed languages. In the case of signs formed without the influence of Portuguese, we used folk etymologies that we had access to through contact with the deaf community to explain the motivation for the signs. It is important to emphasize that, despite their cultural value, the lack of historical records leads us to consider these folk etymologies only as explanatory hypotheses. All of this is schematized in Figure 27.
Analysis categories (Fischer, 2024, p. 63).
4. Results
4.1. Phonological aspects
4.1.1. Phonological variation
Black color
The images in Figure 28 show the occurrence of variation in the hand configuration in the sign BLACK (charcoal). Some participants produced this sign with the hand configured in s (Figure 28a), others in D (G) (Figure 28b), in n (Figure 28c), in i (Figure 28d) and in P (d) (Figure 28e).
Three variants of the movement were also identified. The first involves a straight movement with repetition (Figure 29a), the second one consists of a semicircular movement (Figure 29b) and the third one, a straight movement without repetition (Figure 29c). These results and those related to the variation in the handshape are summarized in Graph 4.
Phonological variants of the sign BLACK (charcoal) related to the movement (Fischer, 2024, p. 65).
(a): Video
(b): Video
(c): Video
Variation in the configuration of the dominant hand of the sign BLACK (charcoal) (adapted from Fischer, 2024, p. 65).
The sign BLACK (curly hair) also presented phonological variation, but only in relation to its location. This sign was observed being produced on the upper lateral part of the head by some participants (Figure 30a) and on the lower lateral part of the forehead by others (Figure 30b). We present this result in Graph 5.
Phonological variants of the sign BLACK (curly hair) related to the place of articulation (Fischer, 2024, p. 66).
(a): Video
(b): Video
Phonological variation of the sign BLACK (curly hair) (adapted from Fischer, 2024, p. 66).
Pink color
Phonological variation was observed in the production of the sign for the color pink, both in the hand configuration and in the movement. The sign was produced with the B (]) hand configuration (Figure 31a), unrelated to Portuguese, and with the R (X) hand configuration, which refers to the initial letter of the corresponding Portuguese word rosa ‘pink’ (Figure 31b).
Phonological variants related to the hand configuration of the sign PINK (Fischer, 2024, p. 79).
(a): Video
(b): Video
Each of these configurations presented variations, such as the B hand configuration with thumb extended (x) (Figure 32a), the semi-flexed B-hand (:) (Figure 32b), the hand configuration in the shape of the number “3” (_) (Figure 32c) and the 5-hand configuration, with semi-flexed fingers ()) (Figure 32d).
Phonological variants related to the hand configuration of the sign PINK (Fischer, 2024, p. 79).
(a): Video
(b): Video
(c): Video
(d): Video
Regarding the movement, three variants were identified: clockwise circular movement (Figure 33a-b), counterclockwise circular movement, which can be interpreted as metathesis (Figure 33c), and repeated wrist rotating movement (Figure 33d-e). These results are presented in Graph 6.
Phonological variation of the sign PINK (adapted from Fischer, 2024, p. 80)
4.1.2. Phonological stability
Black color
Regarding the color black, Figure 34 shows the variability and stability in the different productions of the sign that refers to curly hair. Stability is found in the hand configuration, palm orientation, movement, number of hands, and contact. On the other hand, variation is identified in the place of articulation and nonmanuals. Figure 35 shows the sign that makes reference to curly hair. In this case, it is possible to observe greater variability in almost all phonological aspects, with the exception of the place of articulation, number of hands, and contact.
Phonological stability in the different productions of the sign BLACK (curly hair) (Fischer, 2024, p. 84).
Stability in the different productions of the sign BLACK (charcoal) (Fischer, 2024, p. 84).
Pink color
Figure 36 presents the signs for the color pink that makes reference to cheek color. It can be seen that these sign presents greater stability in the palm orientation, location, number of hands, and contact. However, there is variation in the configuration of the dominant hand, in its movement and in nonmanuals.
Stability in the different productions of the sign PINK (Fischer, 2024, p. 92).
4.2. Morphological aspects
4.2.1. Simplex signs
Simplex signs formed without the influence from Portuguese were found for both colors, BLACK (Figure 37a) and PINK (Figure 37b-d).
Simple signs for the colors BLACK and PINK in Libras (Fischer, 2024, p. 95).
(a): Video
(b): Video
(c): Video
(d): Video
4.2.2. Compound signs
Compounding is predominant in the data analyzed. The initialized sign for the color black (Figure 38a) is a derivation of the sign formed without influence from Portuguese that refers to the act of “rubbing charcoal on the back of the hand”. In Figure 38b, the sign for the color pink also originates from a sign that is not influenced by Portuguese, the one referring to the cheek color. This sign results from the replace of the original hand configuration with the handshape of the manual letter R.
Initialized signs for the colors black and pink in Libras (Fischer, 2024, p. 97).
(a): Video
(b): Video
In Figure 39, the representation illustrates the simultaneous compounding of the initialized sign BLACK (charcoal). As can be seen, while the dominant hand produces the sign for the manual letter P, the non-dominant hand performs part of the sign CHARCOAL.
Regarding the color pink (Figure 40), the simultaneous compounding of the initialized sign is represented. In yellow we represent the elements in the compound that come from the native sign PINK, the one the makes reference to the cheek color, and in blue we represent the phonological aspect, the handshape, that comes from the sign LETTER-R.
Representation of the initialized sign BLACK (charcoal) (Fischer, 2024, p. 98).
Representation of the initialized sign PINK (Fischer & Xavier, 2026).
4.3. Lexical aspects
4.3.1 Signs formed without the influence of Portuguese
Black color
Two lexical variants were identified for the color black, formed without any influence from Portuguese. The first sign appears to refer to curly hair (Figure 41a). The second sign, on the other hand, according to a deaf signer from the state of São Paulo in a video shared on social media, refers to rubbing charcoal on the back of the hand, a practice carried out to assess the quality of the charcoal (Figure 41b). In both cases, the reference to the color black is therefore made indirectly.
Lexical variants formed without the influence of Portuguese for the color black in Libras (Fischer, 2024, p. 102).
(a): Video
(b): Video
The map of Brazil in Figure 42 indicates each lexical variant formed without the influence of Portuguese that designate the color black. Notably, a curious pattern emerges in relation to the signs that refer to curly hair and rubbing charcoal on the back of the hand. The first one seems to be used in most states in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil, while the second one predominates in most states in the North and Northeast regions.
Linguistic map for the color black (Fischer, 2024, p. 102).
Pink color
For the color pink, we identified two lexical variants formed without influence from Portuguese. One refers indirectly to the cheek color (Figure 43a), and the other is an extension of the sign FLOWER/ROSE, so as to make reference to its color (Figure 43b). The sign referring to the cheek color appeared in the productions of deaf people from the South and Southeast regions, while the sign derived from FLOWER/ROSE was found only in Minas Gerais (Figure 44).
Lexical variants formed without the influence of Portuguese for the color pink in Libras (Fischer, 2024, p. 110).
(a): Video
(b): Video
Linguistic map for the color pink (Fischer, 2024, p. 110).
4.3.2 Signs formed with the influence of Portuguese
Black color
We found a sign formed by initialization. This sign is associated with the sign that makes reference to “rubbing charcoal on the back of one’s hand” (Figure 45). On the map in Figure 46, we show that this was attested in the states of Pará, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Norte.
Linguistic map of the initialized sign BLACK (Fischer, 2024, p. 112).
Pink color
In our dataset only one sign for the color pink is formed with the influence from Portuguese, precisely through initialization. The lexical variant shown in Figure 47 results from the replacement of the original handshape of the sign that makes reference to the color of the cheek with the handshape of the sign LETTER-R. This sign is found in all states considered plus the Federal District (Figure 48).
Linguistic map of the initialized sign PINK (Fischer, 2024, p. 117).
4.3.3 Signs incorporated from other signed languages
The work Iconographia dos Signaes dos Surdos-Mudos ‘Iconography of the Signs of the Deaf-Mute’, published in 1875 by Flausino José da Gama, a former deaf student of the National Institute of Education for the Deaf (INES) provides insights into the signed language used at that time. According to Sofiato (2011), the work is recognized as a literal translation into Portuguese of a work by Péllissier published in France in 1856. Thus, the sign for the color black (Figure 49), one of the lexical variants still used in Libras, might have originated in LSF and later incorporated by Brazilian deaf people into Libras.
Sign for the color black found in the iconography of Flausino José da Gama from 1875 (Gama, 1875, pp. 28–30).
4.4. Summary of the comparative analyses
In sum, our results firstly show that Libras color terms follow the same patterns of phonological variation and stability, morphological structure, and lexical origin observed in signs belonging to other semantic fields. Secondly, our results suggest that more basic color terms, such as those for black, do not differ from less basic terms, such as pink, in relation to their phonological, morphological and lexical aspects. As summarized in Table 1 below, variation and stability do occur in all lexical variants for both colors. Signs for black and pink also do not differ in terms of their morphological structure and formation process. We have found simplex and simultaneous compound lexical variants for both and in the latter case initialization was the process through which they were created. Finally, both colors are expressed in Libras through signs created with and without influence from Portuguese.
Comparative synthesis of the results for the colors black and pink in Libras (Fischer & Xavier, 2026).
| Black | Pink | ||
| Phonological aspects | Phonological variation | Curly hair – variation is identified in place of articulation and nonmanuals. Charcoal – variation in almost all linguistic aspects, with the exception of place of articulation, hand numbers, and contact. |
Variation in dominant hand configuration and movement, and nonmanuals. |
| Phonological stability | Curly hair – greater stability in hand configuration, palm orientation, movement, number of hands, and contact. Charcoal – stability in location, number of hands, and contact. |
Greater stability in location, number of hands, and contact. | |
| Morphological aspects | Simplex signs | One simplex sign. | Two simplex signs. |
| Compound signs | One initialized sign (simultaneous compound). | One initialized sign (simultaneous compound). | |
| Lexical aspects | Signs formed without the influence of Portuguese | Two lexical variants. | Two lexical variants. |
| Signs formed with the influence of Portuguese | One lexical variant. | One lexical variant. | |
| Signs incorporated from other signed languages | One lexical variant originated in LSF, and is still used in Libras. | Not attested. | |
5. Final remarks
This article aimed to analyze the phonological, morphological, and lexical aspects of the signs for the colors black and pink in Libras. The analysis covered phonological variation and stability, simplex, and compound signs, and the presence or absence of Portuguese influence on these signs.
With regard to phonological aspects, both variations and stability were observed in the signs for black and pink, involving their hand configuration, location, movement, palm orientation, nonmanuals, number of hands, and contact with the body.
In relation to their morphological aspects, the results show that both colors are expressed in Libras with simplex and simultaneous compound signs for the color black, such as the one referring to curly hair and charcoal, respectively.
Finally, concerning their lexical aspects, signs with and without Portuguese influence were found for both colors. The analysis also revealed that one lexical variant for black was incorporated from LSF.
Competing Interests
The authors have no competing interests to declare.
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