【１】ことばは伝達の手段である。それはそのとおりであるが、他人に伝えたいことがないときに、使ってならないということではない。とくにいうことはないのだが、知ったもの同士の出会った確認として、あいさつをするのもことばの機能のひとつである。【２】それによって人間と人間の間にできるかもしれない摩擦が解消する。
　朝会って「おはよう」、別れるときの「さようなら」といった、いわゆるあいさつのほかにも、ことばはいろいろと社交的機能において使われている。
　【３】別に用はないが、久しぶりに友人をたずねて雑談をするというのも拡張されたあいさつであるといってよい。たいていのむだ話や世間話は、それ自体に価値があるのではなくて、そういう一見無意味と思われることばをかわすことによって、人間関係を円滑にする効果があるのである。【４】たんなるおしゃべりが思いがけない役に立っていることがすくなくない。
　どこの国の言語にも、実用的伝達の目的はもっていないが、人間関係を円滑にする社交語、あいさつ語というものがあることはこれがいかに重要なものであるかを物語っている。【５】安定した社会においては、あいさつ語の機能がとくに問題になることもないかもしれないが、変化がはげしくて、個人と個人の関係が無機的なものになってくると、これが再認識されなくてはならないようになる。
　【６】近年のわが国の社会では、新しい人間関係が確立しかけていて、なお、いまだ、安定には達していない。人と人との関係はどうしてもぎこちないものになり、摩擦を生じやすい。
　【７】新しい言語表現が浸透しつつあるけれども、まだ、それが美しいことばになるほどの洗練には至っていない。お互いに傷つけるつもりもなくて、ことばで他人の心を傷つけている。小さなトラブルがデパートでも喫茶店でも街頭でも起こっている。
　【８】こういう摩擦やトラブルをなくするには、潤滑油としての言語がもっとも有効である。あいさつ語、社交語は、要するに潤滑油である。新しい社会的緊張に対処するには新しい社交語、あいさつ語が必要であろう。
　【９】その意味において、「対話」などは潤滑油の役割を果たしうるようにできるかもしれない。共通のことばをもたずにおこなわれる∵対話はかえって断絶を深めるけれども、対立の摩擦を緩和する潤滑油としての自覚があれば、論理的には無益であっても、心理的には効果のある対話が存在しうることになる。
　【０】潤滑油としてのことばの機能にもっと注目することは社会としてもきわめて重要なことのように思われる。

（外山（とやま）滋比古（しげひこ）「新編　ことばの作法」より）

Doctors know more and more about the ways of saving lives. They have new machines and medicines to help them. Now they can save many people who are dead or almost dead. During the past ten years, there were many people who died. Doctors brought some of them to life again. It is interesting to ask some of them about their deaths.
Raymond Moody is a doctor. He has heard many stories from people who died or almost died. He has asked 150 of them about their deaths. They have told very interesting stories. He was surprised because the stories were almost all the same. Here is one of the stories:
A woman is dying. Her body feels very bad. The doctor says, ”She is dead.” Then she begins to hear a very loud noise in her ears. She feels that she is moving or falling very quickly through a long, dark place. After this, she thinks that she is outside of her real body. She is standing far away and looking at her own body. People can't see her outside of her body. From far away, she watches the doctors and nurses. They are trying to save her. She tries to get back into her real body, but she can't. She tries to speak to the doctors, but they can't hear her. She feels very much alone.
Then she sees the faces of her family and friends who died before her. They look very happy. They come to help her. They tell her, ”Don't worry.” She begins to feel better.
Then a person in a bright light comes to the woman. The person in the light asks the woman about her life. ”Are you ready to die?” ”What did you do with your life?” She thinks about these questions. She quickly remembers all of her life.
The woman comes to a door. She can go through it to death or back to her body and life. Now she doesn't want to go back because she feels happy. She feels love and peace with the person in the light, but the doctors do something to save her. She doesn't go through the door. Suddenly she is back in her real body. She wakes up and she is alive. She doesn't understand why.
Later, she tries to tell other people about her death. It is difficult to find the words to tell the story. Other people don't understand, so she doesn't tell it any more. She thinks that it is the most important thing that ever happened to her. It changed her life. She knows that it wasn't a dream. After that, she tries to learn many things and to love other people. She is not afraid of death now. She knows that many things go on after death but in a different way.
There are many stories about death from all over the world, from different people and different times. Many of the stories are the same. Perhaps the stories are true. What do you think? If we know about death, will we change our way of living?