Avoidance speech in Australian Aboriginal languages is closely tied to elaborate tribal kinship systems in which certain relatives are considered taboo.
For some tribes, avoidance relationships are extended to other family members, such as the mother-in-law's brother in Warlpiri or cross-cousins in Dyirbal.
[8] Children in these cultures acquire avoidance speech forms as part of their normal language development, learning with whom to use them at a fairly young age.
[10] A special system of avoidance vocabulary is traditionally used by married women speaking Highland East Cushitic languages in southwestern Ethiopia.
[11] Women who practice ballishsha do not pronounce any words beginning with the same syllable as the name of their husband's mother or father.
[13] Ukuhlonipha is a traditional system of avoidance speech in Nguni Bantu languages of southern Africa including Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi, as well as Sotho.