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“Life” after death : an analysis of Singaporean death notices
Author
Soh, Zealyn Shuang Shuang
Supervisor
Weninger, Csilla
Abstract
Even though death notices in our newspapers are a part of our collective linguistic landscape, they are rarely considered worthy of research attention (Al-Ali, 2005; Herat, 2014; Hess, 2015). And yet, death notices can “provide insight into the societal values and attitudes of the day” (Anderson & Han, 2008, p. 335) and their continued existence in an age of free online alternatives is strongly suggestive of their importance as a mourning ritual.
As no prior research has been conducted specifically into Singaporean death notices, this study fills that gap: first, by documenting the generic features of the Singaporean death notice. Second, this study draws on Goffman’s (1959) theory of impression management together with Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2011) principles of visual grammar to examine how the bereaved make use of the semiotic resources available in the genre to create their preferred impression of the deceased (the benefits of which are felt, of course, by the bereaved themselves).
I found that Singaporeans are adept at using resources such as space and colour to attract attention to their death notice, as well as manipulating the visuals and information provided in the notice to highlight the positive and quietly downplay anything that interferes with the desired result.
I also discussed my findings in light of Singaporean society. For example, I observed that all of Singapore’s major racial groups are represented in my sample, albeit imperfectly in the case of the two minority races. Next, I discussed how Singaporeans’ lingering attachment to physical death notices in the midst of an increasingly tech-savvy environment suggests that placing a death notice in the papers is considered a social rite of passage. Third, I briefly explored the unusual role that corporations play in Singaporean death notices and how in some cases they seemed to act as extensions of the family unit. Overall, this dissertation has contributed to the body of literature examining death notices around the world by illuminating the previously unknown generic structural features of the Singaporean death notice, and demonstrating a link between Singaporean death notices and Singaporean society.
As no prior research has been conducted specifically into Singaporean death notices, this study fills that gap: first, by documenting the generic features of the Singaporean death notice. Second, this study draws on Goffman’s (1959) theory of impression management together with Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2011) principles of visual grammar to examine how the bereaved make use of the semiotic resources available in the genre to create their preferred impression of the deceased (the benefits of which are felt, of course, by the bereaved themselves).
I found that Singaporeans are adept at using resources such as space and colour to attract attention to their death notice, as well as manipulating the visuals and information provided in the notice to highlight the positive and quietly downplay anything that interferes with the desired result.
I also discussed my findings in light of Singaporean society. For example, I observed that all of Singapore’s major racial groups are represented in my sample, albeit imperfectly in the case of the two minority races. Next, I discussed how Singaporeans’ lingering attachment to physical death notices in the midst of an increasingly tech-savvy environment suggests that placing a death notice in the papers is considered a social rite of passage. Third, I briefly explored the unusual role that corporations play in Singaporean death notices and how in some cases they seemed to act as extensions of the family unit. Overall, this dissertation has contributed to the body of literature examining death notices around the world by illuminating the previously unknown generic structural features of the Singaporean death notice, and demonstrating a link between Singaporean death notices and Singaporean society.
Date Issued
2017
Call Number
P123 Soh
Date Submitted
2017