Exploring Euphemisms as Taboo Avoidance Strategies in the Mabia Languages

Samuel Issah, Hasiyatu Abubakari, Samuel Atintono, Sandow Atibiri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article investigates the use of euphemisms in mitigating prohibited expressions in three Mabia (Gur) languages: Dagbani, Farefare (also known as Gurenε) and Kusaal. In the daily interactions of the Mabia people, they avoid using certain expressions, which are unmentionable in most contexts. These include the expressions for snakes and snakebite, sexual intercourse and genitalia, and death. The mention of the explicit terms for these expressions is face-threatening in Mabia society and can incur various forms of negative social consequences. Thus, instead of using these taboo expressions, speakers employ euphemisms as taboo-avoidance strategies; these euphemistic expressions oil social cohesion and indicate speakers’ communicative competence. The data used in this study were mainly gathered from primary sources. However, we augmented some of the primary data of Dagbani with some secondary sources drawn from N. A. Salifu's (2012) PhD thesis. We employ politeness theory and ethnography of communication as analytical lenses.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)42-64
Number of pages23
JournalLanguage Matters
Volume54
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Mabia languages
  • face-threatening acts
  • politeness
  • positive face
  • social cohesion
  • unmentionable

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