Fear-based language practices include Italian avoidance of the number 17, which forms an anagram for the Latin phrase "I have lived," and East Asian building designs that omit the fourth floor due to phonetic associations with death. Historical communities also coined euphemisms for perilous beasts, such as Germanic tribes naming the bear after the color brown. In contrast, traditions like Mexico's El Día de Muertos and Japan's Obon view ancestral spirits warmly, welcoming them back with food, altars, and lanterns.
Key points
Cultures worldwide alter daily vocabulary and numerical use to distance themselves from t…: Cultures worldwide alter daily vocabulary and numerical use to distance themselves from thoughts of death and bad luck.
Historical linguistic substitutions frequently replaced direct names of threatening creat…: Historical linguistic substitutions frequently replaced direct names of threatening creatures with descriptive euphemisms.
Honoring the deceased is approached with celebration and hospitality rather than fear in…: Honoring the deceased is approached with celebration and hospitality rather than fear in nations such as Mexico and Japan.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Spooky season is now upon us, so what’s more fitting than diving into the language of death and danger? (Lily is going to love this!)
Let’s talk taboo!
One kind of taboo across cultures involves numbers—some are lucky while others are more… sinister. (Fun fact: The word sinister comes from the Latin word, sinistra, which means left, as it was generally considered evil to be left-handed. Sorry, 10% of the world’s population. 🤷🏻♀️)
In the U.S., we tend to steer clear of 13, but in Italy, one might avoid 17 instead. Just like some U.S. high-rise buildings might skip the 13th floor, Italian hotels might skip Room 17. It’s thought that this comes from the Roman numeral for 17, which is XVII. An anagram of this number is VIXI, which means I lived or I have lived in Latin. If you’ve already lived, then you’re probably already dead, too. Eek!
That’s not the only example of taboos coming from words that sound a little too macabre. In China, the number 4, 四 (sì), is considered very unlucky because it sounds…
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