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THE USE OF LINGUISTIC TABOO DISCOURSES IN /WƏDDI MƏN/: ORAL GAME OF BRIDES IN EASTERN TIGRAI [Abstract ID: 0809-01]
This paper investigates on the taboo discourses in /wəddi mən/: Oral Game of Brides in Eastern Tigrai. The main objective of this study is to describe the linguistic taboos and their functional theme in the social discourse of /wəddi mən/, literal meaning is 'whose son', and functionally 'whose bridegroom/ bride, fiancé/ fiancée are you?' In the rural areas of eastern Tigrai, when people visit the brides in their home on their honey moon, they often prefer to play /wəddi mən/ as an entertainment and socio-linguistic practice; however this socio-linguistic practice has currently been replaced by some modern entertaining games such as cards and playing modern music. Because this socio-linguistic practice is still oral and has been transferred from generation to generation by word of mouth, it has become badly endangered. Therefore, it needs to be transcribed into written status. This work will be play an important role in documenting the oral languages use for the first time. Specifically, this paper describes the linguistic taboo discourses used in /wəddi mən/ in relation to their linguistic and social contexts. The nature of the research is designed based on the qualitative approach of descriptive research. The main tools of gathering data for this research have been mainly ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews. The researcher has directly participated in the socio-linguistic event of /wəddi mən/ in the eastern part of Tigrai regional state. For its theoretical frame work, this research has been using Halliday's theory of systematic functional linguistics (SFL), an approach that views languages as a social phenomenon which is more concerned with function and meaning than the structural aspects of the language.