This volume brings together a wide array of papers which explore, among other things, to what extent languages and cultures are variable with respect to the interactions around the event of death. Motivated by J. L. Mey's idea of the pragmeme , a situated speech act, the volume has both theoretical and practical implications for scholars working in different fields of enquiry. As the papers in this volume reveal, despite the terminological differences between various disciplines, the interactions around the event of death serve to provide solace, not only to the dying, but also to the family and friends of the deceased, thus helping them to accommodate to the new state of affairs.

Provides an analysis of the event of death seen from an interactional perspective Includes contributions from authors with a diverse language/cultural background Contains contributions not only from linguists, but also from anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists

Inhalt
Part I Death & Society.- The Pragmeme of Accommodation in the Face of Death by Alessandro Capone .- Pragmeme(s) of Sympathy Cards in the Midwestern US by Richard W. Hallett.- Working through One's Loss in Psychotherapy by Johanna Pawelczyk, Adam Mickiewicz.- Dirges, Vagueness and the Pragmeme by Vahid Parvaresh.- The Pragmeme of Accommodation in Yoruba Death Events by Taiwo Ehineni.- Grief Interactions among Emerging Adults on College Campuses by Mary Alice Varga.- The Discursive Nature of Pre-Funeral Midweek Visits in Sesotho: Implications for Coping with Loss by Konosoang Mabafokeng Sobane.- Part II Death Across Cultures.- To Be Headed for the West, Riding a Crane: Chinese Pragmatic Acts in the Wake of Someone's Passing by Adrian Tien.- Formal and Informal Speech of Mourning: A Contrast between English and Japanese As Represented in Cinema by Hiroko Itakura & John Wakefield.- Cultural Factors in Delivering Eulogistic Expressions as a Pragmeme: A Case Study of the Official Online Electronic Eulogy-Requesting System in Taiwan by Wei-lun Lu.- Specifying the Pragmeme of Commemoration by Gregor Walczak.- Accommodating Language: A Comparative Investigation of the Use of Euphemisms for Death and Dying in Obituaries in English and in German by Philopp Hänggi & Catherine Diederich.- Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Perspectives on the Emotional and Pragmatic Expression of Sympathy in Spanish and English by Jocelly G. Meiners.- The Pragmeme of Condoling in Persian and Its Underlying Cultural Pragmatic Schemas by Tahmineh Tayebi.- Part III Death & Cognition.- 'Bad Death': Developing the Discourse on 'The Good Death' by Michael Hviid Jacobsen.- Sacrificed, Lost or Gave Life for Their Country: Cognitive Analysis of Euphemisms for Death in Bush's and Obama's War Speeches by Ivana Moritz.- The Fragile Nature of Human Glory: Death and Poetry in Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in the Country Churchyard by Dario Tomasello.- The Acts Performed in Taiwanese Funerals: From Metaphorical Mourning and Praise to Buddhist Teachings by Ming-yu Tseng.- Managing Emotions in the Hospice Discourse: A Discourse-Theoretical Analysis of Hospice Representations of the End of Life in Mass Media and Educational Material for Hospice Workers by Leen Van Brussel & Nico Carpentier.- Death, Dying, and Mourning in Artificial Languages by Allan Libert.