Death is a timeless taboo in which psychological, religious and social interdictions coexist. In consequence, human beings feel reluctant to deal with the subject of death using straightforward terms and therefore tend to soften the effect of what they really wish to communicate. With this in mind, it is the aim of this paper to explore the euphemistic language on a sample of epitaphs from the Eastern Highgate Cemetery in London. As figurative language constitutes a potent source for death-related euphemism, the present study proceeds to trace an account of the different conceptual metaphors in epitaphs within the framework of Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results obtained support the idea that most of the conceptualizations of death observed in the gravestones imply a positive value-judgment of human mortality and aim at assisting those left alive in coping with the pain of loss and the fear of dying.
Heynderickx, Priscilla C., Silke Creten & Sylvain M. Dieltjens
2024. Rumor Has it: “Dementia” A Discourse-Analytical Analysis of Obituaries of People With Dementia. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying 88:4 ► pp. 1430 ff.
Heynderickx, Priscilla C. & Sylvain M. Dieltjens
2016. An analysis of obituaries in staff magazines. Death Studies 40:1 ► pp. 11 ff.
Heynderickx, Priscilla C. & Sylvain M. Dieltjens
2021. If Cemeteries Could Talk … A Discourse-Analytical Analysis of Epitaphs. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying 83:4 ► pp. 944 ff.
Heynderickx, Priscilla C., Sylvain M. Dieltjens & Albert Oosterhof
2019. The Final Fight: An Analysis of Metaphors in Online Obituaries of Professional Athletes. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying 79:4 ► pp. 364 ff.
Hidalgo-Downing, Laura & Paula Pérez-Sobrino
2022. Rest in space, Starman! Creative reframing of death metaphors on David Bowie’s mural in London. Discourse Studies 24:5 ► pp. 566 ff.
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