El tabú sexual en Chile: un estudio de percepciones lingüísticas

Abstract

Taboos are important subjects in the vast majority of societies and in all languages we can find taboo words that restrict how the speakers of a given language express themselves. In Chile there are several types of taboo words and in this study we will focus on taboo words and expressions involving sexual references. The main objective of this research is to study the linguistic perception that speakers in Chile have about sexual taboos. It also answers questions such as: What euphemisms are preferred? Which social groups avoid the topic the most? Do they all react in the same manner or are there differences between people of different sexes, age groups and degrees of education? This study also proposes methodological considerations concerning how to study the taboos among speakers, avoiding the less sincere responses in this especially difficult topic.