Worrisome words: a cross-linguistic study of the dynamics and diversity of lexical taboo, with particular reference to the Aslian languages of Southeast Asia.

Word taboo is a universal yet understudied phenomenon of language that prevents speakers from uttering the ‘unmentionable’. Instead, the tabooed concepts are expressed by alternative words. Familiar concepts include sex, certain body parts, effluvia, illness and death.

However, languages and cultures differ as to which words and domains are considered sensitive and why, the replacement strategies they use, the contexts in which taboos apply, and the extent and pervasiveness of the taboos. But this diversity, along with its linguistic and cultural motivations remains largely uncharted.

Moreover, taboo systems in lesser-studied languages are vanishing amid societal change.This project explores the dynamics and diversity of word taboo in cross-linguistic perspective.

It focuses firstly on the minority Austroasiatic languages of the Malay Peninsula, Southeast Asia, where lexical taboo is unusually ubiquitous and remarkably diverse.

Secondly, it develops a model for understanding word taboo in wider cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective, drawing on the results from Southeast Asia and a survey of word taboo in other parts of the world.The project makes a significant intellectual contribution to the language sciences by (1) advancing our knowledge of the cross-cultural differences and commonalities of word taboo, (2) informing the study of pragmatic and cultural aspects of the relationship between language and society, and (3) documenting language variability and change.