Midterm Assignment

Topic: Board Question

Course title- Discourse Analysis

Course code- ENG3201

Submitted By

Name: Fahmida Easmin Tamanna

ID : 183431003

Semester: 8th

Batch: 21st

Submitted to

Zakia Shurovi

Lecturer, Department of English

Date of Submission: 12.04.2021

Question: Elaborate and exemplify the roles of context.
Context means any situation where language is used. Context related to time,
place, speaker, listener. Context refers to the setting in which communication
takes place. The context helps establish meaning and can influence what is said
and how it is said. Because of the different context the meaning of the sentence
can be change. Because of the different situation one sentence can convey two
types of meaning. Context has meanings at two levels, namely, the linguistic
level and the non-linguistic level. The discourse analyst is investigating the use
of the language in context by a speaker/ writer. Linguistic elements which require
contextual information here, now, I, you, then and that The relationship between
the speaker and the utterance, on the particular occasion of use, tan with the
potential relationship of one sentence to another, regardless of their use
Interpreting reference, presupposition, implicature and inference.

Our understanding of this definition can be deepened by the following 
example.

a) A batch of students are going to attend their collage picnic on time 10:00
AM.so the students and teacher are gathered on the station to catch the
bus on time . one friend call Leo just reach to the station at 10:00 Am just at
the correct time when bus arrived, so the other friends said out loud
“Wow Leo you are just right on time”
b) A group of friends are going to watch a movie on 8Pm at the Movie theater
so they all are waiting for their one friend name Leo to join them on time
but unfortunately Leo entered to the movie hall at 8:45 Pm and then all
friends said out loud
“Wow Leo you are just right on time”

Clearly we can do a formal analysis on the speech and in both case the speaker
says “Leo you are just right on time” it is clear however that the utterance of the
context of the situation which they are cited, would be taken to convey very
different massage
a) In the passage A the friends praise Leo by saying that you came to the station
just on time and this is conveying the literal meaning by maintaining the
situation and place and time. Here just on time means he maintained the
correct time to reach.so the sentence convey the meaning by context.

b) In the passage B the speakers when they say that” Leo you are just one time”
by they mean the opposite meaning because Leo entered in the hall after half
an hour so he was late to attend the movie, that’s why they said it by criticized
him that you are right on time. Here “right on time” means slow and late.so
here because of the different context the meaning of the sentence is changed.