Attitudes to taboo phenomenon among Yoruba–English bilinguals

In most sociolinguistic environments, taboo phenomena exert a considerable influence on people’s linguistic usage. In modern times however, people’s attitudes to taboos vary depending on sex, age, occupation, literacy level and geographical location. Using a questionnaire for data elicitation, this study examines attitudes to taboos among Yoruba–English bilinguals in Nigeria. The study discovers that most of our subjects are favourably disposed to the existence of taboos and that this results in the preponderance of euphemisms and circumlocutions in Yoruba–English usage.