Describe color

[amyjko]

Expected behavior

When blind or low vision users use screen readers, color descriptions should use color words when available, and across all supported natural languages.

Actual behavior

The current color descriptions are particularly unhelpful, since they are either skipped or read as LCH coordinates in a color space. Coordinators are precise, but not helpful for getting the gist of what color is chosen.

Design specification

One possibility is to define several fixed points in the LCH color space, and then for each locale, define color words at those points. When something is near those points within some threshold, use those color words to describe the color.

_If this defect requires some redesign, include a design proposal here (and if you don't have one, add the needs design label, and you can just write TBD here). Design proposals should describe, in precise detail what the proposed design is, but not necessarily how it might be built. Note that the design proposal for a defect should align with the expected behavior you described above. Once the design is approved, we will add the buildable tag is added._

[amyjko]

It's the end of Winter! Please provide an update on this issue, including:

• Whether you plan to continue work on it
• If you do not, 1) provide a detailed update of its status, 2) add any unfinished work, 3) list any any unmerged branches, and 4) unassign yourself, so someone else can take over the task. Please leave the issue in better shape than you found it, helping future contributors to start from where you left off.

If you do plan to continue work on it, carry on. Otherwise, thank you for your contributions!

[amyjko]

No reply :( Unassigning @aakashbaheti @devanshidesai25.

[zihanRenL]

Hi I want to research on this issue!

[amyjko]

Assigned! Let me know if you'd like guidance one where to start. Researching about color words in different languages would be a good start.

[briannazhouu]

I'd also like to work on this issue if Zihan wants to work together!

[amyjko]

@zihanRenL, do you want to collaborate with @briannazhouu?

[zihanRenL]

@zihanRenL, do you want to collaborate with @briannazhouu?

Sure!

[amyjko]

Assigned @briannazhouu too. I recommend creating a Discord channel for the issue, where you can coordinate. Talk to me early and often for research and design guidance!

[zihanRenL]

I'd also like to work on this issue if Zihan wants to work together!

My discord ID is tr_3336 would you like to create a channel or something?

[briannazhouu]

@zihanRenL Yes, I just sent you a request

[zihanRenL]

Hi I want to research on this issue!

I want to share what I've researched on this issue and want to get feedback for the next step: I started with Berlin and Kay's primary works on Basic Color Term (BCT) and Word Color Survey (WCS). BCT refers to a small set of simple words in a language that collectively name all the color sensations without relying on complex or compound words. Berlin and Kay (1969) found 11 words to be white, gray, black, red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and brown. In their Word Color Survey, participants from 110 non-industrialized languages were asked to name 330 standardized Munsell color chips and identify the most representative colors, and they found that there are clear cross-linguistic statistical tendencies for named color categories to cluster at certain privileged points in perceptual color space, in which the privileged points tend to lie near those colors named red, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, orange, pink, black, white, and gray in English. Then I add Color AND different languages for key words:

1. Boundary colors in different languages are usually hard to define -> Several research papers mentioned that some boundary color's naming may evolved during time and culture, also mentioned the difficulties on naming/distinguising blue and green; 青(あお) are frequently mentioned, in which green and blue had not been distinguished but use 青 to define blue(蓝), green, and other related colors, and 青 may still refers to different colors now depend on context.
2. Hsieh, Tsuei-Ju Tracy's research on Basic color categories in Mandarin Chinese revealed by cluster analysis reviewed the previous BCT studies on Mandarin from 1969-2018: https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2771971 Most BCT are still around red, brown, green, black, orange, gray, yellow, pink
3. Focal color: also from the WCS. Participants are asked to identify the most representative colors (pick out those cells in the stimulus array that were the best examples (foci) of each color term that they used). These focal colors also shows cross-cultural consistency, in which Berlin and Kay's research shows that the focal color for the "red" category is very consistent across different languages.

[amyjko]

That's fascinating stuff @zihanRenL, this is a nice find! And good job following up on that older work: it looks like the survey that goes through 2018 is a nice summary. Please include citations for these (and ideally DOI links to digital libraries), so there's an unambiguous link to the research.

Do you think there's any research more recent than the Hsieh paper? Follow citations to it and see.

From this as a starting point, what kinds of designs can you imagine for this issue?

[zihanRenL]

I'm glad to hear my findings to be helpful! I added the DOI links and will incorperate the citations later. I will start to find more updated research on Mandarin's color words and see how it might be applied in describing colors. But still, maybe could you please elaborate a little bit on "what kinds of designs"? Is it refers to a color-describing system design or something?

[amyjko]

Yes, I can elaborate. This issue is labeled needs design, which means it needs a design. Given what you've learned, how should arbitrary color values be described across arbitrary languages? Should we use color words, not use color words, only use specific color words, define color words per language? There are many design possibilities and we have to choose one.

[zihanRenL]

@zihanRenL Yes, I just sent you a request

Hi BriannaI I haven't received your message on Discord. I just wanted to know if you prefer using other platform? Or would you be here this Wednesday?

[briannazhouu]

I just tried again, let me know if you can see it!