BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Human olfaction at the intersection of language\, culture and biol
 ogy - Prof Asifa Majid\, Centre for Language Studies\, Radboud University
DTSTART:20180316T163000Z
DTEND:20180316T173000Z
UID:TALK100267@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Language seems to be better at expressing some notio
 ns (e.g.\, geometric shapes)\, but poor at others (e.g.\, describing an in
 dividuals’ face). But are there ineffable concepts\, i.e.\, things that 
 are difficult or impossible to put into words? One proposal for ineffabili
 ty is odor. Smell is said to be “the lowest\, the most animal of the sen
 ses” (McKenzie 1923)\, and is claimed by many to have little value acros
 s cultures (e.g.\, Buchan 1812\; Gardner 1993\; Stoddart 1990). The langua
 ge for smell is claimed to be similarly impoverished. McKenzie (1923) decl
 ared: “smell is speechless”\, and Henning (1916) claimed “olfactory 
 abstraction is impossible”. So are smells truly ineffable? How difficult
  is it to describe an odour in comparison to a colour\, shape\, or sound? 
 Recent crosscultural investigation shows this generalization is\, in fact\
 , not true. The hunter-gatherer Jahai who reside in the tropical rainfores
 ts of the Malay Peninsula have around a dozen terms to refer to different 
 types of odor qualities\, and are able to talk about smells with the same 
 ease as colors (Majid & Burenhult\, 2014). The Jahai are not the only ones
  to have an elaborate lexicon for smell. This observation raises new quest
 ions about what factors might give rise to olfactory talk. In this present
 ation\, I review recent work that shows that subsistence (e.g.\, being a h
 unter-gatherer\; Majid & Kruspe\, 2018)\, domain-specific practices (e.g.\
 , wine-tasting\; Croijmans & Majid\, 2016)\, as well as ecology (O’Meara
 \, Smythe Kung\, & Majid\, under review) shape olfactory language\, and it
 s use. Together this work points to the importance of marrying studies of 
 the lexicon to those of culture and communication.\n\nBio: Asifa Majid is 
 Professor of Language\, communication\, and cultural cognition at the Cent
 re of Language Studies and Affiliated researcher at the Max Planck Institu
 te for Psycholinguistics. She investigates the nature of categories and co
 ncepts in language\, in non-linguistic perception and cognition\, and the 
 relationship between them. Majid has been awarded various prizes and award
 s (e.g. the Ammodo KNAW Award 2015 for the Humanities\, Radboud Science Aw
 ard 2015) and received a NWO VICI grant (€1.5 million) to study olfactor
 y language and cognition across diverse cultures. Her work has been recogn
 ised outside the scientific community too. She was named one of The Libert
 ine 100 because “Her innovative research opens up a whole new frontier o
 f language and ‘smell vocabulary’.”\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR