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SUMMARY:Human olfaction at the intersection of language\, culture and biol
 ogy - Professor Asifa Majid\, Professor of Language\, Communication\, and 
 Cultural Cognition\, University of York
DTSTART:20190201T163000Z
DTEND:20190201T173000Z
UID:TALK116152@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION: Abstract: Language seems to be better at expressing some noti
 ons (e.g.\, geometric shapes)\, but poor at others (e.g.\, describing an i
 ndividuals’ face). What does this differential expressibility tell us ab
 out the evolution of language? One possibility is that lack of expressibil
 ity shows a domain is not of importance for human cognition. This has cert
 ainly been claimed of olfaction. Under experimental conditions—where peo
 ple can only smell\, but not see the source of an odor—individuals strug
 gle to name their perceptual experience. This difficulty is attributed to 
 the relative unimportance of olfaction. Smell is claimed to have little va
 lue across cultures\, and olfactory abstraction is said to be impossible. 
 So are smells truly ineffable? How difficult is it to describe an odour in
  comparison to a colour\, shape\, or sound? Recent crosscultural investiga
 tion shows that the problems of odor naming are not universal. The hunter-
 gatherer Jahai who reside in the tropical rainforests of the Malay Peninsu
 la have around a dozen terms to refer to different ty pes of odor qualitie
 s\, 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 questions about what factor
 s might give rise to olfactory talk. Subsistence (e.g.\, being a hunter-ga
 therer)\, domain-specific practices (e.g.\, wine-tasting)\, as well as eco
 logy shape olfactory language\, and its use. Together this work points to 
 the importance culture\, not just biology\, for understanding the limits a
 nd possibilities of human communication.\n\nBio: Asifa Majid is Professor 
 of Language\, communication\, and cultural cognition at the Department of 
 Psychology\, University of York. She investigates the nature of categories
  and concepts in language\, in non-linguistic perception and cognition\, a
 nd the relationship between them. Majid has been awarded various prizes an
 d awards (e.g. the Ammodo KNAW Award\, Radboud Science Award)\, and receiv
 ed a NWO VICI grant (€1.5 million) to study olfactory language and cogni
 tion across diverse cultures. \n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology
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