Avoidance speech in Australian Aboriginal languages is closely tied to elaborate tribal kinship systems in which certain relatives are considered taboo.
For slightly less restricted relationships, such as between a man and his father-in-law, avoidance style is used and must be spoken in a slow, soft voice.
[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.