The word, sentence, text and discourse semantics of the lexeme Kontext 'context'

This paper deals with the typical use of the lexeme Kontext 'context' in different linguistic settings of the German language. Previous diachronic studies of this lexeme are discussed and a systematic analysis of its typical uses in linguistics and pragmatics is provided. Diachronically the lexical meaning of the word Kontext shows a semantic enrichment (based on metaphorization) and a splitting of its original meaning, i.e. the dominant tendency to refer to the linguistic environment, rather than the inherent characteristics of the objects involved. On the textual level the corpus-based collocation analysis and the accompanying context analysis reveal a close semantic connection of the Kontext-tokens to the topical and significant components of the text, which indicate a text theme on the principle of pars pro toto. As a consequence, the linkage between a text theme and a discourse type makes it possible to establish the typical usage of the lexeme Kontext within the six institutional discourse practices: culture, politics, public events, leisure activities, science, and economy.