Abstract
Some Fulfulde expressions are hardly used openly, especially in the midst of people. Such words or expressions are referred to as taboo. They play crucial role in the understanding of aspects of the world view in Fulɓe society. This study examines semantic analysis of Fulfulde taboo words or expressions. Its analysed Fulfulde taboo words or expressions and their euphemistic terms. The data were collected through oral interview of one hundred and ten Fulfulde native speakers representing various individuals without recourse to age, sex, educational background and occupation. Some of the data were collected through Fulfulde literatures, journals, and articles, while few were collected through observation. The theoretical framework adopted for the analysis of the data is politeness and face theory as proposed in Littlejohn and Foss (2008). Findings shows that, in Fulfulde society, certain words or expressions are taboo as a result of cultural and religious norms. Euphemism are used to replace such taboo words in order to maintain a positive face. The notion of taboo covers any topic or any aspect of life likely to be controversial or cause envy among Fulfulde native speakers. Some of the taboo words analysed are death, sexual intercourse, prostitution, odd profession, bribe, state or human condition, body waste etc.
DOI: https://www.doi.10.57233/djfafais.2026.v22i01.005
author/Ahmadu Hamman Girei, PhD
journal/Degel 22(1) | October 2026 |
