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Article: The geography of the cemetery: a sociolinguistic approach.(Critical essay)
- Article from:
- Studies in the Literary Imagination
- Article date:
- March 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Georgia State University, Department of English. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A short distance from the front marble gate of the First Cemetery in Athens--the most "venerable cemetery" in Greece (Llewellyn-Smith 96)--a casual observer will notice the elaborate monuments and the long epitaphs in formal language that follows the classical tradition of praising the deceased by remembering his or her most important qualities (Fig. 1):
Rizis Athinaion Esthlon ernos
enthade tymbos patroos Elenin
keythei apofthimenin Ioannou
Koutsogianni thygatera damarta
de Ioannou Kosmopoulou
Ou pontou klydon
oud'anemotrofa kymata
Kosmopoulon olesan Ioannin
Arhiatron Basilikou Nautikou
thremma Messinias euandrou alla
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