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| 1 | Introduction. The focus of this paper is the observation and comparison of several symbolic connotations of British and Slavic basic color terms. Aim and objectives. The paper’s aim is to discuss cultural and linguistic commonalities and peculiarities of a few color terms and prepare educational resource for different disciplines, such as English, Russian as a foreign language, ethnolinguistic and linguacultural studies. Material and methods. This paper observes British and Slavic idioms with the component ‘color’ in its connotative meaning. A cross-disciplinary approach helps identify the essential place of color terms in interpreting linguistic picture of the world and emphasizes the integrative role of culture. We consolidate with ideas of L. Bloomfield and J. Lyons concerning connotative meaning in linguistic semantics. Results and discussion. Connotative meanings of color terms often become cultural symbols and serve as signs of some abstract concepts. Since color perceptions relate to the sensory sphere, they are easily transferred to the characteristics of emotions, dignity of character, behavior, appearance. Interpretation of color terms in their connotative meanings will provide insight into the national mentality. Connotative meanings reflect individualized situations based on national cultural values and norms of social life. In provided examples the basic meaning of a color term is becomingusually narrower. Conclusion. The comparative analysis of connotations of five color terms leads to following conclusions: 1) color is able to evoke certain emotions traced in languages in the form of idioms containing a color component; 2) differences in the semantic structure of color connotations in English and Russian are due to national and cultural peculiarities; 3) etymology of color terms and historical facts sometimes make it possible to establish the dependence of a symbol on practice; 4) the main (perhaps the most universal) source of color terms are natural objects with a characteristic color. Keywords: color terms, symbolism, connotations, comparison, language and culture | 1149 | ||||