The Obituary language in the light of Sociolinguistics (An applied linguistic study on Death Page in Al-Ahram newspaper 2016)

This research aims at studying the obituary language, its characteristics and traits, both in terms of form and content.  The study is based on sociolinguistics, using data from the descriptive analytical approach.  The study is divided into two main parts: the first is theoretical.  It presents the obituary concept in language and terminology, its relation to eulogy, and the difference between both obituary and eulogy.  It also tackles the obituary concept in semiotics.  The other part is the application.  It presents the obituary language, its characteristics, and traits from three main perspectives:
(a)The relation between obituary language and religion.   (b)The relation between the obituary language and sex of the deceased. (c) The relation between the obituary language and the social status of the deceased.  The study reaches some observations and results, mainly that the acquired social status plays an important role that transcends the inherited social status.  This makes an obituary a kind of advertisement for the deceased who occupies a prominent position in society, works in a high-profile position, or plays a leading influential role in a certain field.  
Keywords:

Obituary language - Sociolinguistics – Semiotics- Social class – status.