Abstract
It has long been claimed that there is no lexical field of smell, and that smell is of too little
validity to be expressed in grammar. We demonstrate both claims are false. The Cha’palaa
language (Ecuador) has at least 15 abstract smell terms, each of which is formed using a type
of classifier previously thought not to exist. Moreover, using conversational corpora we show
that Cha’palaa speakers also talk about smell more than Imbabura Quechua and English
speakers. Together, this shows how language and social interaction may jointly reflect distinct
cultural orientations towards sensory experience in general and olfaction in particular
validity to be expressed in grammar. We demonstrate both claims are false. The Cha’palaa
language (Ecuador) has at least 15 abstract smell terms, each of which is formed using a type
of classifier previously thought not to exist. Moreover, using conversational corpora we show
that Cha’palaa speakers also talk about smell more than Imbabura Quechua and English
speakers. Together, this shows how language and social interaction may jointly reflect distinct
cultural orientations towards sensory experience in general and olfaction in particular
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 175-196 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Journal of Linguistic Anthropology |
| Volume | 28 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |