BLACK and WHITE linguistic category entrenchment in English

The objective of this chapter is to discuss the cognitive entrenchment of the linguistic categories BLACK and WHITE in association with PLEASANT and UNPLEASANT in English through a semantic application of the Implicit Association Test (TAT). This study continues earlier linguistic research of implicit associations with basic-color-term couples. The results reveal the cognitive entrenchment of the categories and support the hypothesis that there are underlying conceptualization processes that guide semantic color/object associations. The embodied experiential grounding of darkness/night and lightness/day as the basis for our understanding of BLACK and WHITE emerges with the elaboration of a complex of conceptual metaphors that culminates in KNOWING IS SEEING (GOOD IS SEEING) - experiential motivation of language and thought.