On Saturday, December 10th, 2022, Prof. emer. Diana Stolac, PhD, held a workshop for elementary school students at Moise Palace called The Language of Colors.
The workshop began with a brief introduction to color theory from an artistic and scientific perspective, also taking note of its use in language and literature. The participants were senior classes from Frane Petrić Elementary School, Cres, led by teacher Ida Surdić.
The objective of this linguistic workshop was to cover the many opportunities the use of colors offers to language and literary works. Namely, how different colors and shades are called in Croatian dialects and standard language, various idioms with colors as key components, and the symbolism of color in literary use – how writers see this magnificent play of light. Attention was also given to past Croatian names for colors and shades, as seen in old Croatian dictionaries.
Many strange questions were asked: is white wine as white as milk? Does a blonde have blue hair? Does blue blood flow through the veins of nobles? Can red wine (crno vino) be translated into English as “black” (crno)? What is the color of the black box in planes? Can we say we got something in black and white if it’s written in blue ink on yellow paper? And what does someone as slick as a whistle have to do with all of this?
Wordplay without white lies or feeling blue leads to golden opportunities.
UNIRI The Moise Palace: Cres Island
An education center of the University of Rijeka. A five-hundred-year-old patrician townhouse and the largest Renaissance palace on the Croatian islands. A venue and forum for various scientific and research activities, it welcomes visiting academics, students and scholars.
