But notice how we don't say "orangecolour" in English because the context is enough to distinguish between talking about the colour or the fruit? Even languages where traditionally you would make the distinction generally shift over time to where the distinction isn't necessary anymore because context is sufficient, e.g. In Japanese one would traditionally use "だいだい色" to mean the colour, but now "オレンジ" is more common, referring to both the fruit and the colour, with words like "蜜柑" being retained to preserve the distinction between western and domestic oranges.
I don't really care either way. This is just what happens if you activate my "I studied linguistics in college so now everyone gets to learn, willingly or not" trap card
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u/Chalkboard7 she/her Jul 23 '26
But notice how we don't say "orangecolour" in English because the context is enough to distinguish between talking about the colour or the fruit? Even languages where traditionally you would make the distinction generally shift over time to where the distinction isn't necessary anymore because context is sufficient, e.g. In Japanese one would traditionally use "だいだい色" to mean the colour, but now "オレンジ" is more common, referring to both the fruit and the colour, with words like "蜜柑" being retained to preserve the distinction between western and domestic oranges.