John Benjamins Publishing Company
What is a context?
Abstract
Although most scholars would accept that the notion of context is fundamental not only for pragmatics, but also for linguistics in general, robust theories of context are lacking. After sketching traditional approaches that suppose a scale between neutral and rich contexts, mapping aspects of this scale into components or levels of linguistic description, the notion of context in recent discussions of minimalism versus contextualism is focused. It turns out that this debate gains momentum exactly because of different conceptualisations of the notion of context. Findings from research in experimental pragmatics, especially from a psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic point of view, may help here because aspects of a context are directly investigated.
Abstract
Although most scholars would accept that the notion of context is fundamental not only for pragmatics, but also for linguistics in general, robust theories of context are lacking. After sketching traditional approaches that suppose a scale between neutral and rich contexts, mapping aspects of this scale into components or levels of linguistic description, the notion of context in recent discussions of minimalism versus contextualism is focused. It turns out that this debate gains momentum exactly because of different conceptualisations of the notion of context. Findings from research in experimental pragmatics, especially from a psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic point of view, may help here because aspects of a context are directly investigated.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Linguistic perspectives on context
- What is a context? 9
- Context in neurolinguistics 33
- Theorising context 55
- Context 81
- Contexts in interaction 105
- What’s non-linguistic visual context? 129
-
Part II.Case studies on context
- Emergent contexts 153
- The role of context in interpreting implicit meaning aspects 175
- Contextually enriched argument linking 199
- Modelling context within a constraint-based account of quantifier usage 229
- Subject and name index 251
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Linguistic perspectives on context
- What is a context? 9
- Context in neurolinguistics 33
- Theorising context 55
- Context 81
- Contexts in interaction 105
- What’s non-linguistic visual context? 129
-
Part II.Case studies on context
- Emergent contexts 153
- The role of context in interpreting implicit meaning aspects 175
- Contextually enriched argument linking 199
- Modelling context within a constraint-based account of quantifier usage 229
- Subject and name index 251
