The way the author described the case of Yélî Dnye ("A Language Where Colors Are Metaphors") makes it seem a bit underwhelming to me, and unfortunately the link

The way the author described the case of Yélî Dnye ("A Language Where Colors Are Metaphors") makes it seem a bit underwhelming to me, and unfortunately the link to the research paper is broken. When she says: >For example, to describe something as red, islanders say “mtyemtye,” which is derived from “mtye,” or “red parrot species.” Another example is “mgîdîmgîdî,” which can be used to say something is black, but is directly derived from the word for night, “mgîdî.” ...all I get is the impression that the names of colours in Yélî Dnye are derived from known objects which happen to be of that colour—an interesting bit of trivia, but nothing shocking. Then: >Not only that, writes Levinson, but the islander’s grammar reinforces this metaphorical slant, saying, “The skin of the man is white like the parrot,” rather than “He is white.” ...I am confused by what is supposed to be that surprising in this way of expressing themselves. Does "is white like the parrot" stand for a literal mention of both the word for white parrot and a word derived from it? Or is it a stand-in for the fact that they don't refer to things being a colour but rather being like specific coloured things? I feel like something has been lost in translation, both literally from Yélî Dnye and metaphorically from the field of linguistics.