A Discourse Analysis of Dispatch Advertisements in Iranian Newspapers: A Sociolinguistics Perspective

The present study was an attempt to run a discourse analysis of the dispatch advertisements appearing in the Iranian newspapers. Irrespective of the sub-cultural differences, religious diversity, and variations in beliefs, Iranians have traditionally paid special attention to their deceased and the funerals. Obituaries have always been an indispensable part of funerals and ceremonies and are usually used to announce the death of the deceased dears passing away through the press and other media in attempt to release the news to almost all the relatives and friends and then take the measures related to the funeral and burial. To do the study, following a thorough review of the related literature, fifty frequently appearing obituaries in three famous Iranian newspapers were selected in two consecutive weeks in August, 2024.The discourse analysis criterion was based on Wiśniewski (2006), and various discourse features along with lexical, syntactic, semantic, and stylistic analyses were taken into consideration. The results revealed that dispatch advertisements appearing in the Iranian newspapers enjoy syntactic diversity, phonological harmony, and a rhythmic language, to which is added the taste of Persian literature and religious beliefs. Cultural, social, familial, and other personal features of the deceased is discernable thorough analyzing the published and printed advertisements. This discourse which represents a carefully designed communication between the advertisers and the audience employs both direct and indirect ways of exchanging a lot of information in an almost limited number of words, a limited space, and in a reader-friendly manner enjoying a simple language. The findings of the present study might be employed in the cross-cultural studies, discourse analysis research, and linguistic surveys in general and studies on Iranian culture of funerals, ceremonies, and obituaries in particular.