Do people in different cultures actually see colors differently?

The answer

Language significantly influences color perception, a phenomenon called linguistic relativity in color. The Himba people of Namibia have no separate word for blue, grouping it with green (burou), and studies by Jules Davidoff at Goldsmiths University found they struggle to distinguish blue from green - yet they easily identify subtle green variations invisible to English speakers because their language has more green-category terms. Russian speakers, who have separate words for light blue (goluboy) and dark blue (siniy), distinguish these shades faster than English speakers in tests. The Dani people of Papua New Guinea have only two color terms (mili for dark/cool and mola for light/warm). Ancient languages show interesting patterns: Homer described the sea as 'wine-dark,' and no ancient Greek text uses a word for blue. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests our language shapes our perceptual categories.