We Need to Get Comfortable Talking about Death

It happened again recently: someone used the word “if” instead of “when” in referring to their certain, though hopefully distant, death. Sometimes saying “if I die” is appropriate. Maybe you are going to attempt some death-defying acrobatic routine and you want to make sure that your affairs are in order in case the stunt fails. However, I notice that it is pretty common for people to use the phrase “if I die” when what they really mean is “when I die.” They use “if I die” as if they might, in fact, be someone who won’t die.