psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
,
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and cognitive scientist who is professor of language, communication and cultural cognition at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, UK.
Biography
Majid's academic career began at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, where she took first an undergraduate degree and then a PhD in psychology; she also worked there as a lecturer in 2000-2001. From 2001 to 2012 she was based at the
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Psycholinguistik''; Dutch: ''Max Planck Instituut voor Psycholinguïstiek'') is a research institute situated on the campus of Radboud University Nijmegen located ...
in
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
, initially as a
Marie Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
fellow and later as a scientific staff member and senior researcher. In 2012 she took up a position as professor of language, communication and cultural cognition at the Radboud University Nijmegen, during which time she was also an affiliated principal investigator at the
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Donders is a Dutch surname meaning "thunder's", perhaps originally referring to a person's temper or voice, or to an artillery man.NWO Vici research grant to study olfactory cognition and language cross culturally.
In 2018 she was one of eight academics appointed as Inspirational Research Leaders and full professors at the University of York. She has been an ordinary member of the Academia Europaea since 2013 and fellow of the
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in ...
since 2018. She has also been chair of the
Cognitive Science Society
The Cognitive Science Society is a professional society for the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science. It brings together researchers from many fields who hold the common goal of understanding the nature of the human mind. The society prom ...
. In 2022 she moved to become Professor of Cognitive Science in the Department of Experimental Psychology in Oxford, where she is also a fellow of
St Hugh's College
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...
.
Research
Asifa Majid's research focuses on the psychology of language and how this relates to other areas of cognition. In particular, she has worked on olfactory language, and on the (non-)universality of word meanings across cultures. Her group has carried out research on the semantic systems of Ryukyuan languages, the
Avatime language
Avatime, also known as Afatime, Sideme, or Sia, is a Kwa language of the Avatime (self designation: Kedone (m.sg.)) people of eastern Ghana. The Avatime live primarily in the seven towns and villages of Amedzofe, Vane, Gbadzeme, Dzokpe, Biakpa, ...
of
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and languages of Europe.
In general, Majid's research findings are consistent with the weak version of the
linguistic relativity
The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, also known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis , the Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, is a principle suggesting that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view, worldview or cognition, and ...
hypothesis: that linguistic usage and categorization may influence other areas of cognition to a limited degree. For instance, her work with the Jahai people of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
shows that these people are as proficient in naming odours as colours, whereas in English, which has a more restricted range of linguistic categories for odour, speakers find it easier to name colours than odours.
Majid's research has been featured on Dutch television and on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
as well as at the
Cheltenham Literary Festival
''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the English spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for th ...
and in ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine.
Selected publications
* Majid, Asifa,
Melissa Bowerman
Melissa Bowerman (April 3, 1942 – October 31, 2011) was a leading researcher in the area of language acquisition. From 1982-2007, she was a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.
Education and career
In 1971 ...
, Sotaro Kita, Daniel B. M. Haun, and Stephen C. Levinson. 2004. "Can language restructure cognition? The case for space". ''
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
''Trends in Cognitive Sciences'' (''TiCS'') is a monthly peer-reviewed review journal published by Cell Press. It is one of 14 journals in the '' Trends'' series. its editor is Lindsey Drayton. ''Journal Citation Reports'' (Thomson Reuters) lists ...
'' 8(3), 108–114.
* Majid, Asifa, Melissa Bowerman, Miriam Van Staden, and James S. Boster. 2007. "The semantic categories of cutting and breaking events: A crosslinguistic perspective". ''Cognitive Linguistics'' 18(2), 133–152.
* Majid, Asifa, James S. Boster, and Melissa Bowerman. 2008. "The cross-linguistic categorization of everyday events: A study of cutting and breaking". ''
Cognition
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
'' 109(2), 235–250.
* Majid, Asifa, and Stephen C. Levinson. 2011. "The senses in language and culture". ''The Senses and Society'' 6(1), 5–18.
* Dolscheid, Sarah, Shakila Shayan, Asifa Majid, and Daniel Casasanto. 2013. "The thickness of musical pitch: Psychophysical evidence for linguistic relativity". '' Psychological Science'' 24(5), 613–621.
* Majid, Asifa, and Niclas Burenhult. 2014. "Odors are expressible in language, as long as you speak the right language". ''Cognition'' 130(2), 266–270.