Correct! But that is just how it is to me. Other synesthetes may process letters differently because they use sound or smell or texture or taste etc. It’s a very individual thing.
I think that the ochre/yellowish color appears to me when I look at の because it reminds me of E or rather “e” and to me E/e is a pale yellow. I’m definitely informed by my established understanding of letters in the Roman alphabet, but the color isn’t a one to one copy paste because の and e are still different enough that the colors will be different too.
I started teaching myself the Cyrillic alphabet a few years ago, but got busy with life so I have since forgotten most of it again, but I do remember some of the letters taking on interesting colors for me. Most of the letters in the Cyrillic alphabet LOOK like Roman letters even if they have completely different sounds so many of them just get the color from the Roman alphabet, but some of them are just different enough that the color is unique to them. Correct! But that is just how it is to me. Other synesthetes may process letters differently because they use sound or smell or texture or taste etc. It’s a very individual thing.
I think that the ochre/yellowish color appears to me when I look at の because it reminds me of E or rather “e” and to me E/e is a pale yellow. I’m definitely informed by my established understanding of letters in the Roman alphabet, but the color isn’t a one to one copy paste because の and e are still different enough that the colors will be different too.
I started teaching myself the Cyrillic alphabet a few years ago, but got busy with life so I have since forgotten most of it again, but I do remember some of the letters taking on interesting colors for me. Most of the letters in the Cyrillic alphabet LOOK like Roman letters even if they have completely different sounds so many of them just get the color from the Roman alphabet, but some of them don’t really look like Roman letters and while I was learning, they started to take on their own unique color. Since I still don’t have a solid grasp on the Cyrillic alphabet, the colors are also very flimsy and hard to pin down. In the same way that it is hard for me currently to remember what sound goes with what letter.
But л which has the L sound, generally tends to flicker yellow and reddish pink to me atm. Maybe if I got really good at Cyrillic, it would become more yellow or more reddish pink or maybe, as my understanding of the letters grow, it will take a completely different color? I don’t know. I haven’t learned a - to me - foreign alphabet with language well enough to be able to tell you what happens there. I also don’t remember how colors of the Roman letters were formed for me because when I learned to read and write I was a kid and I didn’t know that how my brain works was a bit different in some areas so I guess the colors just came gradually and naturally and I didn’t think about it until probably my early 20s when I had a history teacher who randomly brought the topic up in class and asked us if we saw colors when we look at letters and words.
Me: oh yeah, but don’t everybody?
so, if you were to start learning a new alphabet and accompanying language, those letters might begin to take on colors of their own, like with Cyrillic and Russian. Ahhh- that’s so strange and awesome! Er, well, to someone who doesn’t have synesthesia (me).
Thanks for answering my questions and being so detailed in your responses! Last question - does punctuation have any effect on the colors you see? I imagine punctuation symbols don’t do anything on their own, since they’d be just that - symbols. But if they’re used in the context of language/communication, are they affected by your synesthesia as well?
Correct! But that is just how it is to me. Other synesthetes may process letters differently because they use sound or smell or texture or taste etc. It’s a very individual thing.
I think that the ochre/yellowish color appears to me when I look at の because it reminds me of E or rather “e” and to me E/e is a pale yellow. I’m definitely informed by my established understanding of letters in the Roman alphabet, but the color isn’t a one to one copy paste because の and e are still different enough that the colors will be different too.
I started teaching myself the Cyrillic alphabet a few years ago, but got busy with life so I have since forgotten most of it again, but I do remember some of the letters taking on interesting colors for me. Most of the letters in the Cyrillic alphabet LOOK like Roman letters even if they have completely different sounds so many of them just get the color from the Roman alphabet, but some of them are just different enough that the color is unique to them. Correct! But that is just how it is to me. Other synesthetes may process letters differently because they use sound or smell or texture or taste etc. It’s a very individual thing.
I think that the ochre/yellowish color appears to me when I look at の because it reminds me of E or rather “e” and to me E/e is a pale yellow. I’m definitely informed by my established understanding of letters in the Roman alphabet, but the color isn’t a one to one copy paste because の and e are still different enough that the colors will be different too.
I started teaching myself the Cyrillic alphabet a few years ago, but got busy with life so I have since forgotten most of it again, but I do remember some of the letters taking on interesting colors for me. Most of the letters in the Cyrillic alphabet LOOK like Roman letters even if they have completely different sounds so many of them just get the color from the Roman alphabet, but some of them don’t really look like Roman letters and while I was learning, they started to take on their own unique color. Since I still don’t have a solid grasp on the Cyrillic alphabet, the colors are also very flimsy and hard to pin down. In the same way that it is hard for me currently to remember what sound goes with what letter.
But л which has the L sound, generally tends to flicker yellow and reddish pink to me atm. Maybe if I got really good at Cyrillic, it would become more yellow or more reddish pink or maybe, as my understanding of the letters grow, it will take a completely different color? I don’t know. I haven’t learned a - to me - foreign alphabet with language well enough to be able to tell you what happens there. I also don’t remember how colors of the Roman letters were formed for me because when I learned to read and write I was a kid and I didn’t know that how my brain works was a bit different in some areas so I guess the colors just came gradually and naturally and I didn’t think about it until probably my early 20s when I had a history teacher who randomly brought the topic up in class and asked us if we saw colors when we look at letters and words. Me: oh yeah, but don’t everybody?
Also, don’t apologize for asking questions :D
… That’s. So. COOL! AHH- :D
so, if you were to start learning a new alphabet and accompanying language, those letters might begin to take on colors of their own, like with Cyrillic and Russian. Ahhh- that’s so strange and awesome! Er, well, to someone who doesn’t have synesthesia (me).
Thanks for answering my questions and being so detailed in your responses! Last question - does punctuation have any effect on the colors you see? I imagine punctuation symbols don’t do anything on their own, since they’d be just that - symbols. But if they’re used in the context of language/communication, are they affected by your synesthesia as well?