?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Rethinking+Context+as+a+Social+Construct&rft.creator=Akman%2C+Varol&rft.subject=Pragmatics&rft.description=This+paper+argues+that+in+addition+to+the+familiar+approach+using%0Aformal+contexts%2C+there+is+now+a+need+in+artificial+intelligence+to%0Astudy+contexts+as+social+constructs.+As+a+successful+example+of+the%0Alatter+approach%2C+I+draw+attention+to+%60interpretation'+(in+the+sense+of%0Aliterary+theory)%2C+viz.+the+reconstruction+of+intended+meaning+of+a%0Aliterary+text+that+takes+into+account+the+context+in+which+the+author%0Aassumed+the+reader+would+place+the+text.+An+important+contribution%0Ahere+comes+from+Wendell+Harris%2C+enumerating+the+seven+crucial%0Adimensions+of+context%3A+knowledge+of+reality%2C+knowledge+of+language%2C%0Aand+the+authorial%2C+generic%2C+collective%2C+specific%2C+and+textual%0Adimensions.+Finally%2C+two+recent+approaches+to+interpretation%2C+due+to%0AJon+Barwise+and+Jerry+Hobbs%2C+are+analyzed+as+useful+attempts+which%0Aalso+come+to+grips+with+the+notion+of+context.%0A%0AIt+must+be+noted+that+there+has+been+a+considerable+body+of%0Acontributions+connecting+linguistic+structure+with+social+context.+For%0Aexample%2C+anthropological+linguistics%2C+from+Bronislaw+Malinowski%0Aonwards%2C+has+underlined+the+cultural+context+of+discourse+as+essential%0Ato+meaning.+This+viewpoint+became+prominent+with+the+emergence+of+the%0Aethnography+of+speaking+in+anthropology.+Thus%2C+conversation+analysis%0Arepresents+a+consistent+formal+effort+to+contribute+to+an+analysis+of%0Athe+nature+of+context.++While+this+paper+emphasizes+and+reviews+the%0Aliterary+theory+approach%2C+it+makes+various+contacts+with+works+of+the%0Alatter+kind+(e.g.%2C+the+landmark+contributions+of+Erving+Goffman%2C+John%0AGumperz%2C+William+Hanks%2C+John+Heritage%2C+Dell+Hymes%2C+et+al.)+in+order+to%0Adeliver+a+more+balanced+and+complete+study+of+the+dimensions+of%0Acontext.&rft.publisher=Elsevier&rft.contributor=Mey%2C+Jacob+L.&rft.date=2000&rft.type=Journal+(Paginated)&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpostscript&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F960%2F2%2Fjopfinal.ps&rft.identifier=++Akman%2C+Varol++(2000)+Rethinking+Context+as+a+Social+Construct.++%5BJournal+(Paginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F960%2F