AURELIJA GRITĖNIENĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

Research areas: lexicology and lexicography.

PETAL COLOURS AND SHADES IN CONTEMPORARY LITHUANIAN PROSE: WHITE AND BLACK

Colours and Shades of Petals in Modern Lithuanian Prose: Black and White

ABSTRACT

The subject of this study is more than 300 collocations found in 98 works by 61 contemporary Lithuanian prose writers, in which the writers speak directly or through similes and metaphors about the white and black colours of flowering plants’ petals and shades of these colours. The aim is to determine which lexemes our authors use to convey the white and black colour of petals, to describe the structure and semantics of colour expression; to identify the prototypes of real-world denotata that are compared with white flowers; and to investigate which real-world attributes the authors of the selected collocations compare with white and black plant petals, and which comparisons with these flower colours are most frequent in the material studied and approach the status of stereotypes. The material examined shows that, when naming petal colour, authors most often use the adjectives white, -a and black, -a; colour is somewhat less often expressed by definite adjectives. In prose works, white is also named by verbs and nominal abstracts. Cases were recorded in which achromatic colours are named through a concrete object, a prototypical bearer of the respective colour; these colours are also fairly often described using metaphors and various comparisons.

KEYWORDS: semantics, collocation, colour, white, black, literary style.

ANNOTATION

The object of the article is more than 300 collocations found in 98 works of 61 modern Lithuanian prose authors; these collocations are used by the prose writers to convey directly or by using comparisons or metaphors the white or black colour of flowering plants and the shades of these colours. The aim of the research is to determine what lexemes the

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analysed authors use to convey black and white colours of petals; to describe the structure and semantics of colour expression; to determine what prototypically white reality denota are compared with white blossoms; to investigate with which reality attributes the authors of chosen collocations compare white and black petals, which comparisons with these colours are the most frequent so that use becomes almost stereotypical. The research indicates that when describing the colour of petals, the authors use adjectives white and black (Lith. baltas, -a; juodas, -a; feminine and masculine form), less frequently the colour is described by using pronominal form of adjectives. Verbs and nominal abstracts are also used to indicate white colour. There are cases when achromatic colours are conveyed through a concrete object, a certain colour prototype; often the colours are described by employing metaphors and various comparisons.

KEYWORDS: semantics, collocation, colour, white, black, belles-lettres style.

INTRODUCTION

Flowering is a striking natural phenomenon. The forms, colors, and scents of opening and fully opened blossoms captivate many of us (especially creators), so it is only natural that this image of nature has “an especially strong creative subtext,” which later becomes a text—a work (Daujotytė 1999: 55). In prose, this natural phenomenon is most often presented to convey the mood of a work or to highlight the place or time of the action. Reading prose by contemporary Lithuanian authors¹ reveals two tendencies: some authors specify the colors of flowers very concretely, as if relying on a first impression or on stereotypical images already formed in the mind, while others look very closely at a plant’s flower—observing and describing the most subtle shades of buds and opened petals, specifying the color at the center of the flower, and so on.

Flowering itself, as a phenomenon, very often has a powerful emotional effect not only on the writer and the character being created, but also on the reader. The impression is made not only by the form of the flowers, but also by their color², which helps convey feelings, mood, and so on.

As we know, people receive about 80–90% of information about the external world through sight (Lapė, Navikas 2003: 72). Surrounding objects can be described without using colors (by their shape, texture, the concepts of “light and dark,” and

¹ This is a purely chronological choice. In this article, contemporary Lithuanian literature is taken to mean works written and published after Lithuania regained its independence—that is, after 1990.

² Based on the collocations collected by the author of the article, it was established that the range of flower colors in the selected prose texts can be expressed by 19 adjectives: lilac, white, whitish, pale, yellow, yellowish, black, lily-colored, blue, bluish, orange, gray, purple, red, reddish, pink, brown, violet, azure.

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etc.), nevertheless, color considerably broadens the spectrum of ways to describe objects (Jonaitis 2009: 8). Color is an inherent property, belonging to the object itself as one of its attributes. People receive information about such properties of objects through their senses. Color is most often perceived in the same way by everyone through the visual receptors, so color-denoting adjectives belong to the class of inherent absolute adjectives (for more, see Tekorienė 1990: 98, 119).

Color is studied from various perspectives by specialists in many fields: art historians, physicists, mathematicians, chemists, physiologists, biologists, psychologists, ethnologists, and others. A number of Lithuanian linguists have analyzed color from a linguistic perspective. Here we will mention just a few. Irena Andriukaitienė described the concept and names of color in Lithuanian; she studied the imagery of color in Antanas Juška’s Lietuviško-se svotinėse dainose (Andriukaitienė 1996: 162–166; 1997: 173–179). Gražina Astramskaitė studied the semantic structure of Lithuanian baltas and German weiß (Astramskaitė 1976: 7–15), and described the optical and secondary meanings of Lithuanian juodas and German schwarz (Astramskaitė 1977: 7–16; 1988: 4–11). This researcher described terms for animal coat colors in Lithuanian and German (Astramskaitė 1992: 25–33), while Jolanta Viburytė examined the problem of defining animal coat color in the Lietuvių kalbos žodyne (Viburytė 2003: 119–135). Saulė Juzėnienė analyzed the connotative meanings characteristic of color adjectives in twentieth-century Lithuanian poezijoje (Juzėnienė 2001). Rasuolė Vladarskienė described the meanings of the adjective green in compound terms and discussed the translated meanings of this adjective as a shade (Vladarskienė 2014: 3–8). Aloyzas Gudavičius analyzed the concept of the color green (Gudavičius 2009: 105–114), while his student Toma Jokubaitienė examined the concepts of blackness and whiteness in Lithuanian and English (Jokubaitienė 2009). In describing images of various plants (poppy, cherry, sunflower) in Lithuanian poetry, Rūta Kazlauskaitė also analyzed the colors of their petals (Kazlauskaitė 2010a: 53–70; 2011: 440–455; 2014: 86–107); she described color terms in Lithuanian translations of one novella by Jānis Akuraters (Kazlauskaitė 2010b: 128–141). This researcher, together with Eglė Ramanauskienė, analyzed new color terms in periodicals from the perspective of linguistic pragmatics (Kazlauskaitė, Ramanauskienė 2011: 176–201)³.

Foreign researchers devote considerable attention in their studies to color perception and conceptualization. Anthropologists Brent Berlin and Paul Kay conducted experiments and investigated how people perceive basic (focal) colors (Berlin, Kay 1969). The aim of Eleanor Rosch’s work was to determine whether the distinction and categorization of basic colors depend on language or on the sensory system (Heider 1971, 1972). Polish scholars have written extensively about color universals

³ This article presents an even broader review of publications by Lithuanian and foreign researchers on the lexical, semantic, and other aspects of color words (Kazlauskaitė, Ramanauskienė 2011: 178–179).

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Lingvistė Anna Wierzbicka (Wierzbicka 1990: 99–150). Iš naujausių darbų būtina paminėti didelę kolektyvinę lingvistų, antropologų ir psichologų studiją, skirtą spalvos kategorizacijai (Hardin, Maffi 2002). Joje įvairiais aspektais analizuojama, kaip žmogus suvokia spalvą, kokiais konceptais tas suvokimas realizuojamas kalboje. Latvių kalbos spalvų pavadinimus išsamiai tyrė Anitra Roze (Roze 2005), rusų kalbos spalvų pavadinimai aprašyti kolektyvinėje monografijoje (Vasilevič, Kuznecov, Mičenko 2005).

The aim of this article is to determine which lexemes the authors of the selected collocations use in their works to convey the white and black color of flower petals⁴. The objectives of the study are: to describe the structure and semantics of achromatic color terms; to establish which prototypically white real-world denotata are compared with white flowers; and to investigate which real-world attributes white and black plant petals are compared with in the selected collocations, which comparisons involving these flower colors are most frequent (prototypical) in the collected material, and which support stereotypes⁵.

The choice of research methods was determined by the specific nature of the material analyzed. To describe color expression and semantics as comprehensively as possible, the study employs various cross-disciplinary methods: semantic, stylistic, and cognitive analysis, as well as descriptive and pragmatic interpretation methods. The material for this study was collected from prose works by Lithuanian authors from the late 20th and 21st centuries—novels, short stories, novellas, novelettes, and works of similar genres. The article analyzes individual sentences or fragments thereof—that is, selected collocations⁶. The research material comprises more than 300 collocations drawn from 98 works by 61 prose writers, in which the authors speak directly or through comparisons and metaphors about the white and black color of petals and shades of these colors⁷.

⁴ Color is not a substance but a phenomenon of refracted light. This has been known since the 17th century, when Isaac Newton split a beam of white light through a prism into a color spectrum, a phenomenon known as the dispersion of light (Plei 2010: 20). It is believed that the human eye can distinguish between 7 and 10 million shades (Jonaitis 2009: 8).

⁵ In linguistics, a stereotype is understood as a subjectively determined image of a phenomenon or object, encompassing the attributes ascribed to it and an evaluation that is, in fact, the result of interpreting reality and that functions in the consciousness of a linguistic community. For a more detailed discussion of the concept of stereotype, see Gudavičius 2000: 59–64.

⁶ Collocations are understood as the usual context in which one word or another is used, the co-occurrence of particular lexemes, and conventional word associations in language with other words in a sentence (for more on collocations, see Marcinkevičienė 2010: 70–91).

⁷ Fictional texts can also be found in the Corpus of the Contemporary Lithuanian Language (http://tekstynas.vdu.lt); they make up 11.6% of all the material presented there (this figure also includes translated works), but the material available in the corpus alone is insufficient for studying color. To determine the color of a particular plant’s petals, a single concordance line (300 characters) from the corpus is sometimes not enough. Studying color expression and semantics often requires a much broader

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1. WHITE, WHITISH, AND OFF-WHITE PETALS

Lithuanian explanatory dictionaries give between 4 and 9 meanings for the adjective baltas, -a. One of the principal meanings of this word is associated with color—completely light (of a color), the color of snow or milk (BŽ). White is an achromatic⁸ color (that is, a color without hue, indicating the relationship between light and color). It is no coincidence that the etymology of the adjective baltas, -a in Lithuanian and many other languages is associated with light and brightness. In earlier Indo-European languages, this term did not denote a specific color but meant only light: Lith. báltas, Latv. balts are based on the root *bhā-, Skt. bháti ‘shines’ (Fraenkel 1962: 32; Smoczyński 1981: 234; Atramskaitė 1976: 7).

The authors of the collocations studied mention about 70 genera of different white-flowering plants.

1) Trees, shrubs, fruit trees, and fruit shrubs: acacias (N. Kep. 2005: 14⁹), lilacs (R. Gran. 2011: 52), goat willows (H. Gud. 2013: 72), hawthorns (wild roses) (J. Skab. 2004: 217), bird cherries (O. Jaut. 2009a: 35), jasmine (V. Čep. 2008: 152), willows (R. Flic. 2015: 196), chestnuts (G. Vil. 2012: 22), pears (S. Kuop. 2007: 89), lindens (I. Mer. 2004: 121), magnolias (D. Kal. 2008: 61), almonds (R. Šer. 2006: 101), apple trees (H. Čig. 2011: 95), guelder roses (J. Skab. 2014: 459), rhododendrons (L. Čen. 2015: 140), plums (B. Jon. 2011: 54), elderberries (J. Skab. 2014: 214).

2) Weeds, vegetables, and forest, meadow, field, mountain, and aquatic plants: poppies (R. Šer. 2001: 107), sweet clovers (V. Rač. 2008: 74), Sosnowsky’s hogweeds (B. Jon. 2011: 27), mayweeds (also called dog daisies) (V. Žil. 2013: 133), chervils (B. Pū. 2003: 129); potatoes (L. Gut. 2006: 106), white clovers (D. Grig. 2008: 39), edelweisses (O. Jaut. 2009a: 62), goutweeds (R. Šer. 2013: 124), cresses (H. Gud. 2013: 184), bishop’s goutweed (O. Bal. 2006: 15), yarrow (V. Al. 2010: 153), water lilies (L. Gut. 2006: 67), lotuses (J. Iv. 2000: 120); dead-nettles (B. Jon. 2007: 103), anemones (M. Šrb. 2011: 39), daisies (A. Piv. 2001: 31), stonecrops (J. Skab. 2004: 183), cottongrasses (H. Gud. 2013: 184), angelicas (R. Šer. 2006: 155), bindweeds (B. Pū. 2003: 63); meadow-rues (H. Gud. 2013: 195), cherries

the context of the work, without disrupting the integrity of individual texts. Therefore, the material for this study was collected not from a corpus but by reading individual works over several years and extracting from them much broader collocations relating to color expression and semantics.

⁸Achromatic colors can be divided into five main categories: black, dark gray, light gray, and white. There may be many different shades among these colors. The human eye can distinguish about 300 achromatic shades (Jonaitis 2009: 38).

⁹Only one source abbreviation is given in parentheses. The full list of sources is provided at the end of the article.

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(D. Kal. 2015: 96), news (E. Kur. 2009: 79), news (D. Kal. 2008: 154).

3) Garden flowers: asters (B. Pūk. 2003: 211), peonies (also called paeonies) (B. Jon. 2007: 16), chrysanthemums (D. Jaz. 2007: 36), hellebores (B. Jon. 2009: 42), galtonias (E. Lie. 2013: 23), baby's breath (U. Bar. 2016: 26), carnations (D. Op. 2016: 168), hyacinths (D. Kaj. 2007: 114), dahlias (A. Zur. 2010: 78), gladioli (E. Lie. 2004: 8), crocuses (D. Op. 2015: 167), lilies (S. Ach 2006: 27), daffodils (A. Žag. 2013: 332), palnutės (I. Zar. 2016: 17), petunias (K. Sab. 2012: 119), roses (A. Tap. 2013: 321), tobacco (K. Sab. 2011: 234), tulips (G. Adom. 2005: 105), saxifrages (H. Gud. 2013: 29).

4) Houseplants: azaleas (V. Palč. 2011: 51), gloxinias (J. Iv. 2000: 177), calla lilies (J. Ap. 2010: 182), camellias (B. Jon. 2009: 10), clivias (B. Jon. 2009: 10), orchids (D. Kaj. 2007: 26).

The most popular white-flowering plants in the corpus of Lithuanian prose writers studied are roses (mentioned in the texts of 19 authors), apple trees and lilies (mentioned by 12 authors), white clover (11), bird cherry trees (9), cherry trees and daisies (8), plum trees and jasmine (5).

The significance of the color white in the corpus studied is quite varied. Most often, the color white is named directly—with the adjective baltas, -a in simple forms of various cases (52 times), or with the pronominal form of this adjective, baltas, -oji (41 times). The pronominal form is generally used to name the color of clover and lilies; white acacias, melilot, bird cherry trees, calla lilies, daisies, and roses are mentioned somewhat less often. In fact, in such cases it is sometimes difficult to tell when authors use the pronominal adjective to emphasize the plant species (white lily (Lilium candidum), white clover (Trifolium repens), white-flowered melilot (Melilotus albus)), and when they are simply referring to the color of the flowers.

To emphasize the dazzling whiteness of the petals—the greatest intensity of this color—the authors of the selected collocations use superlative adjectives: balčiausias, baltų balčiausias (R. Gran. 1998: 119), tautological phrases baltas baltas (H. Čig. 2007: 66), and derivatives with suffixes, baltutėlis (L. Čen. 2011: 166), and so on. These mark the highest degree of the quality; in such cases, moreover, the evaluative seme also emerges in the semantic structure of the adjective baltas (cf. Ju-zelienė 2001: 11).

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Less often (in the texts of 10 authors), petal color is expressed by the adverb baltai: “The tall hogweeds bloomed white” (J. Skab. 2000: 224); “<...> nowhere in Europe had he seen cherry trees blooming so white” (R. Gran. 2013: 155)¹⁰, and so on.

Shades are expressed even less often with an adjective bearing a prefix: “[dead-nettles bloom <...> with glossy white little flowers” (B. Jon. 2007: 103); “Beneath our feet, a stretch of daisies—bright white, not wilted by the heat and dust” (V. Žil. 2013: 133)¹¹.

Authors also use nominal abstract nouns to name the color:

1) Whiteness: “In his garden grew magnificent roses of every kind and every color: snow-white, milk-white, swan-white <...>” (K. Kas. 2007: 10); “The whiteness of the cherry blossoms has already ebbed—only here and there does a late blossom hide” (A. Zur. 2010: 34).

2) Whiteness: “Their [hollyhocks’] fragrant violet hue and whiteness simply took my breath away” (J. Skab. 2000: 191); “Their [bird cherry trees’] whiteness was reflected in the dark waters” (J. Skab. 2000: 33).

3) Whiteness: “The whiteness of the cherries has dimmed <...>” (A. Zur. 2010: 74).

Color is also denoted by the determinative adjective baltaziedis: “<...> the lily bowed its white-flowered head” (O. Jaut. 2005: 70); “White-flowered stonecrops grow beside the moss-covered stone <...>” (J. Skab. 2004: 183).

In the studied collocations, color is also named more than 20 times by the verbs baltuoja (G. Bul. 2015: 121), balto (O. Jaut. 2005: 40), baluoja (B. Jon. 2011: 75), balo (E. Ign. 2000: 95), subalo (M. Luž. 2006: 53), subolus (A. Zur. 2010: 12).

The adjectives balkšvas, balsvas describe a degree of lightness; they denote a petal color that is not entirely white, but off-white: “The fragrant waves of the bird cherry trees’ pale [blossoms] poured straight toward me” (J. Skab. 2000: 114); “The overgrown hogweeds’ heads of pale flowers <...>” (J. Skab. 2014: 234); “<...> willows burst into bloom with whitish catkins” (R. Flick 2015: 196).

The intensity of the light tone is also marked by the adjective balžalsvis¹², which denotes the greenish-white shade of the šeimadžio petals (J. Skab. 2014: 214). Hellebore flowers are of a similar shade; their color is described with the adjective žalsvas.

¹⁰ Here and elsewhere in the text, only one or a few of the most typical examples are provided to illustrate the respective claims.

¹¹ The prefixed adjective is rarely used only when referring to achromatic colors, whereas this expression is particularly often used for various chromatic colors.

¹² It should be considered a neologism coined by Jolita Skablauskaitė, since it is not recorded in any Lithuanian explanatory dictionary.

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and the nominal abstract noun baltumas: “<...> with blossoms of a greenish whiteness Helleborus niger <...>” (B. Jon. 2009: 42).

Interestingly, in the prose texts studied, the shade of white-colored petals is not described using the adjectives apytatis, baltas, balzganas, pobaltis (when referring to petal color, the authors of the texts studied did not use any of these adjectives even once).

The expression of the color white can also be considered from cognitive and stylistic perspectives. Researchers have identified stages in the evolution of color terms. First, a color is described by reference to a familiar natural phenomenon—a bearer of that color recognized by the speech community, or a prototype (cf. Kazlauskaitė 2011: 179). For Lithuanians, the prototype of the color white is snow (Gudavičius 2000: 61). This is also confirmed by the numerous examples found in fiction: white petals of plants are very often compared to snow, while the act of flowering itself is compared to snowfall: “Chrysanthemums are white as snow <...>” (R. Šer. 2006: 67); “<...> during the days when the apple trees blossomed, the child would imagine that blossoms as white as the first snow covered the whole world” (L. Gut. 2013: 461); “<...> afterwards everyone had to turn toward the cherry tree snowing with blossoms <...>” (A. Zur. 2010: 310); “<...> yesterday, a snowing bird cherry tree sighed by the threshold <...>. The wind rose even stronger. A bird cherry bush, a neat bouquet, snowed petals” (J. Skab. 2014: 235); “<...> snow-white cherries¹³ <...>” (N. Vaitk. 2013: 251).

Clearly, comparisons¹⁴ are especially useful for describing the whiteness of blossoms. In the Lithuanian worldview, snow, chalk, swan, foam, milk, linen cloth, and other objects represent the color white (Paulauskas 1987: 177). Thus, white plant petals associated with such attributes are also understood as bright, pure, and innocent (cf. Kazlauskaitė 2011: 450). In the collocations studied, authors compare white plant petals with the following white (or luminous) real-world attributes:

1) Household objects (soap or milk foam, cotton wool, a wedding dress, a burial shroud, curd, cream, etc.): “<...> The apple and cherry trees looked as if children had dusted their heads with flour” (E. Ign. 2000: 95); “ <...> [a soapstone hill] resembles soap foam—fluffy and white” (U. Bar. 2016: 26); “The castle slopes gleamed white, overgrown with flowering bird cherry trees; they looked as though splashed with milk foam” (J. Skab. 2000: 114); “<...> the apple tree blossomed like a mountain of votive candles”

¹³ In the Lithuanian poetic worldview, the most conventional parallel is also that between white cherry petals and snow. This association is motivated by the fact that petals and snow share the greatest number of attributes: ‘white’, ‘falling / covering’, ‘fluffy / soft’, and ‘sensitive to temperature changes’ (Kazlauskaitė 2011: 449).

¹⁴ Scholars studying color terms have observed that in various languages a color is first described by comparing it with objects characteristically associated with that color, and later abstract color terms also emerge (Vladarskienė 2014: 3).

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(L. Čern. 2015: 11); “<...> blossoms over in autumn, the cherry tree planted by Kr siaus – like a bride <...>” (A. Žur. 2010: 306); “<...> in the darkness it [the white flower] somehow turns white for me like a scrap of a child’s shroud” (D. Kal. 2008: 154); “<...> white as angels’ trumpets, gloxinias <...>” (J. Iv. 2000: 177); “<...> the apple tree is flowering, white as curds <...>” (R. Mat. 2013: 260); “<...> gleamed white like trees [chestnut trees] covered with yellowish slices <...>” (J. Skab. 2014: 187).

2) Celestial stars: “The deadnettles were like little stars – you pick and pick, yet they still shine white beneath your feet” (B. Jon. 2007: 104); “<...> boundless, countless as the stars in the sky is the profusion of white [clover] blossoms” (R. Gran. 2006: 90).

3) White birds (doves, swans, gulls) and white-furred animals: “When the magnolias bloom, it looks as if many white doves are perched in the trees <...>” (D. Kal. 2008: 61); “The whiteness of camellias – beautiful swan necks <...>” (B. Jon. 2009: 10); “<...> like a gull flaps its wings, with blossoms of greenish white, Helleborus niger <...>” (B. Jon. 2009: 42). “And to me it [the white-flowering jasmine] is like a white fluffy rabbit <...>” (K. Kas. 2010: 10).

4) White human skin: “Lilies grew beyond the windows, the very same color as her little daughter’s white skin <...>” (J. Skab. 2014: 158).

Analogously, prototypically white real-world referents are compared with white plant blossoms:

1) A wan face, white feet, hands, fingers, breasts, teeth, and so on: “<...> the satyr’s hairy legs beside a woman’s face, white as a Madonna lily” (D. Kal. 2015: 38); “<...> like two blossoming lilies, her breasts turning white” (D. Vaitk. 2006: 190); “<...> kisses his [Kūr’s] feet, white as a newly opened lotus” (J. Iv. 2000: 120); “Her [the sacristan’s] fingers are translucent like [white] carnation petals” (B. Pūk. 2003: 291); “<...> teeth like clusters of jasmine buds <...>” (J. Iv. 2000: 49)¹⁵.

2) Gray¹⁶ hair: “Gylda was an old woman – tiny, with a bent back and a very white head – like a sheet” (I. Zar. 2016: 17); “<...>

¹⁵ As the examples show, in our prose women and girls are most often associated with white-flowering plants. Similar imagery also occurs in Lithuanian poetry—for example, a flowering cherry tree is depicted as a girl (for more, see Kazlauskaitė 2011: 49).

¹⁶ In these contexts, the adjective white denotes not a pure color, but a degree of whiteness, a shade (cf. Astramskaitė 1976: 10).

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the neighbor Veronika, gray-haired, with a single lock of hair, shines like an apple tree that bloomed late” (A. Zur. 2010: 152); “Grandmother <...> looked as white as an almond tree in bloom <...>” (R. Šer. 2006: 101); “<...> the other [sister] is very pleasant, with hair as white as rhododendrons <...>” (L. Čen. 2015: 140).

3) Swans, deer hide: “When the white roses [swans on the lake]” (K. Kas. 2010: 56); “<...> the deer hide gleams as if lit by the countryside—so white, whiter than a meadow beyond the fields” (L. Gut. 2006: 191).

4) Paper: “<...> the paper must remain untouched, unstained, unblemished, white as a chrysanthemum flower” (L. Gut. 2011: 301).

5) Snow: “Snow falls, as if cherry orchards were blooming in the sky, as if their petals were being scattered to the earth by a gentle wind” (B. Pū. 2003: 216).

The material collected allows us to conclude that the following comparisons describing the color white may be considered stereotypical: white as snow / paper / milk / foam / curds / a swan. The largest number of comparisons describing the white color of petals in the texts studied were found with these attributes. Moreover, Klementina Vosilytė’s Dictionary of Comparisons (2014) also includes several stereotypical comparisons expressing the color white under these headwords.

To name the color white, authors often employ an even more expressive means of expression—metaphors. Through them, writers describe not only the color of flowers but also the shape of the inflorescence: dead-nettles are “white candles of pasqueflowers” (B. Jon. 2007: 103); “<...> [The rain battered] the white chestnut candles <...>” (R. Šer. 2006: 81); “<...> the jasmine bush watches everything <...> with little white eyes” (K. Kas. 2010: 10).

When writing about white-flowering plants, the authors of the collocations studied often draw on the image of a cloud. It helps convey not only the color of the flowers but also their abundance¹⁸: “<...> [the mother] smiled in a cloud of [white lily] petals” (B. Jon. 2009: 83); “A white, white [plum-blossom] cloud lies over a small, upright little house” (B. Jon. 2011: 54); “<...> Savūnė steps off the path, slips beneath the clouds of white cherry blossoms <...>” (A. Zur. 2010: 71).

In describing the semantics of the color white, it is also necessary to consider the connotative meanings of the adjective baltas, -a. First, the color white evokes various associations with

¹⁷ This is a very typical comparison, characteristic of our worldview. In our folk songs, too, the apple tree is often associated with the concept of the mother (Stundžienė 229).

¹⁸ Išreikšti gausumą padeda vandens semą turintys veiksmažodžiai apsipila (A. Zur. 2010: 305), ap-sipylė (K. Kas. 2010: 10), putoja (M. Štirb. 2011: 40), supuoja (A. Zur. 2010: 19), putojo (J. Skab. 2004: 203). Gausus žydėjimas dažnai lyginamas su nevaldomu vandens stichija: „<...> jazminų gyvatvorė tvinksinčia žiedų liūtimi griauna paskandinti viską <...>“ (R. Šer. 2001: 119); „Išvėjęs jazminas lyg krioklys trūksta ant akmeninės sklepo nugaros“ (L. Čen. 2009: 11); „<...> [žiedai] ritas [bangomis]“ (J. Skab. 2014: 158) ir pan.

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light, radiance: “<...>... filled the room with deadnettles, sank into their stream of light <...>” (B. Jon. 2007: 108); “<...> the May evening was...; it was bright only from the flowering plum trees outside the window” (J. Skab. 2004: 206); “The white flowers of the marsh cinquefoil shone among the graceful, delicate marsh horsetails <...>” (H. Gud. 2013: 127).

White petals are also associated with the otherworld: “Today it seems to me that the white deadnettle flowers, rustling softly and fragrant, unfolded for a few seconds into another... <...>” (B. Jon. 2007: 108); “<...> [in paradise] your grandmother baked bread from star dust, but not on sweet flag leaves, because they do not grow at such heights, but on the leaves of heavenly lilies” (L. Gut. 2006: 328).

It is the color of innocence, purity, and primordiality: “God,” he says, “created woman from Adam’s rib; in Eastern tales, from a lotus flower; and I—from a Lithuanian one... From what flower could he have created her? A rose? A columbine? A peony?.. From a lily¹⁹, surely, from the whitest of white lilies in a country garden, which shines in the twilight of warm evenings like a child’s sigh” (R. Gran. 1998: 119).

The collocations examined show that the color white and petals of this color are particularly often associated with various rituals. The sacraments administered by the Church are often accompanied by white flowers: “The sacrament of Confirmation—flowers again, white lilies” (L. Gut. 2013: 171). Churches are decorated with white flowers: “<...> In Kaunas Cathedral, white lilies on the altars <...>” (L. Gut. 2013: 95); “At the front, on the church floor, stand vases with white lilies” (L. Gut. 2008: 31); “[In the chapel] The whiteness of the calla lilies... Solemn” (J. Skab. 2014: 176); “<...> the altar grows larger, and I can already make out the... lilies, the tall candles, the faces of the Madonna and Child <...>” (L. Gut. 2006: 169).

Flowers of this color (especially white lilies) predominate at funerals²⁰: “Black people, white lilies. They... [the deceased] mother from every side—she smiled in a cloud of petals” (B. Jon. 2009: 183); “That is why she brought a white rose to the funeral” (R. Mat. 2013: 108); “<...> only the flowers of wreaths, white lilies, breathe a chill from another world <...>” (L. Gut. 2008: 379).

In our prose, graves are particularly often decorated with white flowers (especially lilies): “Let Alyosha plant white lilies [on the grave]; they grow such flowers in Lithuania <...>” (R. Šer. 2008: 27); “I promised to come again the following evening and bring white lilies”

¹⁹ The lily is a universal Christian symbol with an established, very clear symbolic meaning (it signifies piety, innocence, chastity, purity, and light—all of which are embodied in the white color of the flowers) (KiŽ 1997: 174; SRŽ: 83).

²⁰ In general, white is associated with the absolute and predominates in wedding and death rituals (KiŽ 1997: 45). Primitive people associated white with benevolent spirits and harmony between the living and the dead. It is no coincidence that people often place white lilies on the deceased’s grave as a counterpoint to the black color of death (SRŽ: 25, 83).

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[ant moters kapo“ (J. Skab. 2000: 58); „Atsisėdęs prie lango, žiūrėdavau į kapą, vos vos ant ilgų kojų linguojančias baltąsias lelijas“ (J. Skab. 2004: 127). Taigi, galėtume teigti, kad baltos lelijos turi simbolinę mirties reikšmę: <...> [lelija] baltai apvelka kiekvienas laidotuves <...>“ (B. Jon. 2011: 69); „Kaimiškos baltosios lelijos – šlapios, dvelkiančios mirtimi“ (J. Skab. 2004: 85). Ne veltui kūrėjų vadinamos „pasaulų aura, nakties šydų, rasa Dievo akies“ (R. Šer. 2001: 116). Tokie pavyzdžiai patvirtina Saulės Juzenienės mintį, kad viena iš būdvardžio

The potential semes of the connotative meanings of baltas include ‘associations with death and distinction’ (this seme also includes an emotional component). This adjective’s connotation is related to extralinguistic factors: in China and Japan, as among the ancient Balts and most European peoples, white was the color of death and mourning (Jonaitis 2009: 86; Juzenienė 2001: 11; Srž 25).

2. BLACK PETALS

Explanatory dictionaries of the Lithuanian language give between 6 and 9 meanings for the adjective juodas, –a. The primary meaning of this word is associated with color—‘completely dark (of a color); the color black’ (BŽ). Black, like white, is an achromatic color. There are no plants in nature with completely black petals, but it is evident that “language makes people see things in their own way, or see things that do not exist in reality at all” (Gudavičius 200: 20). The collected material shows that 8 authors mention 4 black-flowering plants in 21 collocations: lilies (J. Skab. 2004: 79), roses (R. Čern. 2012: 49), tulips (K. Sab. 2008: 26), and gnažolės (R. Šer. 2006: 50).

In adult prose, petals of this color are most often mentioned in surrealist and fantastic fiction (for example, in the novels of Jolita Skablauskaitė), or to show the grandeur or distinctiveness of an object: “<...> [women] compare with a white, black, or yellow rose <...>” (R. Čern. 2012: 49); “<...> I saw your family’s grandeur likened to the rare bulb of a black tulip” (R. Šer. 2010: 111). Petals of this color also appear in characters’ dreams, reveries, and so on: “I often see a black rose in my dreams” (E. Jan. 2013: 37); “He began dreaming of insanely beautiful plant species never seen anywhere before—black tulips, trees a span high <...>” (K. Sab. 2008: 26).

Regarding the expression of black in the collocations studied, as in the case of white, the color of black petals in our prose is most often conveyed by the adjective juodas (10 collocations with examples of this usage were found). The definite form of the adjective, juodasis, -oji, was recorded in 9 collocations. This relatively frequent use of the definite form is related to the narrative context (many works discuss specific plant cultivars, and the definite form is needed to name them). Once, the color of gnažolė flowers

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nusakyti pavartotas dūrinys juodažiedis, -ė (R. Šer. 2006: 50). Taip pat vieną kartą spalvos intensyvumas pabrėžtas palyginimu su juodos spalvos prototipu naktis: „[Rožės] juodos kaip naktis <...>“ (D. Vaitk. 2006: 424).

Sometimes black is described by means of a specific object, a prototypical bearer of that color: “A rose the color of a rabbit’s nose” (K. Kas. 2007: 12).

A broader context also allows us to touch on the connotative meaning of the adjective juodas, -a. The collocations studied suggest that, at times, black-flowering plants in our prose symbolize the characters’ dreams and aspirations: “The thought of black roses gave him no peace <...>” (K. Kas. 2007: 22); “<...> What a wonderful variety of roses I bred at the dwarves’ request! Black as night <...>. I’m even bursting with happiness that I bred a variety of black lilies” (D. Vaitk. 2006: 424).

INTRODUCTION

An examination of more than 300 collocations mentioning white- and black-flowering plants shows that, when naming petal color, authors most often use the adjectives white (in 152 collocations) and black (in 10 collocations). Somewhat less often, petal color is described using definite-form adjectives (the white one was used 41 times; the black one 9 times). The use of definite forms is determined by the narrative context: the white one often denotes plant species that exist in reality (for example, white clover, white lily, etc.), whereas the black one is most often used when a work refers to alleged plant species or varieties.

The greatest intensity of white is emphasized by superlative adjectives whitest, whitest of the white, tautological phrases white white, diminutive derivatives very white, and so on. In prose works, the color white is also named by the verbs is white, was white, turns white, (has) whitened, became white. In the texts of ten authors, petal color is described by the adverb white. To name this color, authors also use abstract nouns whiteness, white, white hue. Cases were also recorded in which achromatic colors are named through a concrete object, a prototypical bearer of the corresponding color.

White and its shades are quite often described through various comparisons. Plants with white petals are most often compared with objects from the human environment: snow, soap or milk foam, cotton wool, a wedding dress, burial clothes, certain food products (curd cheese, cream, and so on), and white birds (swans, seagulls, pigeons). We could say that these comparisons have become stereotypical: white as snow/milk / milk / foam / curd cheese / a swan; black as night. Analogously, prototypically

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white real-world referents (a person's ashen face, feet, hands, fingers, teeth, breasts, gray hair, swans, paper, snow, and so on) are compared with the white petals of plants.

Our prose writers mention about 70 white-flowering plants in their texts: trees, shrubs, fruit trees, berry bushes, weeds, forest, meadow, field, garden, houseplants, and other plants. The collections studied record only 4 black-flowering plants (lilies, roses, tulips, and celandines). In general, it was observed that in contemporary Lithuanian prose, women mention many more plant names. Women’s prose describes the appearance of plants in greater detail; when writing about flowering, women convey flower colors and shades to readers more creatively and pictorially than men do. Men’s prose most often identifies the color of a plant’s flowers specifically, and subtle petal shades are rarely mentioned. Male authors describe in detail only the flowers of better-known white-flowering plants (apple trees, cherry trees, lilies, and so on). Such differences are determined not only by psychological factors (men and women interpret the same objects and phenomena differently). Individual characteristics in each creator’s perception and interpretation of the world also play a role.

The collections studied show that our authors use a more varied range of achromatic color expressions when writing about plants that grow and flower naturally in the wild (cherry trees, apple trees, jasmine, and so on). The color of cut flowers is most often specified very precisely using the adjectives white and black.

ABBREVIATIONS OF SOURCES OF EMPIRICAL MATERIAL

S. Ach 2006 – Ach Sigutė. Ambrozijus pradeda pimas. Vilnius.

G. Adom. 2005 – Adomaitė Gintarė. Gėlių gatvė. Vilnius.

G. Adom. 2014 – Adomaitė Gintarė. Upė. Vilnius.

V. Al. 2010 – Aleksandravičiūtė Vakarė. Gugeliukai. Vilnius.

J. Ap. 2010 – Juozas Aputis. Rails Disappear in the Fog. Vilnius.

V. Až. 2008 – Vytautas Ažušilis. The Houseplant. Vilnius.

V. Až. 2009 – Vytautas Ažušilis. The Monk's Flower. Vilnius.

O. Bal. 2006 – Onė Baliukonė. Queen of the Dunes. Vilnius.

U. Bar. 2016 – Baruskaitė Ugnė. The Bohemia of One Person. Vilnius.

G. Bul. 2015 – Bulotaitė Giedrė. Green Stories. Vilnius.

B. Buš. 2006 – Bušma Bronius. Būk geras, Jackau, nemirk! Vilnius.

V. Čep. 2008 – Čepas Vytautas. Only Time Changes Beneath the Sun. Vilnius.

L. Črn. 2009 – Černiauskaitė Laura Sintija. A Room in a Jasmine Bush. Vilnius.

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L. Čen. 2011 – Černiauskaitė Laura Sintija. Honeymoon. Vilnius.

L. Čen. 2015 – Černiauskaitė Laura Sintija, Šerelytė Renata. Happy Future. Vilnius.

R. Čen. 2012 – Černiauskas Rimantas. Town Stories. Vilnius.

H. Čig. 2007 – Čigriejus Henrikas Algis. The Crow Wipes Away a Tear. Vilnius.

H. Čig. 2011 – Čigriejus Henrikas Algis. And Brought Back the Scent of Hops. Vilnius.

R. Dab. 2016 – Dabrukas Rolandas. I Am Different. Vilnius.

R. Flick 2012 – Flick Rokas. The Last Train. Vilnius.

R. Flick 2015 – Flick Rokas. Northern Sahara: A Novel about the First Curonian Spit. Vilnius.

R. Gran. 1998 – Granauskas Romualdas. The Singing of Little Animals. Vilnius.

R. Gran. 2003 – Granauskas Romualdas. The Hollow. Vilnius.

R. Gran. 2007 – Granauskas Romualdas. Fog over the Valleys. Vilnius.

R. Gran. 2011 – Granauskas Romualdas. Three Solitudes. Vilnius.

R. Gran. 2013 – Granauskas Romualdas. The Exiled. Vilnius.

D. Grig. 2008 – Grigaliūnienė Danutė. In the Evening Sun. Kaišiadorys.

D. Grig. 2012 – Grigaliūnienė Danutė. Frogs Won't Advise You. Kaišiadorys.

H. Gud. 2013 – Gudavičius Henrikas. The Garden of Nature Worship. Vilnius.

L. Gut. 2006 – Gutaukas Leonardas. Theology of Dreams. Vilnius.

L. Gut. 2007 – Gutaukas Leonardas. Flies. Attic. Vilnius.

L. Gut. 2008 – Gutaukas Leonardas. Things. Vilnius.

L. Gut. 2011 – Gutaukas Leonardas. Dogs’ Songs. Vilnius.

L. Gut. 2013 – Gutaukas Leonardas. Fragments. Vilnius.

E. Ign. 2000 – Ignatavičius Eugenijus. Full Moon on Mars. Vilnius.

J. Iv. 2000 – Ivanauskaitė Jurga. Cast Away by Dreams. Vilnius.

J. Iv. 2003 – Ivanauskaitė Jurga. Placebo. Vilnius.

E. Jan. 2013 – Janušaitis Edmundas. Žaliakalnis – A Story of Resurrection. Vilnius.

O. Jat. 2005 – Jautakė Ona. Moon Tales. Vilnius.

O. Jat. 2006 – Jautakė Ona. Pinkish Clouds. Vilnius.

O. Jat. 2009a – Jautakė Ona. When I Was Cleo. Vilnius.

O. Jat. 2009b – Jautakė Ona. Mrs. Geranium. Vilnius.

D. Jaz. 2007 – Jazukevičiūtė Dalia. Black Square. Vilnius.

D. Jaz. 2009 – Jazukevičiūtė Dalia. The Glass Bird. Vilnius.

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R. Jon. 2010 – Joni Rasa. Žvaigždėtas Arkliukas ir Meškukas Panda. Vilnius.

B. Jon. 2007 – Jonuškaitė Birutė. Krėgždėlėkis. Vilnius.

B. Jon. 2009 – Jonuškaitė Birutė. Baltų užtrauktukų tango. Vilnius.

B. Jon. 2011 – Jonuškaitė Birutė. Užsagstyk mane. Vilnius.

M. Jon. 2010 – Jonutis Marius. Sibiras Jurgis ir kitos istorijos. Vilnius.

D. Kaj. 2007 – Kajokas Donaldas. Kažas. Vilnius.

D. Kal. 2008 – Kalinauskaitė Danutė. Niekada nežinai. Vilnius.

D. Kal. 2015 – Kalinauskaitė Danutė. Šersėvijų namai. Vilnius.

K. Kas. 2005 – Kasparavičius Kęstutis. Kvaile istorijos. Vilnius.

K. Kas. 2007 – Kasparavičius Kęstutis. Sodininkas Florencijus. Vilnius.

K. Kas. 2010 – Kasparavičius Kęstutis. Mažoji žiema. Vilnius.

A. Kav. 2015 – Kavaliauskaitė Akvilė. Du gyvenimai per vieną vasarą. Vilnius.

N. Kep. 2015 – Kepenienė Nijolė. Išgelbėk mane II. Vilnius, 2005.

J. Kral. 2002 – Kraliuskas Juozas. Dinastijos žūtis. Vilnius.

S. Kuop. 2007 – Kuopis Sigitas. Miglu mergaitė. Vilnius.

J. Kunč. 2006 – Kunčinas Jurgis. Baltųjų sūrų naktis. Vilnius.

E. Kurk. 2009 – Kurklietytė Elena. The Weaver of Shadows: The Story of Wild Todes. Vilnius.

V. Lands. 2007 – Landsbergis Vytautas V. Eugenijus the Elk. Vilnius.

E. Lie. 2004 – Lieguotė Emilija. Autumn Days. Vilnius.

E. Lie. 2007 – Lieguotė Emilija. Dad Has Returned. Vilnius.

E. Lie. 2013 – Lieguotė Emilija. Grandmother’s Tales. Vilnius.

M. Luž. 2006 – Lužytė Margarita. Paths. Šiauliai.

R. Mat. 2013 – Mataitytė Rūta. A Dream About Snow. Vilnius.

I. Mer. 2004 – Meras Icchokas. A Stop Along the Way. Vilnius.

M. Mik. 2016 – Mikenaitė Monika. Beyond the Wall: Like a Phoenix from the Ashes. Vilnius.

D. Op. 2015 – Opolskaitė Daina. The Experiment of Living. Vilnius.

D. Op. 2016 – Opolskaitė Daina. And One Time, Richie. Vilnius.

V. Palč. 2011 – Palčinskaitė Violeta. Music for a Troll. Vilnius.

A. Piv. 2001 – Pivoras Antanas. A Wolf on a Bicycle. Utena.

B. Pūk. 2003 – Pūkelevičiūtė Birutė. Eight Leaves. The Ninth Leaf. Vilnius.

V. Rač. 2001 – Račkas Vytautas. Zuika’s New Adventures, or True Joy. Vilnius.

V. Rač. 2008 – Račkas Vytautas. Zuika Is Still Alive. Vilnius.

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U. Rad. 2013 – Radzevičiūtė Undinė. Žuvys ir drakonai. Vilnius.

A. Rus. 2016 – Ruseckaitė Aldona. Šešėlis. Vilnius.

K. Sab. 2008 – Sabaliauskaitė Kristina. Silva rerum. Vilnius.

K. Sab. 2011 – Sabaliauskaitė Kristina. Silva rerum II. Vilnius.

K. Sab. 2012 – Sabaliauskaitė Kristina. Danielius Dalba & kitos istorijos. Vilnius.

J. Skab. 2000 – Skablauskaitė Jolita. Trečiasis tūkstantmetis. Vilnius.

J. Skab. 2004 – Skablauskaitė Jolita. Septyniadangė erdvė. Vilnius.

J. Skab. 2014 – Skablauskaitė Jolita. Žiežulės. Vilnius.

R. Skū. 2016 – Skūaitė Ramutė. Tai priimti, kas priklauso. Vilnius.

M. Sirb. 2011 – Sirbtyė-Valaikienė Marta. Baltų vieškeliu. Kaunas.

R. Še. 2001 – Šerelytė Renata. O ji tepasakė miau. Vilnius.

R. Še. 2006 – Šerelytė Renata. Balzamuotojas. Vilnius.

R. Še. 2008 – Šerelytė Renata. Mėlynbarzdžio vaikai. Vilnius.

R. Še. 2010 – Šerelytė Renata. Vėjo ra telis. Vilnius, 2010.

R. Še. 2013 – Šerelytė Renata. Vardas tamsoje. Vilnius.

A. Tap. 2013 – Tapinas Andrius. Viko valanda. Vilnius.

V. Vėl. 2006 – Vėl Vilė. Where Summer Is Eternal. Vilnius.

G. Vil. 2016 – Vilūnė Gina. The Emperor’s Love. Vilnius.

I. Zar. 2016 – Zarambaitė Ignė. The Rag Doll. Vilnius.

A. Zur. 2010 – Zurba Algimantas. Krisius. Vilnius.

A. Žag. 2013 – Žagrakalytė Agnė. The Forester’s Daughter: Case F 117. Vilnius.

V. Žil. 2013 – Žilinskaitė Vyt autė. Not That Moth. Vilnius.

LEXICOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

BŽ – Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian, in preparation, editorial board: Danutė Liutkevičienė (editor-in-chief), Gertrūda Naktinienė, Rūta Petrokienė, Dovilė Svečkienė, Klementina Vosylienė, Jolanta Zabarskaitė. Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2013–2017. Available online: http://bkz.lki.lt.

KiŽ – Dictionary of Christian Iconography, compiled by Dalia Ramonienė. Vilnius: Vilnius Academy of Arts Press, 1997.

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Vosylė Klementina 2014: Palyginimų žodynas. Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

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Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXVI

Vainiklapų spalvos ir atspalviai šiuolaikinėje lietuvių proze: balta ir juoda

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Colours and Shades of Petals in Modern Lithuanian Prose: Black and White

SUMMARY

The article analyses more than 300 collocations found in 98 works of 61 modern Lithuanian prose authors, these collocations are used by the authors to convey the white or black colour of the petals of flowering plants and the shades of these colours. Analysed prose authors in their texts mention approximately 70 white flowering plants, these are: trees, bushes, fruit trees, berry scrubs, weeds, forest, meadow, field, garden, indoor and other plants. In the analysed collocations only 4 black flowering plants (lilies, roses, tulips and greater celandines) are found. Research material indicates that when conveying the colour of achromatic petals authors usually use the adjectives white (Lith. baltas, -a; juodas, -a; feminine and masculine form; 152 collocations) and black (Lith. juodas, -a; feminine and masculine form; 10 collocations). Less frequently the colour of petals is described by using pronominal form of adjectives (the white (Lith. baltasis, -oji; feminine, masculine form) used 41 times; the black (Lith. juodasis, -oji; feminine, masculine form) used 9 times). Usage of the pronominal form of adjectives is determined by the context of the story: the white usually marks the sorts of plants that really exist (e.g. the white clover, the white lily; Lith. baltasis dobilas, baltoji lelija, etc.) and the black is usually used when imaginary sorts or kinds of plants are described in the work.

The highest intensity of white colour is emphasized by using the superlative form of adjectives, i.e., the whitest (Lith. balčiausias, baltų balčiausias), tautological collocations white white (Lith. baltas baltas), derivatives formed with suffixes snow-white (Lith. baltutėlis), etc. Verbs showing white, was showing white, shine white, shone white, will shine white (Lith. baltoja, baltavo, baltojo, (su)balavo, suboluos) are used to indicate white colour in prose works as well. Some authors use adverb whitely (Lith. baltai) to indicate the colour of petals in their texts. To indicate this colour the prose writers also use nominal abstracts whiteness (Lith. baltumas, baltuma, baltvė). There are cases when achromatic colours are conveyed through a concrete object, a certain colour prototype.

The colour white and its shades quite frequently are described by using various comparisons. Usually, plants that have white petals are compared to the closest objects of the person’s surroundings: snow, soap suds or milk foam, cotton, wedding dress, shroud,

Straipsniai / Articles

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some food items, white birds. It can be said that comparisons as these have become stereotypes: white as snow/paper/milk/foam/curd/swan); black as night. Analogous prototypically white reality denotes (pale face, feet, hands, fingers, teeth, breasts, white hair, swans, paper, snow, etc.) are compared to white petals of plants.

It was noticed that female authors more thoroughly and more creatively convey to the readers colour and shades of the blooms. Male authors usually indicate the precise colour of the bloom but rarely mention subtle shades of colour of the blooms. More poetically and in detail male authors describe only more well-known white flowering blooms (apple tree, cherry tree, lily, etc.). These differences are determined not only by the specificity of gender but also by individual qualities of the writer.

Analysed collocations show that the authors use more varied literary devices to describe naturally growing and blooming plants (cherry trees, apple trees, mock-oranges, etc.). The colour of picked flowers is usually indicated in a very specific way, i.e., by using adjectives white and black.

Įteikta 2017 m. birželio 9 d.

AURELIJA GRITĖNIENĖ

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

Petro Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius, Lietuva

[email protected]

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