Value Judgments Research Articles

Study on the Overseas Reader Reviews of English Translation of Sanguo Yanyi

<p>Reader evaluation is a key step in measuring the effectiveness of literary translations. A thorough investigation of the reception of Chinese classical novels among overseas readers can help us understand Western readers’ acceptance, value judgments, and preferences regarding these works. This study aims to assess the translation quality and value of the English version of <em>Sanguo Yanyi</em> by Yu Sumei. By collecting reader reviews from platforms such as Amazon and Goodreads, we employ KHCoder text analysis software to generate visualizations that analyze reader feedback. The results indicate that several main factors influence reader evaluations of this translation, including translation quality, English language experience, narrative coherence, and overall reading experience. Therefore, Chinese translators should comprehensively consider the needs and reading habits of overseas readers when translating classical Chinese novels.</p>

Actor Sensemaking and its Role in Implementation of the Decentralized Drug-Resistant TB Policy in South Africa.

South Africa has a high burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). A policy to decentralize DR-TB treatment from specialized central hospitals to more accessible district facilities was introduced in 2011, but to date implementation has been suboptimal, with variable pace, coverage and models of care emerging. This study explored multilevel policy implementation of DR-TB decentralization in two provinces of South Africa, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Applying interpretive policy analysis, this paper describes how actors across health system levels and geographies made sense of the DR-TB policy and how this shaped implementation. In an embedded qualitative case study, districts of the two provinces were compared, through data collected in 94 in-depth interviews, and analysed using Vickers' framework of reality, value and action judgements. Five district cases characterise variation in the pace of implementation and models of DR-TB care that emerged. Individual and collective attitudes for and against the policy were underpinned by different systems of meaning for interpreting policy problems and making decisions. These meaning systems were reflected in actor stances on whether DR-TB care needed to be specialized or generalized, nurse- or doctor-led, and institutionalized or ambulatory. Actors' stances influenced their actions and implementation strategies adopted. Resistance to decentralized DR-TB care related to perceived threats of budget cuts to and loss of authority of central facilities, and was often justified in fears of increased transmission, poor quality of care and inadequate resources at lower levels. New advances in diagnosis and treatment to address the growing burden of DR-TB in South Africa will have little impact unless implementation dynamics are better understood, and attention paid to the mindsets, interests and interpretations of policy by actors tasked with implementation. Deliberative policy implementation processes will enhance the quality of discourse, communication and cross-learning between policy actors, critical for reaching synthesis of meaning systems.

Language awareness survey among university students

In this study we examined the linguistic awareness and dialect attitudes of university students studying at the University of Nyíregyháza. It is particularly important that the future teachers have a positive attitude towards the varieties of the Hungarian language and share their knowledge with their learners in an effective way. However, the results of various research studies show that in many cases, mother tongue education in schools does not build on a multi-standard approach to language varieties, and as a consequence, non-standard varieties are perceived more negatively than standard ones. The aim of this research is to find out what the university students in the research study know about the regional variation of language, conscious language use and how they view dialect speech. The study was conducted through an online questionnaire survey involving 70 respondents. As a starting point for the research, it was assumed that the respondents’ dialect attitudes and language awareness would be determined by their experiences at school, and thus negative attitudes towards dialect speech would be observed in their value judgments. It was also assumed that respondents would be less accepting of the occurrence of dialect phenomena in their own language use and in the speech habits of others in their locality. The results showed that the majority of the students surveyed did not have a negative opinion of dialect phenomena, so the first hypothesis was not confirmed. However, the second hypothesis was partially confirmed, as far fewer respondents acknowledged the occurrence of dialect phenomena in their own language use than in the speech of the people in their locality. Overall, the majority of respondents to the survey have a positive attitude towards linguistic diversity and strive to use the language consciously. It is hoped that the students surveyed here will adopt the right approach to teaching about linguistic diversity in their teaching practice, thus positively influencing learners’ attitudes towards dialects and linguistic diversity.

Thresholds for the value judgement of health technologies in the United Arab Emirates: a consensus approach through voting sessions

BackgroundIn the evolving healthcare landscape of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), establishing cost-effectiveness thresholds (CETs) is pivotal to informing decision-makers about the value of health technologies.ObjectiveThis study aimed to establish...

Exploring the link between foresight and artificial intelligence methods to strengthen collective future-building in contexts of social instability

Purpose The study explores the connection between foresight and Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods in a community within an environment of social instability in Colombia. It aims to contribute to research on aligning these methods for future-shaping, with the goal of enhancing shared governance, peer learning and collective learning among traditional decision-makers and local communities in emerging countries. The study seeks to foster a community of social actors who are likely to engage constructively in strategic dialogues. To enhancing shared governance and learning a hybrid model is synthesized, combining foresight and computational intelligence. Design/methodology/approach The case study explores the integration of computational intelligence and foresight through Gaston Bachelard's (Bachelard, 1936) phenomenology concept of ante-perception. The mathematical representation of the cone of scenarios provides a structured way to explore multiple future pathways, allowing communities to visualize and compare different trajectories and make informed decisions amid uncertainty. The model facilitates critical reflections on present assumptions, deepening insights into future scenarios. Ante-perception challenges traditional approaches to foresight by encouraging a break from established experiences, allowing for novel insights into possible futures. When enriched by computational intelligence, this reflective process is further strengthened by quantitative approach scenario modeling. Findings This research develops and tests a proposal that includes the logic and methods for constructing a mathematical representation of the cone of scenarios. This process, which is interactive and deliberative, is driven by anticipation and combines qualitative and quantitative approaches within a context of high uncertainty. By combining the critical reflection facilitated by ante-perception with the predictive power of computational intelligence, the model allows communities to transcend established thought patterns and explore innovative future possibilities. This integrative approach helps them envision and work toward social self-transformation. Research limitations/implications The article aims to identify the creation of scenarios in contexts of high uncertainty, to respond to the needs of communities in emerging countries to manage change. Practical implications This article explores a novel approach to using foresight for address collective intelligence by developing a shared future vision in high-uncertainty contexts within local communities in emerging countries. The application of the hybrid model demonstrates that foresight is a key innovative social tool for developing long-term strategic reflection and planning for territories. Social implications In developing long-term reflective processes, explaining phenomena, mechanisms and correlations requires the use of value judgments. This set of value judgments requires a representation that facilitates their treatment, helps to account for their behavior during the inference process to form a shared future vision. Consequently, ensuring the recognition of the opinions of local communities through participatory discussion spaces and their subsequent refinement, from a technical perspective, aims to illustrate the development of this social construction process. While similarities exist, differences add value through a transfer process, often subconscious. This process stimulates collective learning and builds capacities as knowledge is developed through inquiry, evaluation, interpretation and generalization. Originality/value This research provides a unique hybrid model that fosters collective learning and engagement by integrating local community perspectives with advanced computational intelligence methods. By facilitating both reflective and quantitative approach future-shaping, it offers a practical framework for addressing uncertainty while empowering communities to shape their own futures. It underscores the importance of recognizing local community views through bottom-up participatory discussions, thereby widening the stakeholder community to active engagement in addressing broader societal issues. The case study focuses on community collaboration in Puerto Gaitán, a Colombian municipality.

Cost-benefit analysis: just a step in the HIA process

Abstract The economic analysis within Health Impact Assessments (HIA) is a critical component in informing public policy decisions by assessing the financial implications of health outcomes associated with the different intervention options. Health metrics play a role defining the cost-effectiveness and societal value associated with the interventions. These metrics, quantifying the health impacts, include quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), years of life lost (YLLs) or disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). On another level, such metrics need to be translated into cost-effectiveness and societal value in which other methods play a role, such as the value of statistical life (VSL) or the value of a life year (VOLY). While VSL quantifies the value individuals place on reducing mortality risk, VOLY evaluates the value attributed to extending life expectancy. On another hand, uncertainties related to economic valuation pose challenges to the accuracy and reliability of cost estimates within HIA. These come from several factors, including data quality, methodological differences across studies, and subjective judgments involved in valuing health states. In fact, estimating the economic value of a prevented death involves multifaceted considerations and important assumptions. Additionally, assigning monetary values to non-fatal health outcomes, such as disability or reduced quality of life, involves subjective assessments and value judgments. By selecting appropriate metrics, considering diverse data sources, and addressing methodological steps and uncertainties, HIA practitioners can improve the utility of economic assessments, facilitating evidence-based decision-making in public health policy and resource allocation. This work was supported by National Funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,I.P., within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDP/4255/2020).

The Frontiers and Future Landscape of Research and Education on Value Rationality in Contemporary China

The importance of conducting in-depth research and education on value rationality in the new era is increasingly recognized. Therefore, it is essential to systematically grasp the themes, frontiers, and trends of research in this field, organizing the knowledge system to provide references for future studies. This necessitates clarifying the research achievements of scholars from different disciplines and institutions. Using the CiteSpace visualization analysis method, we can analyze, summarize, and synthesize research networks, hotspots, and knowledge structures, thereby forming a direction for advancing research. Through literature review methods and knowledge graph software analysis, it is believed that value rationality and instrumental rationality represent the rational attitudes individuals adopt when contemplating issues and putting them into practice. They are merely methods and should not be subjected to excessive value judgments. The relationship between value rationality and instrumental rationality is a focal point of societal concern, involving complex interdisciplinary issues with significant theoretical value and practical implications. In the future, the academic community needs to strengthen research collaboration, enhance the expansion of value rationality in various social practice fields, and conduct empirical studies to build consensus for the construction of Chinese society.

Non-Monotonic Theories of Aesthetic Value

ABSTRACT Theorists of aesthetic value since Hume have traditionally aimed to justify at least some comparative judgments of aesthetic value and to explain why we thereby have more reason to appreciate some aesthetic objects than others. I argue that three recent theories of aesthetic value—Thi Nguyen’s and Matthew Strohl’s engagement theories, Nick Riggle’s communitarian theory, and Dominic McIver Lopes’ network theory—face a challenge to carry out this explanatory task in a satisfactory way. I defend a monotonicity principle according to which the strength of our aesthetic reasons to appreciate varies monotonically with aesthetic value and claim that these theories, because they do not respect the principle, are non-monotonic. If they cannot find a plausible way to preserve the link between the aesthetic goodness of an object and our aesthetic reasons to appreciate it, these non-monotonic theories should be rejected.

Selectivity as discrimination: lessons from the case law on fiscal measures for identifying State aid

Abstract Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union was originally designed to regulate the grant of subsidies by Member States, but it has been applied increasingly in recent years to regulate tax measures. Attempts to apply the State aid rules in this way have been met with controversy as they have been applied in unpredictable ways that have introduced significant changes to the existing tests in the case law for identifying State aid. These changes include a broader interpretation of the concept of selectivity, one of the criteria used to identify aid, which has been reoriented around the discrimination standard, whereby a measure is selective if it differentiates between categories of undertakings without being capable of justification by some legitimate public policy objective. Most controversially, this has facilitated the enforcement of the State aid rules against a wider range of State interventions. This article argues that the discrimination standard represents the most plausible and effective way of understanding selectivity among the alternative tests which have been proposed in the case law and academic literature. However, it goes on to identify a significant deficiency in the discrimination standard in the manner in which it is currently applied by the Union courts. The test inevitably requires certain value judgments to be made, but these are not made explicit by the existing case law. This article then proceeds to give further reflections on options for the refinement of the framework for assessing selectivity based on the discrimination standard and the existing logic of the case law and the objectives of the State aid control regime, which indicates how principled and coherent boundaries to the notion of State aid might be assessed in an individual case.

ANALYSIS OF ECOTOURISM AND DISASTER MITIGATION DATA AT THE KUALA LANGSA MANGROVE FOREST BY USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

The problem in the management of a public area is to determine aspects that contribute most as its best practices. This paper explores the contributions of the Kuala Langsa Mangrove Forest located in Langsa City, Aceh Province, for ecotourism and disaster mitigation. This research was intended to analyze the aspects of forest management that has successfully reformed dry coast into an ecotourism site. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a multicriteria decision making method was used to analyze the best indicators data. This method was selected as the suitable method since it utilizes the objectivity of mathematics in comparing some subjective criteria to obtain the best indicators. The implementation of the AHP method consists of three stages: the development of the criteria’s hierarchy table; the development of pairwise matrix related to the intention of giving weights for the criterion’s elements; the logical concistency verification of the matrix. Indicators were written on a five point scale related to a value judgement. The results of the research show that as an ecotourism site, the activities of the mangrove forest are motivated and based on the existing rules which attract people to become interested. The role of the local government has resulted: developed the programs according to the existing mangrove management law that reached 67% among other law related indicators; budget allocation priority by self-generating which get priority of 59% among budget indicators; oriented on the increasing of fishermen, obtained 49% of economical function elements; encouraged the involvement and partnership of the local resources around the mangrove forest which reached 31% among other programs offered and sustainability approach by considering ecological functions aspect. For physical contribution for disaster mitigation, the largest dissipation is given by Rhizophora mucronata due to its height compared to the other types.

Back to Kahneman

Abstract This paper examines Daniel Kahneman's concept of experienced utility and its roots in Bentham's hedonic utilitarianism. It focuses on Kahneman's call for a ‘separate value judgement’ to determine when experienced utility can be used to evaluate temporally extended outcomes (TEOs). Two potential judgements are proposed: comprehensiveness and personal independence. Comprehensiveness means that the measurement of utility captures all relevant aspects of instant utility. Personal independence means that the TEO is fully independent of other TEOs with which it might be combined (or ‘concatenated’). I argue that identifying TEOs meeting these criteria may be challenging, possibly restricting the applicability of experienced utility. I conclude by considering the implications for behavioural science's quest for an unambiguous, measurable operationalisation of utility.

The Relationships between Tourism Ethnocentrism, Destination Advocacy, Local Food Motivation, and Destination Food Image: The Case of Gaziantep

Ethnocentric attitudes and beliefs are defined as prejudice against those who do not belong to one’s own community and are based on the understanding of considering one’s own nation to be superior. When the concept is interpreted from a tourism perspective, the conformity of the experiences with the norms of society can be described as the ensemble of attitudes and behaviors aimed at glorifying future domestic tourism welfare. When the destination experiences are evaluated, food constitutes the largest experience area within the tourism market. Besides transferring recipes and flavor elements to individuals, food also conveys the culture, beliefs, and value judgments of a society to future generations. Based on this point, the relationships between tourism ethnocentrism, destination advocacy, local food motivation, and destination food image were investigated in this study. In the scope of the study, a survey was conducted on people who visited the Gaziantep region and had a dining experience. Structural equation modeling was utilized in line with the study model. According to the findings of the study, local food motivation has a positive and significant effect on destination food image and tourism ethnocentrism, and tourism ethnocentrism positively and significantly affects destination food image and destination advocacy. Moreover, destination food image has a positive and significant effect on destination advocacy.

Úvahy o pokroku

Using the form of an essay, the author gives an account of historical-philosophical thought on the idea of progress in the 20th century with the emphasis on its methodological grounding. He takes as his starting point John B. Bury´s theory, which defined the idea of progress in terms of secular intellectual climate. In opposition to this approach, he then looks with a critical overview at the contrary or polemic concepts put forward by Robert Nisbet, Karl Acham, Heinz-Dieter Kittsteiner or Johannes Rohbeck, which rehabilitate the history of philosophy and seek to identify the evaluative criteria of progress, one of the basic obstacles in thinking about the reality of progress. The author also devotes great attention to attempts to disconnect progress from subjective or culturally-based value judgements by using terms like "development" or "modernisation", while also considering critiques of these attempts at detail.

2022 개정 초등학교 교육과정 성취기준의 다문화 교육 요소 분석

This study analyzed how multicultural education elements are presented in the achievement standards of each elementary school curriculum revised in 2022. Focusing on ‘identity’, ‘diversity’, ‘cultural understanding’, ‘anti-bias’, ‘equality’, and ‘cooperation’, which are the elements of multicultural education presented in this study, achievement standards that are considered to contain or be related to multicultural education elements for the entire elementary school curriculum were analyzed by each element. As a result, the subjects that are content-related to the elements of multicultural education were Morality departments, Social studies departments, Practical subject, Music, Art, and Physical education, and the subjects with instrumental utility were Integrated subjects, Korean, Math, Science, and English. We also extracted the elements of multicultural education presented in the achievement standards for each subject and examined how the contents of the elements of multicultural education presented according to the characteristics of each subject could be reflected in the class situation. In addition, the achievement standards of the elementary school curriculum were dealt with in terms of knowledge, value judgment, and practical attitudes, step by step, from "identity" to "cooperation." This study is meaningful in that it attempted to find elements of multicultural education in all elementary school subject achievement standards, and for practical application in the field, it is necessary to continue researching specific multicultural education teaching and learning methods based on the analysis of achievement standards represented by multicultural education elements. Through this, multicultural education can develop at the stage of cultural experience and understanding of diversity in other countries and become basic education for cultivating basic competencies to live in a multicultural society.

Problems Encountered in the Counseling Process in the Context of Cultural Sensitivity and Coping Methods: Opinions of School Counselors

This study, it is aimed to examine the problems that arise in the context of cultural sensitivity in the counseling process and the methods of coping with these problems based on the views of school counselors. For the data obtained using the interview technique, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The study included a total of 35 participants, with 25 women and 10 men, who had a minimum of three years of professional experience in private and public schools during the 2021-2022 academic year. Interviews were conducted digitally on the Zoom platform using a semi-structured form developed by the researcher. All interviews were subjected to content analysis. According to the results of the data analysis conducted with the Maxqda 2020 program, the participant's perspective on the concept of cultural sensitivity consists of self-awareness, respect, and acceptance of different cultures. The most important cultural challenges reported by the participants were gender and sex, different value judgments, socioeconomic status, and language. Feelings of inadequacy and desperation were reported as the most intensely felt emotions in the face of these challenges. Participants reported using various methods to overcome cultural challenges, such as consulting colleagues gaining knowledge, and making various suggestions to overcome cultural inadequacies. It is thought that the findings obtained in this study will create an important awareness as it is a first in the literature, and it is hoped that it will contribute to policymakers, counselor educators, counselor candidates, and all counseling professionals in this field.

Quantity implicature interpretations in bilingual population: the case of Imbabura Kichwa.

Most studies on the pragmatic interpretation of existential quantifiers have been conducted in major Indo-European languages like English, Spanish, French, and Greek, focusing mainly on monolingual participants. However, in indigenous linguistic research, especially experimental research, it is crucial to consider several linguistic and extra-linguistic factors for successful implementation. Our research centered on the experimental investigation of the pragmatic interpretation of the quantifier wakin, meaning some in Kichwa, with Kichwa-Spanish bilingual adults from the province of Imbabura Ecuador. We employed the Truth Value Judgement Task (TVJT) for our experiments and incorporated the explicit Question Under Discussion (QUD) paradigm to facilitate pragmatic interpretations among our participants. Our initial experiment revealed a 78% acceptance level for the pragmatic interpretation of "some, but not all" in Kichwa, significantly lower than the 95% acceptance range observed in other languages. We hypothesized that access to technology and formal education might influence these results, leading us to simplify our experiment by eliminating the technological components of the research. In our subsequent experiment, adult speakers of Imbabura Kichwa achieved a 97% accuracy level, comparable to speakers of other languages. To benchmark our results against speakers of other languages under similar conditions, we evaluated whether Spanish speakers from two varieties in Ecuador (Quito and Guayaquil) could generate the "some, but not all" scalar implicature with the Spanish quantifier algunos. Our findings indicated that speakers achieved 95.5 and 97.4% accuracy for both varieties, respectively. Therefore, this study infers that under optimal conditions, speakers of indigenous languages in rural communities demonstrate commendable performance in experimental linguistic studies. Nonetheless, it underscores the necessity for meticulous planning and distinct handling in experimental studies involving speakers of these languages residing in rural areas without access to technological elements. We propose that such research broadens our comprehension of language utilization in minority communities and positively influences language restoration efforts by expanding experimental linguistics studies to indigenous languages.

The Hygienics of Translation and Interpreting: Metaphors of Purity and Contamination, and the Construction of Translator and Interpreter Identity

The Hygienics of Translation and Interpreting: Metaphors of Purity and Contamination, and the Construction of Translator and Interpreter Identity. Rooted in Critical Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics, and using metaphors as a heuristic tool, this essay will look at public and academic discourses on the practices of translation and interpreting associated with notions of cleanliness/purity vs uncleanliness/contamination. Such discourses may appear abstract and speculative in nature, but have a practical impact on normative (self) perceptions of translators’ and interpreters’ professional behaviour and habitus. They also seem to run through the academic and theoretical understandings of translation and interpreting along the axes of fidelity/infidelity and translator’s invisibility/visibility, but also, by extension, in terms of respecting/trespassing boundaries (notions of norms of translation, or the interpreter as a conduit or gatekeeper). Real-life examples will be discussed to illustrate and deconstruct such metaphorical devices and highlight their connection with underlying value judgements attached to purity vs contamination. Existing metaphorical alternatives, which allow for the construction of more nuanced translators’/interpreters’ identities, will also be discussed. Keywords: metaphors of interpreting and translation, conduit metaphor, vessel metaphor, translator’s/interpreter’s invisibility, ‘pristine’ translation

Visual Representations of Abandoned Industrial Spaces in Tourist Photos

A few decades ago, an enthusiastic researcher would have found relatively few data to analyze, looking for such information about the ruins of modernity as the structural consequences caused by rapid cycles of industrialization and desolation, development and depopulation, conflict and reconciliation. However, conducting the same search today reveals an extraordinary increase in academic and public interest in the ruins of the recent past and the associated abandoned places. The authors of this article join in the discussion and explore the images of deindustrialization posted and distributed in the online communities among abandoned sites enthusiasts. The aim of the research is to form an idea of “everyday life policy” about the abandoned industrial facilities popularized by amateur photographers. “Everyday life policy” is expressed through the signifying and conceptualizing the abandoned and ruined places when putting them in a close-up. The authors rely on the ideas of the architect and historian I. de Sola-Morales, who calls the places left by people “terrain vague”. Photographic images of the terrain vague spaces play an important role in conceptualizing them. In order to understand what meanings exactly shaped the public policy, the authors use the ethnographic method of immersion in the online VKontakte/Telegram communities of abandoned sites enthusiasts to discover the recurring iconographic elements of the derelict places. Deindustrialization in photographs is reflected through 1) loss of human; 2) violence of vegetation or nature agency; 3) artifacts and texts of the past or material objects agency. The authors discuss the similarities of the images taken by amateur photographers and those media clichés found in popular movies and video games. Photographs are a way of explaining space and spatial experience. Furthermore, like any other work of art, a photo conveys not only and not so much the actual characteristics of the depicted objects, thanks to which we can form an idea about them (in this case, about space), but also effects and experiences. Thus, a photograph becomes a tool that helps us form value judgments about the places we have seen.

The Determination of Capitalization Rate by the Remote Segments Approach: The Case of an Agricultural Land Appraisal

In the absence of comparative real estate data in the market segment of the property to be estimated, the appraiser may resort to income capitalization to estimate the market value. Often, however, the choice of which rate to apply is affected by subjective and arbitrary assessments. The estimation result can therefore be inaccurate and rather unclear. However, the Remote Segments Approach (RSA), through appropriate adjustments on the original values, prices, and incomes detected in the remote segments, makes it possible to arrive at an appraisal result consistent with estimative logic and real estate valuation standards. The proposed application illustrates the estimation of the market value of a specialized fruit orchard of avocado, which is to be considered new in relation to other fruit species already present in the reference area. The adjustments required by the RSA are solved with the General Appraisal System (GAS), defining the difference matrix based on relevant characters common to all segments considered. The application is carried out by comparing the segment in which the orchard being estimated falls (subject) with other remote market segments in which prices and incomes constituted by other tree crops are collected. The market value of the subject is derived by making adjustments to the prices and incomes observed in the remote segments of comparison with a comparison function constructed through relevant characters common to the segments considered. The comparison function makes it possible to arrive at the determination of the capitalization rate to be used in estimating the value of the fruit orchard by income approach. While it is based on the comparison of segments, the approach followed allows for a value judgment consistent with the estimation comparison and capable of providing a solution less conditioned by the appraiser’s expertise in the presence of particularly pronounced limiting conditions.

Death euphemisms on tombstones: A case of the Vhavenḓa’s metaphorical conceptualisation of death

Direct reference to death has long been taboo in Tshivenḓa culture, and it is sanctioned by social, psychological and religious constraints. Like in other African societies, explicit reference to death is considered a taboo by the Vhavenḓa. This is because the Vhavenḓa view death as a transition from the land of the living to the land of the dead, which ultimately foregrounds their belief that a dead person transforms into an ancestor who has the power to care, protect, bless and even curse the living. Consequently, the subject of death and reference to it is treated as sacred among the Vhavenḓa. For this reason, the Vhavenḓa utilise euphemisms when discussing death. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study explored whether death-related conceptual metaphors on tombstones in Tshivenḓa lessen pain and the impact of death on those affected using the framework of the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). A corpus of 160 epitaphs from the Khubvi Cemetery in Thulamela Local Municipality served as the source of the study’s data. The study’s findings showed that gravestone conceptualisations of death imply a favourable value judgment of human mortality and help those who are still alive cope with the loss and pain associated with death. The study lays the groundwork for further research into why conceptual metaphors of death emphasise the negative features of death, while language use emphasises the positive aspects.