Avoidance speech is a group of sociolinguistic phenomena in which a special restricted speech style must be used in the presence of or in reference to certain relatives, or in certain situations. Avoidance speech is found in many Australian Aboriginal languages[1] and Austronesian languages[2] as well as some North American languages such as Anishinaabe-mowin,[3] Highland East Cushitic languages[4] and Southern Bantu languages.[5] Chinese naming taboo prohibits speaking and writing syllables or characters that appear in the names of esteemed people, such as emperors, parents, and ancestors.
Avoidance speech styles tend to have the same phonology and grammar as the standard language they are a part of. The lexicon, however, tends to be smaller than in normal speech since the styles are only used for limited communication.
- ^ Dixon 1980.
- ^ Simons 1982, pp. 157–226.
- ^ Brave Bird, Mary (27 January 2009). Ohitika Woman. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0802143396.
- ^ Treis 2005.
- ^ Herbert 1990.