Avoidance speech facts for kids

Avoidance speech is a special way of talking. People use it when they are around or talking about certain family members. You can find this type of speech in many Aboriginal languages in Australia, and in languages from places like Southeast Asia and the Pacific (called Austronesian languages). It's also in some languages in North America, Ethiopia, and Southern Africa. In China, there's a rule called a naming taboo. It means you shouldn't say or write parts of names of important people, like emperors or your own parents and ancestors.

These special speech styles usually have the same sounds (phonology) and sentence rules (grammar) as the regular language. However, the words they use (lexicon) are often fewer. This is because these styles are only for limited conversations.

Avoidance Speech in Australia

Mother-in-Law Languages

In Australian Aboriginal languages, avoidance speech is closely linked to their family systems. In these systems, certain relatives are considered taboo, meaning you must avoid them or treat them with special respect. The rules for avoidance differ between tribes. They also vary in how strict they are and who they apply to.

Usually, a man must avoid his mother-in-law. A woman often avoids her father-in-law. Sometimes, people avoid their parent-in-law of the same gender. For some tribes, these avoidance rules extend to other family members. For example, in Warlpiri, it includes the mother-in-law's brother. In Dyirbal, it applies to cross-cousins. All these relationships are "classificatory." This means more people might be considered "mother-in-law" than just a man's wife's mother.

Special speech styles used with taboo relatives are often called mother-in-law languages. They are not separate languages. Instead, they are special sets of words (lexical sets) that use the same grammar and sounds as the everyday language. Often, one word in the taboo style covers many words in the everyday style. For example, in Dyirbal, the avoidance style has one word, jijan, for all lizards. But the everyday style has many different words for different types of lizards.

In Guugu Yimidhirr, the avoidance verb bali-l means "travel." This one word covers several everyday verbs like "go," "walk," "crawl," "paddle," "float, sail, drift," and "limp along." The words used in avoidance speech are usually not related to the everyday words. Also, avoidance words tend to be longer than everyday words.

In some areas, both people in an avoidance relationship use the special style. In other places, the older person might speak to the younger person in the everyday style. The behavior linked to avoidance speech changes from tribe to tribe. For the Dyirbal people, a man and his mother-in-law may not look at each other, face each other, or talk directly. Instead, they must speak to a third person or even a nearby object. For less strict relationships, like between a man and his father-in-law, avoidance style is used. It must be spoken in a slow, soft voice. An extreme example is found in the Umpila tribe. There, a man and his mother-in-law may not speak at all when they are together.

Secret Languages

Children in these cultures learn avoidance speech as they grow up. They learn who to use it with at a young age. Some languages also have another style called a "secret language" or "mystic language." Boys learn this as part of special initiation ceremonies. It is only used between men.

Avoidance Speech in Africa

Married women in southwestern Ethiopia traditionally use a special system of avoidance words. This applies to those speaking Highland East Cushitic languages. In Kambaata and Sidamo, this system is called ballishsha. It includes avoiding physical contact and certain words when around parents-in-law. Women who practice ballishsha do not say any words that start with the same sound as their husband's mother's or father's name. Instead, they might use different ways to say things, like synonyms (words with similar meanings), antonyms (words with opposite meanings), or words borrowed from other languages.

Ukuhlonipha is a traditional system of avoidance speech. It is found in Nguni Bantu languages of southern Africa. These include Zulu, Xhosa, and Swazi, as well as Sotho. This special speech style and related respectful behaviors are used in many situations. But it is most strongly linked to married women showing respect to their father-in-law and other older male relatives. Women who practice ukuhlonipha may not say the names of these men. They also avoid any words that have the same basic part (root) as their names. They avoid the taboo words by changing sounds or by replacing words with synonyms. The ukuhlonipha system also includes avoiding the names of certain relatives by all speakers. It also involves physically avoiding certain relatives.

See also

• Australian Aboriginal sign languages
• Minced oath
• Euphemism
• Honorifics (linguistics)
• Pandanus language
• Pequeninos: fictional race from the post-Ender's Game trilogy; the ambulatory males and females avoid most direct communication, and use separate language styles otherwise.
• Taboo against naming the dead