Discourse and Context: A Sociocognitive Approach

How do social situations influence language use and discourse? This book is the first monograph to present a multidisciplinary theory of context. Traditionally, context was defined as “objective” social variables (such as gender or class of speakers). Teun A. van Dijk argues that it is not the social situation itself that influences the structures of text and talk, but rather the definition of the relevant properties of the communicative situation by the discourse participants. The new theoretical notion developed to account for these subjective mental constructs is that of context models, which play a crucial role in interaction and in the production and comprehension of discourse. They dynamically control how language use and discourse are adapted to their situational environment, and hence define under what conditions they are appropriate. Context models are the missing link between discourse, communicative situation and society, and hence are also part of the foundation of pragmatics. In this book, context models are studied especially from a (socio) linguistic and cognitive perspective.

In another book published by Cambridge University Press, Society and Discourse Teun A. van Dijk develops the social psychological, sociological and anthropological dimensions of the theory of context.