Abstract: Cross-linguistic studies show substantial differences in how languages package meaning into words and grammar. Notably, this is also true in the domain of perception. A large-scale study of 20 diverse cultures has shown that even simple sensory experiences of colours, smells, and tactile textures are expressed differently across languages. This linguistic variation raises the question of whether the underlying cognition of people is also variable across cultures or whether diverse languages interface with a universal bedrock of cognition instead. Recent data suggests the answer may vary across domains, such that some aspects of cognition are more malleable to language effects than others. I will show how language shapes some aspects of auditory cognition, while leaving aspects of olfactory perception untouched, for example, and explore why these differences may exist.

Bio: Asifa Majid is Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Oxford. She investigates the relationship between language and thought by comparing diverse languages and cultures around the world. She adopts a large-scale cross-cultural approach in order to establish which aspects of categorisation are shared and which language-specific. Her interdisciplinary approach combines field and lab experiments, in-depth linguistic studies, and ethnographically-informed description. Previously she has studied space and event representation, and more recently the language of perception, particularly olfaction. Majid has been awarded various prizes and distinctions for her work (e.g., Ammodo KNAW Award, Radboud Science Award), and is an elected member of Academia Europaea, as well as Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society.