To Say or not to Say? Construing Contextual Taboo Words Used by Acehnese Speakers in Indonesia

Abstract

This study describes the types of taboo words used by the Acehnese people in Aceh, Indonesia. Ten language informants in the district were interviewed for this qualitative study. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed prior to analysis. The data were then analysed by the procedures of condensation, display, and conclusion drawing. The findings of the research reveal that the most common taboo types used by Acehnese speakers are taboos of vulgarity or obscenity, epithet, and the taboo of disease. This implies that calling people bad names, talking about sex, mentioning incurable or ‘repulsive’ diseases are among the most taboo discussions in Acehnese society. Taboo words related to religion are found the least in the data, which could imply that these words are small in number because the Acehnese people embrace their religion strongly and thus minimise verbal abuse related to it.

Taboo in the Frame of Tri Hita Karana: Balinese Language Spoken in Menyali Village

“…There are several previous studies that have been conducted on the topic of taboo language. These studies namely Zuindra et al, (2021) compiled research entitled "Taboo Words In Deli Javanese Dialect", Mahayana et al, (2022) conducted a study entitled "Context of Taboo Words in Tenganan Pegringsingan Village", Bengkulu et al, (2022) conducted a study entitled "Social Dimension of Taboo Language as Knowledge Power Analysis for Identifying Transferable Saying English Taboo in Internet", Wiwin & Aziz, (2018) conducted research entitled "Taboo Words In Devayan, A Language in Simeulu Island, Aceh Indonesia", Nonutu et al, (2021) compiled a study entitled "Sociolinguists Analysis of Taboo Words in Minahasa District Combies", Aziz et al, (2020) conducted a study entitled "To Say Or Not To Say? Construing Contextual Taboo Words Used By A Chinese Speakers in Indonesia", and Lei, (2017) conducted a study entitled A Comparison between English and Chinese Taboo Language.…”