What is meant by the context of a word

1. Types of context and their
   role in realization of meaning.

2. Meaning and use.

6.1.
One of the approaches to the investigating word-meaning is through
the study of syntagmatic
relations
of words, combinations with other words in speech, i.e. in typical
contexts.

“The
Oxford Companion to the English Language” defines context
as (1)
the speech… that normally precedes and follows a word or other
element of language, (2)
the linguistic, situational, social and cultural environment of an
element of language.

We shouldn’t assume that
words acquire meanings only in context as the meaning of the word is
its inherent property. But a particular meaning is realized in a
certain context.

Word-meaning
is determined by different types of contex. Firstly, we distinguish
between linguistic,
or verbal
contex
and extralinguistic,
or non-verbal
contex.

Linguistic
context
is the minimum stretch of speech necessary to determine (realize)
each individual meaning. The semantic structure of a word has an
objective existence. Context brings out, actualizes meanings and it
is in this sense that we say that word meaning is determined by
context.

Technically, the occurrence of
a word in a linguistic context is said to be determined by
collocational or selectional restrictions,

e.g. the
use of flock
with sheep
and birds,
pack
with dogs,
wolves
and cards.

Generally such association is
largely determined by meaning

e.g. drink
beer/milk,
but eat
bread/meat,

but also, by the conventions
of use,

e.g. milk
is never rancid,
but sour.

On the other hand, meaning is
determined by context,

e.g. white
people, white
wine, white
coffee (which is of course brown).

A certain meaning in the
semantic structure of a word which is least dependent on context and
is representative of a word in isolation, i.e. occurs to us when we
hear or see the word alone, is called free,

e.g. doctor
“smb
whose profession is to attend to and treat sick people”.

The other
meanings that the word realizes only in certain contexts are bound,

e.g. a
radio/bicycle doctor
“(infml)
a person whose job is to repair the stated thing”.

There are
two types of linguistic context: lexical
context
(collocation)
and grammatical
context
(colligation).

Lexical
context
is a habitual association of a word with other words in speech, the
co-occurrence range of the word, i.e. the group of other lexical
items combined with a given word.

e.g. raise
when combined with cattle
or pigs
means ”keep animals”, when combined with hopes
and awareness
means “cause to appear or exist”, when combined with question
or issue
means “mention”.

In
grammatical
context
it is the grammatical structure, morpho-syntactic combinability of
the word that brings out individual meanings. In modern linguistics,
the term pattern
is used to denote grammatical context. Patterns are represented in
conventional symbols, e.g. N — nouns, V — verbs, D — adverbs, etc.

e.g. make:
V+N “to produce” (to make smth);

VNV “to force” (to make
smb do smth);

VAN “to become” (to make a
good teacher).

However, we often find that
both lexical and grammatical context should be considered together as
grammatical context alone is insufficient to indicate in which
meaning the word is used,

e.g. (1)
take
in the VN pattern is used in different meanings determined by the
lexical context:

take
coffee/tea/sugar
—
“eat or drink”,

take the
bus/train,
etc. — “travel by”;

(2) in the
pattern V prp N take
has again quite different meanings:

take to
gardening
“adopt as a practice or hobby”,

take to
the woods
“take refuge in”.

It is argued that difference
in the distribution of the word indicates the difference in meaning.
But the sameness of the distribution does not imply the same meaning:
in the same pattern a word may be used in different meanings which
are brought out by the lexical context.

Non-linguistic
context
is often referred to as situation,
i.e. the actual speech situation in which the word is used. Here the
contextual factors are: (1)
the speaker and the listener, i.e. their age, sex, background, social
class, occupation, social relations, physical and emotional state,
(2)
the setting, i.e. the circumstances, e.g. the place and time of
communication, for example, a law court or a press conference.

e.g. If “We are going down”,
perhaps in a storm, is said on board a ship it means “The ship is
sinking”, if it is said on campus, say, at the end of June, it
means “We are leaving the university, having graduated”.

Language
should be considered in a
broad context of culture, way of life,
the very environment in which it exists. Words should be studied in a
broad context of attitudes and perceptions as part of people’s life
experience. The extralinguistic knowledge about how things are
organized and perceived (the
context of reference)
then becomes indispensable.

Purely linguistic and
extralinguistic features are closely interwoven. Historical and
cultural information is actually realized in words.

6.2.
It is important to distinguish between systemic
or «standard»
meanings
that the word has in the lexicon, on the one hand, and «contextual»
meanings,
or uses
of the word in different contexts. Thus «permanent»
(common) «stock»/»usual» meanings which are fixed
in dictionaries are opposed to «functional»/»situational/occasional»
meanings, which are not registered in dictionaries. They are also
called «extended», «creative», unique to each
specific instance, while «dictionary» meanings are
«conventionalized» and are realized in typical context.

Thus, we can describe the
above opposition in the following terms:

Static meanings	Dynamic meanings (= uses)
Found in dictionaries	Found in speech
Realized in context	Deriving from context
Base-meaning	Extended meaning
Predictable	Unpredictable
Common/generalized	Unique/personal

e.g. The
noun snout
means «the front part of an animal’s head, esp. a pig’s head».
It can also be used contemptuously of a human nose when it is large
or badly shaped. These are systemic «dictionary» meanings,
belonging to the conventional vocabulary. But in «the
snout of the lorry»
(Gerald Durrell) snout
refers to «the pointed part of something, thought to be like a
snout». This is an occasional use of the word which extends its
semantic potential.

Thus, words used in various
contexts may acquire additional meanings. In most cases «extended»
meanings are dynamic, i.e. «creative» uses, expressing the
speaker’s individual views and attitudes. Usually such uses are
emotional-expressive (metaphoric),

e.g. «the
blanket
of the dark» (Shakespeare).

«Occasional
meanings» (uses) may eventually become conventional meanings,
for example, now blanket
has the fixed meaning «a thick covering», in which it was
originally used by Shakespeare in «Macbeth».

Any text includes both types
of semantic realization of words. On the one hand, there are always
words used in their conventional meanings; on the other hand, there
are «dynamic», occasional uses.

The actual meanings of words
in context are affected by the genre of the utterance, the type of
discourse and the functional style in which the given lexical item
occurs. The number of «extended», occasional uses is
greatest in imaginative genres — in fiction and journalism, as
compared to informative ones. There seems to be no limit to how
widely the word can vary in its «creative», extended uses.
Such uses contribute to the development of the word’s semantic
structure.

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Context changes everything. Everything you read, write, watch, listen to, or do is shaped by context. Think about what it’s like to learn about your favorite author. You probably first read their books with an idea of what it meant. However, once you learned more about the author’s life and the time period they lived in, this probably changed what their writing meant to you. The context of their writing changed what their writing means.

Asked by: Hosea Bernhard

Score: 4.7/5
(9 votes)

In semiotics, linguistics, sociology and anthropology, context refers to those objects or entities which surround a focal event, in these disciplines typically a communicative event, of some kind. Context is «a frame that surrounds the event and provides resources for its appropriate interpretation».

What is an example of a context?

immediately next to or surrounding a specified word or passage and determining its exact meaning. … An example of context is the words that surround the word «read» that help the reader determine the tense of the word. An example of context is the history surrounding the story of Shakespeare’s King Henry IV.

Whats does context mean?

1 : the parts of a discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning. 2 : the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs : environment, setting the historical context of the war.

What does context mean in simple terms?

Context means the setting of a word or event. … Context comes from the Latin for how something is made. It was first used to talk about writing, as in «the beautiful phrase occurs in the context of the concluding paragraph.» We use it now to talk about any circumstance in which something happens.

How do you explain context?

Context is the background, environment, setting, framework, or surroundings of events or occurrences. Simply, context means circumstances forming a background of an event, idea or statement, in such a way as to enable readers to understand the narrative or a literary piece.

29 related questions found

Context derives from Latin, contextus , which means what surrounds an event or event . The context is a framework, an environment, an environment, physical or symbolic, a set of phenomena, situations and circumstances (such as time and place), not comparable to others, that surround or condition a fact. Context definition

That is, the context is that set of circumstances or situation during a communication process where the sender and receiver are located and where the message occurs. These circumstances allow, sometimes, to understand it correctly, it is what is called extra linguistic context , which can be of various types, for example, cultural, social, educational, historical, economic, psychological context, etc.

The context is very important in communication, because variations in the same language and cultural differences mean that what for some is correct, for others it may not be. So the context is one of the main areas that should be analyzed when talking with another person, listening to a song, watching a movie, or reading a book or article.

The analysis of any type of communication must take into account the social context, the linguistic context, cultural context, the context defined by the questions who, how, when, where, why also called environment .

In computer science or computer science, the context is the circumstances under which a device is being used.

Context is a term that derives from the Latin word contextus and refers to everything that surrounds , either physically or symbolically, an event. From the context, therefore, a fact can be interpreted or understood .

This environment assumes that the context can be material ( “The offender took advantage of the natural environment to hide behind the trees” ) or symbolic (the social environment, the economic environment or other).

The context is formed by a series of circumstances (such as time and physical space) that facilitate the understanding of a message. For example: a portal that publishes a title such as “Carlos rested” does not provide the data necessary for the reader to decode the message. On the other hand, the headline “After playing four games in two days, tennis player Carlos López rested and did not show up to train at the beginning of the preparation for the Davis Cup” can be interpreted without problems since it presents relevant information about the context. Context definition

The linguistic context , on the other hand, refers to those factors that are related to the stage of generating a statement and that affect its meaning and interpretation. This assumes that a message depends on the syntax , grammar and lexicon, but also the context.

The place, the possible interlocutors, the type of registration and the moment in which a linguistic act takes shape is called extralinguistic context . These circumstances have an impact on the understanding of the linguistic situation.

The context is so important in communication that it should be the first thing to analyze when reading a book, watching a movie, listening to a song or just talking to another person. Starting from the cultural differences and reaching the variations present in the same language, within the same country, it is evident that what for some is correct, for others it may not be . For example, in some cultures it is polite to eat using your hands instead of cutlery, while in others that attitude can be taken as disgusting and lack of civilization.

Linguistic context

In linguistics and grammar, the context is the set of linguistic elements or the linguistic, social and pragmatic environment , which surrounds, that is, precedes and follows, a word or a sentence, and that conditions, modifying or not, the meaning of This or its correct interpretation.

The discipline in charge of studying the linguistic context is pragmatic . When the linguistic context is given by an immediate word within the sentence, it is spoken of microtext , and when the meaning of the text is given by a context with multiple elements, it is not immediate, it is spoken of macro text . Context definition

Contextualize

This term refers to putting into context a situation, a fact, or a source or document that has been received in isolation and separated from all those elements that surround it, that influence that action, and where that fact has occurred by the result of a specific situation, time and space.

Examples of communication context

In order to understand how context can change the meaning of a word or sentence we first have to understand what context even is.

Context is one of the most important things in the English language. Context is actually pretty simple to understand. The sentence is the thing that you are saying, and context is everything outside and around the sentence. Context can be linked to the place, people, country, situation, and everything else as well.

While it may seem very complex because almost everything can be a part of the context, don’t worry because it’s not. The easiest way to understand context is simply by looking around you. That is the context in which you are speaking. 

Let me give you a couple of situations that create a context.

In a bar context

Imagine if you are in a bar. So that is the context in which you are speaking. You wouldn’t ask a bartender to change your currency because it’s not an exchange office. However, in a bar you can order a drink, while in a store you can’t.

In a hospital context

Another example is the hospital. In a hospital, you can talk about your problems, medication, or anything in general. But you can’t really ask a nurse for financial advice, or what does a poem mean. That’s reserved for banks and schools. 

This is what context is in in general. It’s simply put the world around you at the time.

Context gets a bit more complicated when we start talking about how it changes meaning. In order to understand that better let’s go over some examples and see how context influenced them.

Let’s start simple:

• He’s my brother.

At first, you might think that there is no way for such a simple sentence to change meaning because of context. Well, a brother doesn’t have to be a blood relative. In other contexts, it can mean that the person you are describing is like a brother.

Let’s put this into the context of two African-American’s talking. In this case, the sentence “He’s my brother” can mean that the person is like a brother to him. People of color often refer to each other as brothers and sisters. So, in this context, the word brother doesn’t mean the same as if siblings were talking. 

Throw the book at someone

Now let’s look at something a bit more complex.

The phrase “Throw the book at someone” is very interesting and can mean two completely different things depending on the context.

• I was playing with John and he got wild and threw the book from the shelf at me.

Here the context is literal. This means that there is no meaning other than the obvious. The two kids were playing and one took a book and threw it at the other.

Now let’s see the same sentence but with a whole different meaning.

• When he arrived at court for sentencing the judge threw the book at him.

In this context, we have a courtroom, a trial, and a judge. In this context, the sentence “throw the book at someone” means to punish them as hard as possible. When a judge throws the book at someone they are giving the accused person the maximum possible sentence. 

okay

And finally let’s look at a word we use very often – okay.

Okay can be used in so many different ways and it has a different meaning based on the context.

Here are a couple of examples and their context:

• “Are you okay?” – asking someone if they feel well because something bad must have happened
• “Okay, I’ll do it.” – accepting to do something you were asked
• “I don’t think she’s such a great singer. She’s just okay to me.” – here okay means medium, not too good, and not too bad
• “Ask her if she’s okay with Jason coming to the party?” – being okay with something means that you agree with it

Each of these sentences has a different context, a different situation where they can happen. They each have their own meaning within that context. In English, it’s almost impossible to divide context and meaning. So, if you’re ever thinking about which context you are speaking in just look around you. 

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