范文及封面附件范文封面附件.doc

1. troduction of Context 1.1　The Definition ofIn context　 Context is defined as a unity of shared knowledge which affects a certain linguistic event in linguistic communication Longman Dictionary in Linguistics defines it as message existing before and after the word, phrase, utterance, and text under discussion; it is helpful to the understanding of the specific meaning of the word, phrase, utterance, and text. Contexts are alignments of reality along five different axes: linguistic, situational, interactional, cultural, and intertextual. Because language is at the intersection of the individual and the social, it both reflects and construes the social reality called‘context’. Context is the matrix created by language as discourse and as a form of social practice. Context should be viewed not as a natural given, but as a social construct, the product of linguistic choices made by two or more individuals interacting through language. Broadly, the term “context” refers to all the different situations involved in language communication. Context consists of any elements invoked by any participants, and consequently‘participants’ conceptions of each other’s mental contexts may be wrong or, more likely, only partially right … any physical set of circumstances could lend itself to an infinity of possible shared conceptions and relevance. Context is not simply referred to the preceding linguistic text, or the environment in which the utterance takes place, but the set of assumptions brought to bear at the intended interpretation. Context connects with one of the key problems in interpretation: recognizing the cultural relationships between what is referred to, as well as the linguistic relationships between elements in the linguistic system. 1.2　History of studies on context　 For the past thirty years at least, applied linguistic and teachers of English have talked about the importance of “understanding language in context”. It is often unclear what is meant by ‘context’.