 Simplistically, he reported a decline since ancient Germanic times in the verbal expression of colour, with objects nowadays perceived as colour-bearers, not colour-transmitters ("Farbträger, nicht Farbsender").Empirical evidence for this has since proved to be contradictory.Better supported, but still in need of verification, was his converse hypothesis of a corresponding historical shift in the expression and perception of "Glanz" (a term comprising 'shininess', 'radiance' etc.