But in general anthropologists came to accept the view that physiological differences did not explain the variations in color vocabulary among cultures. That's still a matter of dispute. The majority view, I would venture to say, is that the designation of colors in different cultures is totally arbitrary. Yet an American describing it will list the hues as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, or something of the kind. More recent research, however, suggests that color terminology may not be so arbitrary after all.
All languages contain terms for white and black.
If a language contains three terms, then it contains a term for red. If a language contains five terms, then it contains terms for both green and yellow. If a language contains six terms, then it contains a term for blue. If a language contains seven terms, then it contains a term for brown. If a language contains eight or more terms, then it contains a term for purple, pink, orange, grey, or some combination of these.