What are good examples of how context changes meaning?

In order to understand how context can change the meaning of a word or sentence we first have to understand what context even is.

Context is one of the most important things in the English language. Context is actually pretty simple to understand. The sentence is the thing that you are saying, and context is everything outside and around the sentence. Context can be linked to the place, people, country, situation, and everything else as well.

While it may seem very complex because almost everything can be a part of the context, don’t worry because it’s not. The easiest way to understand context is simply by looking around you. That is the context in which you are speaking. 

Let me give you a couple of situations that create a context.

In a bar context

Imagine if you are in a bar. So that is the context in which you are speaking. You wouldn’t ask a bartender to change your currency because it’s not an exchange office. However, in a bar you can order a drink, while in a store you can’t.

In a hospital context

Another example is the hospital. In a hospital, you can talk about your problems, medication, or anything in general. But you can’t really ask a nurse for financial advice, or what does a poem mean. That’s reserved for banks and schools. 

This is what context is in in general. It’s simply put the world around you at the time.

Context gets a bit more complicated when we start talking about how it changes meaning. In order to understand that better let’s go over some examples and see how context influenced them.

Examples of how context changes the meaning

Let’s start simple:

• He’s my brother.

At first, you might think that there is no way for such a simple sentence to change meaning because of context. Well, a brother doesn’t have to be a blood relative. In other contexts, it can mean that the person you are describing is like a brother.

Let’s put this into the context of two African-American’s talking. In this case, the sentence “He’s my brother” can mean that the person is like a brother to him. People of color often refer to each other as brothers and sisters. So, in this context, the word brother doesn’t mean the same as if siblings were talking. 

Throw the book at someone

Now let’s look at something a bit more complex.

The phrase “Throw the book at someone” is very interesting and can mean two completely different things depending on the context.

• I was playing with John and he got wild and threw the book from the shelf at me.

Here the context is literal. This means that there is no meaning other than the obvious. The two kids were playing and one took a book and threw it at the other.

Now let’s see the same sentence but with a whole different meaning.

• When he arrived at court for sentencing the judge threw the book at him.

In this context, we have a courtroom, a trial, and a judge. In this context, the sentence “throw the book at someone” means to punish them as hard as possible. When a judge throws the book at someone they are giving the accused person the maximum possible sentence. 

okay

And finally let’s look at a word we use very often – okay.

Okay can be used in so many different ways and it has a different meaning based on the context.

Here are a couple of examples and their context:

• “Are you okay?” – asking someone if they feel well because something bad must have happened
• “Okay, I’ll do it.” – accepting to do something you were asked
• “I don’t think she’s such a great singer. She’s just okay to me.” – here okay means medium, not too good, and not too bad
• “Ask her if she’s okay with Jason coming to the party?” – being okay with something means that you agree with it

Each of these sentences has a different context, a different situation where they can happen. They each have their own meaning within that context. In English, it’s almost impossible to divide context and meaning. So, if you’re ever thinking about which context you are speaking in just look around you. 

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