TY - UNPB
T1 - Linguistic and Social Constructions of Fragrance
T2 - Some Preliminary Thoughts on Entering the Field
AU - Moeran, Brian
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - The theoretical discourses devoted to smell reflect a maze of fascinating taboos and mysterious attractions. In present-day Western societies, the sense of smell is undervalued. Scents are highly elusive and often cannot be directly named. Many languages have virtually no vocabulary to describe them, except in terms of the other senses of sight, sound, touch and taste. Scents are communicated primarily through metaphors. What are these linguistic and visual metaphors, and what do they tell us about the societies and cultures in which they are used? How do we know what scents `mean'? Is smell a universal form of semiotic communication (as global advertising campaigns suggest), or does it vary in different social and cultural contexts (as anthropological and other literature asserts)? Are there specific `scent cultures'? If so, in what do they consist? And how do these affect the creation, appraisal and use of fragrances in the three countries - Japan, France and the USA - in which I intend to conduct my research?
AB - The theoretical discourses devoted to smell reflect a maze of fascinating taboos and mysterious attractions. In present-day Western societies, the sense of smell is undervalued. Scents are highly elusive and often cannot be directly named. Many languages have virtually no vocabulary to describe them, except in terms of the other senses of sight, sound, touch and taste. Scents are communicated primarily through metaphors. What are these linguistic and visual metaphors, and what do they tell us about the societies and cultures in which they are used? How do we know what scents `mean'? Is smell a universal form of semiotic communication (as global advertising campaigns suggest), or does it vary in different social and cultural contexts (as anthropological and other literature asserts)? Are there specific `scent cultures'? If so, in what do they consist? And how do these affect the creation, appraisal and use of fragrances in the three countries - Japan, France and the USA - in which I intend to conduct my research?
KW - Semiotik
KW - Antropologi
KW - Socialkonstruktivisme
KW - Lingvistik
KW - Kultur
KW - Parfume
KW - lugt
KW - sanser
M3 - Working paper
BT - Linguistic and Social Constructions of Fragrance
CY - København
ER -