Linguistic Taboo as an Architecture of Power in East Nusa Tenggara

This article analyzes linguistic taboo in the societies of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Indonesia, as a patterned system of speech regulation rather than merely an inventory of prohibited words. Drawing on comparative analysis of published ethnographic and linguistic sources across Manggarai, Nage-Keo, Lio, Sikka, Lamaholot, Timor, Belu, Sumba, Rote, and Sabu, the study identifies recurrent linguistic mechanisms that structure taboo practices. These include morphosyntactically encoded naming prohibitions, anthroponymic replacement strategies in affinal relations, stratification of ritual registers, and genre-bound control of origin discourse. The findings demonstrate that taboo operates through systematic constraints on reference, register, and speaker entitlement, forming a structured distribution of speaking rights. Interpreted through theories of symbolic power and mimetic differentiation, this distribution can be understood as a linguistically instantiated architecture of power that organizes genealogical hierarchy and regulates access to prestige-bearing speech forms. By restricting access to names, ritual lexicon, and origin narratives, taboo maintains social differentiation and reduces conditions under which symbolic rivalry may intensify. Methodologically, the article proposes a replicable framework for analyzing taboo as a linguistic configuration observable across communities. The study contributes to broader debates on language, authority, and social transformation by showing how changing communicative environments may reshape regimes of speech legitimacy in kinship-based societies.

Ethnography · Hierarchy · Legitimacy · Speech community · Symbolic power · Taboo · Multilingual Education and Policy · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism · Architecture

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