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ABSTRACT
This work investigates the ethno-linguistic features of taboos and euphemisms as they are used among the members of the Edo language community. An Edo term and definition was proposed for language taboos and euphemisms (which happens to be the main focus of this work) by the researcher being a native speaker of Edo language.
We employ the ethnography of communication(EOC) theory by Hymes(1962) to the investigation of this work. We adopt the SPEAKING model constructed from EOC theory to analyse data which were collected from native speakers of Edo language and an Edo radio programme for the purpose of this work to investigate their taboo and euphemistic nature. It is argued in this work that utterances known as language taboos are induced by certain concepts such as status, gender and age, and situation and as such needs the appropriate euphemistic usage.
We establish in this work that taboos are prohibited actions and utterance ,which euphemisms are special(figurative) expressions used to beautify ugly situations. It was noted that the presence of taboos and use of euphemistic expressions builds a better community. This work states that the presence of taboos and use of euphemistic expressions are evident in every culture of the world and as such is present in Edo language community. It is also established in this work that the presence of taboo and use of euphemistic expressions are ways of regulating responsible and prosperous living in Edo society. It was also established in this work with the examination done with the available data that the use of euphemistic utterances is a way to forestall language taboos and a way to communicate effectively and responsibly.
