The Days After the Funeral: An Ethnolinguistic Analysis of Christian Post-Funeral Death Practices in Jish (Northern Israel)
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This study is in ethnolinguistics, the interface between culture and linguistics. It provides an ethnography (detailed description) of post-funeral death practices among Maronite Christians in Jish, a small village in northern Israel. It also linguistically analyzes some concepts and cultural norms related to these practices and explicates (i.e., defines in simple, universal terms) them using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach. At the micro-level, this study provides a precise description and analysis of post-funeral death practices in one community sharing the same linguaculture (i.e., the same ways of speaking and living). This precise description and analysis can, in turn, provide an opportunity for a precise comparison between these Jish death practices and their counterparts in other micro-communities. Additionally, this study provides cultural outsiders (those who are outside the culture) with insights into some aspects of the Jish linguaculture; thus it may be of interest to linguists and anthropologists.
Author: Sandy Habib
Institution: Tel Hai Academic College
Language: English
Topic: Language and Culture
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
OpenAlex ID: W4403540686