THE COLOR OF WORDS. 257 



THE COLOR OF WOEDS. 



Br N. E. NEWELL. 



THERE are some curious things in regard to the way in which the 

 human mind is affected by colors as well as the human sight. 

 We are all familiar with what is termed color-blindness, and the un- 

 expected results that sometimes attend it ; but color-sound is some- 

 thing which has received much less investigation. 



How much, or in what way, animals are affected by colors, is not 

 very well understood ; but the subject has been investigated enough 

 to know that they are influenced by them, and the future will prob- 

 ably bring out some surprising results to the one who shall thoroughly 

 cultivate this comparatively unexplored field of research. 



Some people can select and appreciate the coloi'S of sounds ; and to 

 them the speaking of a name presents, mentally, a well-defined color, 

 or combination of colors, different names having different shades or 

 combinations. 



The same name should, of course, always present the same color, 

 or combination, when spoken, although, to different people, possessing 

 the faculty, a given name or sound does not present the same charac- 

 teristics. To prove the first of these two facts, a list of names was 

 prepared, and the shade or color given by a lady who has this power, 

 marked against each one of the list. After several weeks the names 

 were again read to her, and the colors designated by her marked. 

 This course was pursued several times during a year or more, the lady 

 not being allowed to see the results in that time. During these sev- 

 eral experiments the only variations in the answers given were such 

 as would be natural where there was some uncertainty in regard to 

 terms: for example, the answer to a given name at one time might be, 

 "bluish," and at another, "lead-color" ; so, what was called "straw- 

 color " might be afterward called " buff." The approach to similarity 

 in the shades shows that the same mental picture was present, and 

 only language was at fault. 



AVith one or two exceptions these were the only changes noted in 

 the several trials ; and the extent to which the experiments were car- 

 ried warrants the belief that there was a well-defined idea of the color 

 of words. 



A few years ago a New York physician had two patients that 

 probably had this faculty of the raind abnormally developed : one 

 had a horror of all words in which the letters ch were placed ; and the 

 other was taken with hysterics at a certain shade of blue. Whether 

 or not the latter case has any bearing on the subject, may be ques- 

 tioned ; but it seems as though a perception so acute in regard to cer- 

 tain colors would involve the jDower of word-coloring. 

 VOL. XXXII. — 17 



