Olfactory, gustatory and tactile perception in Beja (North-Cushitic)
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Martine Vanhove
Abstract
This chapter studies the perception words associated with the so-called “lower senses” (olfaction, gustatory and tactile perceptions) in Beja, a Cushitic language spoken mainly in Sudan, from three different perspectives. The first one concerns the organization of the related lexicon from the point of view of word categories, and their semantic aspects along a positive / negative and more intense / less intense continuum. Numerically, it shows a prevalence of the verb category over nouns and adjectives, and a more varied lexicon for smell, than for taste and touch. The second one provides a study of the syntactic constructions of perception words. It shows a prevalence of source-oriented constructions except in the tactile domain. The third one deals with the metaphorical extensions of the perception words for each sensory modality. The last section discusses the Beja findings in a broader comparative and typological perspective.
Abstract
This chapter studies the perception words associated with the so-called “lower senses” (olfaction, gustatory and tactile perceptions) in Beja, a Cushitic language spoken mainly in Sudan, from three different perspectives. The first one concerns the organization of the related lexicon from the point of view of word categories, and their semantic aspects along a positive / negative and more intense / less intense continuum. Numerically, it shows a prevalence of the verb category over nouns and adjectives, and a more varied lexicon for smell, than for taste and touch. The second one provides a study of the syntactic constructions of perception words. It shows a prevalence of source-oriented constructions except in the tactile domain. The third one deals with the metaphorical extensions of the perception words for each sensory modality. The last section discusses the Beja findings in a broader comparative and typological perspective.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface and acknowledgments vii
- List of contributors ix
- Rendering what the nose perceives 1
- Why is smell special? 35
- The domain of olfaction in Basque 73
- On olfactory terminology in Georgian and other Kartvelian languages 113
- Let me count the ways it stinks 137
- Olfactory, gustatory and tactile perception in Beja (North-Cushitic) 175
- How to smell without a verb “to smell” in Fon 199
- How to talk about smell in Japanese 221
- An overview of olfactory expressions in Formosan languages 251
- Olfactory words in northern Vanuatu 277
- Alternating smell in Modern Hebrew 305
- Syntactic patterns for Romanian olfactive verbs 343
- Smelling over time 369
- To what extent can source-based olfactory verbs be classified as copulas? 403
- Typology of metaphors with the olfactory target domain in the Polish perfumery discourse 449
- Languages index 475
- Subjects index 477
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface and acknowledgments vii
- List of contributors ix
- Rendering what the nose perceives 1
- Why is smell special? 35
- The domain of olfaction in Basque 73
- On olfactory terminology in Georgian and other Kartvelian languages 113
- Let me count the ways it stinks 137
- Olfactory, gustatory and tactile perception in Beja (North-Cushitic) 175
- How to smell without a verb “to smell” in Fon 199
- How to talk about smell in Japanese 221
- An overview of olfactory expressions in Formosan languages 251
- Olfactory words in northern Vanuatu 277
- Alternating smell in Modern Hebrew 305
- Syntactic patterns for Romanian olfactive verbs 343
- Smelling over time 369
- To what extent can source-based olfactory verbs be classified as copulas? 403
- Typology of metaphors with the olfactory target domain in the Polish perfumery discourse 449
- Languages index 475
- Subjects index 477
