Der Wissenschaftlernachruf – eine Textsorte im Stilwandel?
The academic obituary – a type of text in a changing style?

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to provide an example of a development in the text type of academic obituary that has the potential to bring about a change in style. These are obituaries of scientists that are published on the university’s own websites in the name of the university as an institution. Since these obituaries are not identified by name, it can be assumed that their authors do not have a close relationship with the deceased and are carrying out a mandatory task by writing an obituary. For this reason, among other things, but also because the university strives to ensure equal treatment of its professors, the recourse to formulaicness is characteristic of these texts. This distinguishes them from prototypical obituaries written by members of the scientific community.

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