Investigating the effect of context (gender-homogeneous and nonhomogeneous contexts) on taboo word utilization in Persian: A sociolinguistic account

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

10.22111/ijals.2025.50217.2481

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of context (gender-homogeneous and gender-non homogeneous context) on the use of “taboo words” in the speech of Persian speakers from a sociolinguistic perspective. The research methodology is both quantitative and qualitative, employing survey and fieldwork approaches. The theoretical framework used is the classification of taboo words by Jay and Janschewitz (2008) and Jay (2009). Statistical analysis was performed using t-tests, chi-square, analysis of variance, and Tukey’s post hoc test. The findings indicated that, in general, men (68.3%) use more taboos than women in the same-gender contexts; this result was consistent in anger situations within homogeneous contexts as well, suggesting that men, compared to women, are more sensitive in word choice and more polite in mixed-gender contexts (P<0.05). Additionally, the examination of the interactive effect of these two factors on “context” showed that men and women over 45 years old used less taboo words in mixed-gender contexts than other participants. Overall, the difference in behavior between men and women in the use of taboos can be explained based on the politeness theory (Bucholtz and Lakoff, 2004, and Holmes, 2013) and the belief that women generally act as facilitators in conversations.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 07 November 2025

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