How We Talk About Death

As much fun as it is to dissect the phrases that we hear every day, the types of language that we save for special occasions can tell us just as much about how the human mind works. While it's not on most people's daily agenda, the language we use when talking about death is very unique.

Most people don't flat out say that their relative/friend/pet died. You're much more likely to hear that "they passed away" or "they're gone" or "they're in a better place." Euphemisms are extremely common when talking about death, which makes sense due to the extreme emotions connected to death. Using the words "died" or "death" scares people because there are only negative connotations. They're very straightforward words with very specific connotations. On the other hand, saying someone "passed away" or is "in a better place" sounds much nicer and has connotations with peace.

Another interesting characteristic is the common use of figurative language in reference to death. One of the most common ways to talk about death is that it is "like falling asleep." The large majority of the human population has fallen asleep many more times than has died. By comparing death to a daily process, death is made to sound more natural and less painful. At the same time, it also makes it sound more poetic and beautiful. Using figurative language instead of literal language allows for more creativity with the concept of death, and makes it easier to talk about death.

Some of the most interesting uses of language are not seen everyday, such as the language of death. However, it's still important to analyze, because our use of language in reference to less popular subjects reveals a lot about humans.