Memória e interdição da palavra proibida macaco em regiões de cangaço.

This article discusses from the theoretical point of view of the French Discourse Analysis why, in some regions of the Brazilian Northeast, some people avoid pronouncing the word macaco (monkey) and choose to use other words instead, such as dezessete (seventeen). The hypothesis put forward is that this cultural-discursive practice, understood here as a form of interdiction, occurs basically in up-country regions where the memory of cangaço (banditry) still is markedly diluted in daily life. From the analysis of discourses present on a daily basis, this paper aimed at providing a more accurate understanding of a Brazilian socio-cultural particularity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]