Euphemism about Death: Cultural and Linguistic Considerations
Euphemism about Death: Cultural and Linguistic Considerations

Summary/Abstract: As in other languages in general, in Albanian language it is used a relative-ly large number of euphemisms which refer to death. This large number of euphemisms not only originates in the fact that death is inevitable, but also in the fact that death has been poorly understood and explained phenomenon, and therefore it is a universal fear. In many cultures, death is a taboo subject; people think that mentioning the word death means to invite it somehow. Different variants of euphemisms in general and in particular those for death, as a form of linguistic communication, directly reflect the mentality and culture of a particular community, because these influence in determining the words that should be avoided, and the choice of euphemisms to be used instead of them. This is the objective of our paper: using a corpus of euphemisms for death in Albanian language, we will draw to linguistic and cultural considerations in Albanian context, grouping these euphemisms based on different criteria. We also note that this type of euphemisms, over time, has undergone very few changes in relation to other euphemisms, even expanding the sphere of use.

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