Abstract
Civilized society like Karo knows taboo culture and how to avoid it well, so that they can be avoided from social conflict and can live peacefully. However, taboo in language and the way to avoid them are considered increasingly scarce as globalization develops among the current millennial generation. As an effort to provide an understanding about the matter concerned towards future generations, this study describes various ways of avoiding the three types of taboo in Karo: taboo in kinship, i.e. among bengkila and permain, turangku and turangku, and mami and kela; context-specific taboos, i.e. words derived from non-taboo words, and words related to social and physical defects; and general taboos, i.e. swearing and unmentionable words. This research was conducted using descriptive qualitative with ethnographic method. The data were obtained from the key informants who were from indigenous people of Tanah Karo Regency. It is found that taboos in kinship can be avoided by strategy of third-person intermediary, strategy of metaphor through object, and strategy of using the word nina. Context-specific taboo and general taboo can be avoided by various forms of euphemism. However, taboo of swearing type does not have form of refinement because of its purpose and function as emotive expression.
Highlights
Every cultured tribe certainly has a cultural product which is named taboo
The taboo rules in Karo language have several meanings and functions, all of which lead to noble values which are used as a tool to limit the community in communication so that harmony and good relations can be maintained well
This study finds three types of relationships that are considered taboo to communicate in kinship relationships; various words and phrases classified as context-specific taboo and general taboo in Karo
Summary
Every cultured tribe certainly has a cultural product which is named taboo. It exists in all cultures, generally related to sexuality, supernatural, excretion, death, and various aspects of social life. The kinship taboo is generally known as rebu, that is a taboo term refering to communication activity that violates cultural rules when it is carried out directly in a kinship among bengkila ‘father-in-law’ (husband's father) with permain ‘daughter-in-law’ (son's wife), turangku ‘husband's sister’s husband’ with turangku ‘wife's brother’s wife’, and mami ‘mother-in-law’ (wife's mother) with keila ‘son-inlaw’ (daughter's husband). They are prohibited to sit face to face and side by side without intermediaries. Rebu, according to Sembiring (2013) starts when Karonese get https://jurnal.uisu.ac.id/index.php/languageliteracy
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