An Anthropological Linguistic Study: Cultural Factors of the Color Lexicon Formation in the Madurese Language

Abstract

Language as a signifier of cultural identity can be seen from the use of its lexicon, one of which is the color lexicon. This study aimed to examine the cultural factors of the formation of the color lexicon in the Madurese language using an anthropological linguistic approach. This research was qualitative descriptive with ethnographic methods and ethnoscience analysis models in order to find cultural themes. The results showed that the color lexicon in the Sumenep dialect of Madurese language was formed due to four cultural factors, including 1) the closeness of the Madurese community to nature, (2) the livelihoods of the Madurese community, (3) the Islamic spirituality of the Madurese community, and (4) the traditions of the Madurese community. These four factors prove that humans tend to borrow or refer to objects that areoften found around them to describe a specific color.

Keywords

• anthropological linguistic
• color lexicon
• cultural meaning
• madurese language