DA and context (introduction in chronological order)The term context is used daily in every possible aspect of our lives. In linguistic analysis, context is used in almost every possible situation to broaden the scope of linguistic description. The term context, with its use in language analysis, dates back to Malinowski, who wanted to illustrate how code worked in contexts of use. He invoked the notion of context to explain the way in which language… functioned as “a mode of action.” As suggested by Malinowski, “the meaning of any single word depends to a large extent on its context” (1923:306). Sentence interpretation is an important factor when looked at through the prism of context, and since the early 1950s linguists have become increasingly aware of this importance. JR Firth, considered the founder of modern British linguistics, notes that logicians think that words and propositions carry meaning in themselves and this meaning is "separated from the participants in the context of the situation" (1957: 226). This approach seems to exclude speaker and listener, Firth thinks, and suggests that “voices should not be entirely dissociated from the social context in which they function”. Firth's suggestion was to regard all texts in modern spoken languages as having 'implications of enunciation' and the participants as always referring to a 'generalised context of situations' (1957: 226). Firth is concerned with placing the statement in the "social context", something that will later be supported by Hymes in his works of the early 1960s. Hymes treats the role of context in interpretation and analysis as limiting the range of possible interpretations and at the same time supporting… halfway through the article… he said that context is crucial. But how and why is it fundamental? Which sides of the context are applicable to which types of text? If contextual features are activated interdependently in an analysis, then an alteration in one of these features will automatically undermine the importance of the others. However, the question arises as to what kind of linguistic analysis of the text should provide a more considerable interpretive basis. Interpretation, therefore, is the process by which a discourse is developed starting from a text. Interpretation will constantly be a function of the connection between text and context. Regardless of how meticulous the analysis of a specific text may be, textual features must be contextually relevant. If this were the case, then we should investigate how different contexts can influence the same text and give rise to different interpretations.
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