English
 
Help Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT
  The challenge of olfactory ideophones: Reconsidering ineffability from the Totonac-Tepehua perspective.

O’Meara, C., Kung, S. S., & Majid, A. (2019). The challenge of olfactory ideophones: Reconsidering ineffability from the Totonac-Tepehua perspective. International Journal of American Linguistics, 85(2), 173-212. doi:10.1086/701801.

Item is

Files

show Files
hide Files
:
OMeara_Kung_Majid_2019_Challenge of olfactory ideophones.pdf (Publisher version), 254KB
Name:
OMeara_Kung_Majid_2019_Challenge of olfactory ideophones.pdf
Description:
-
OA-Status:
Visibility:
Public
MIME-Type / Checksum:
application/pdf / [MD5]
Technical Metadata:
Copyright Date:
-
Copyright Info:
-
License:
-

Locators

show

Creators

show
hide
 Creators:
O’Meara, Carloyn1, Author
Kung, Susan Smythe2, Author
Majid, Asifa3, Author           
Affiliations:
1National Autonomous University of Mexico, ou_persistent22              
2University of Texas, ou_persistent22              
3University of York, ou_persistent22              

Content

show
hide
Free keywords: -
 Abstract: Olfactory impressions are said to be ineffable, but little systematic exploration has been done to substantiate this. We explored olfactory language in Huehuetla Tepehua—a Totonac-Tepehua language spoken in Hidalgo, Mexico—which has a large inventory of ideophones, words with sound-symbolic properties used to describe perceptuomotor experiences. A multi-method study found Huehuetla Tepehua has 45 olfactory ideophones, illustrating intriguing sound-symbolic alternation patterns. Elaboration in the olfactory domain is not unique to this language; related Totonac-Tepehua languages also have impressive smell lexicons. Comparison across these languages shows olfactory and gustatory terms overlap in interesting ways, mirroring the physiology of smelling and tasting. However, although cognate taste terms are formally similar, olfactory terms are less so. We suggest the relative instability of smell vocabulary in comparison with those of taste likely results from the more varied olfactory experiences caused by the mutability of smells in different environments.

Details

show
hide
Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 20182019
 Publication Status: Issued
 Pages: -
 Publishing info: -
 Table of Contents: -
 Rev. Type: Peer
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1086/701801
 Degree: -

Event

show

Legal Case

show

Project information

show

Source 1

show
hide
Title: International Journal of American Linguistics
Source Genre: Journal
 Creator(s):
Affiliations:
Publ. Info: Bloomington, Ind. : The Center
Pages: - Volume / Issue: 85 (2) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 173 - 212 Identifier: ISSN: 0020-7071
CoNE: https://pure.mpg.de/cone/journals/resource/110985822456258