The Effect of Circumstances of Death and Funeral Ceremony on Condolence in English and Arab Societies

The present study is an investigation into circumstances of death and funeral ceremony and their effect on condolence expressions in English and Arab societies. The problem of the study stems from the fact that both circumstances of death and funeral ceremony differ in both societies, and this has its bearing on condolence expressions in English and Arabic .The study aims at showing whether the circumstances of death affect the grief and condolence expressions ,and seeing whether funeral ceremonies differ from one society to another according to traditions and religion. It is found here that in English society, condolence expressions are often non-verbal expressions, whereas in Arab society, condolence expressions are usually verbal expressions, and that the death circumstances in English society do not affect condolence expressions ,whereas in Arab society they play a significant role in choosing the condolence expressions, in addition to having an effect on the number of condolers.