Mother-in-law languages Avoidance speech in
Australian Aboriginal languages is closely tied to elaborate tribal kinship systems in which certain relatives are considered
taboo. Avoidance relations differ from tribe to tribe in terms of strictness and to whom they apply. Typically, there is an avoidance relationship between a man and his mother-in-law, usually between a woman and her father-in-law, and sometimes between any person and their same-sex parent-in-law. For some tribes, avoidance relationships are extended to other family members, such as the mother-in-law's brother in
Warlpiri or
cross-cousins in
Dyirbal. All relations are
classificatory – more people may fall into the "mother-in-law" category than just a man's wife's mother. Avoidance speech styles used with taboo relatives are often called
mother-in-law languages, although they are not actually separate languages but separate
lexical sets with the same
grammar and
phonology. Typically, the taboo lexical set has a one-to-many correspondence with the everyday set. For example, in Dyirbal the avoidance style has one word,
jijan, for all lizards, while the everyday style differentiates many varieties. In
Guugu Yimidhirr the avoidance speech verb
bali-l "travel" covers several everyday verbs meaning "go", "walk", "crawl", "paddle", "float, sail, drift", and "limp along". Corresponding avoidance and everyday words are generally not linguistically related. Avoidance forms tend to be longer than everyday forms. In some areas, the avoidance style is used by both members of the avoidance relationship; in others the senior member may talk to the junior in everyday style. Behavior associated with avoidance speech is a continuum and varies between tribes. For the
Dyirbal people, a man and his mother-in-law may not make eye contact, face one another or directly talk to each other. Rather, they must address a third person or even a nearby object. For slightly less restricted relationships, such as between a man and his father-in-law, avoidance style is used and must be spoken in a slow, soft voice. An extreme case of avoidance behavior is found in the
Umpila, in which a man and his mother-in-law may not speak at all in each other's presence.
Secret languages Children in these cultures acquire avoidance speech forms as part of their normal language development, learning with whom to use them at a fairly young age. Additionally, a few languages have another style, called a "secret language" or "mystic language", that is taught to boys as part of initiation rituals, and is only used between men. ==Africa==