NVESTIGATING LEXICAL ACQUISITION PATTERNS: CONTEXT AND COGNITION

imposed by the relationship between the previously unknown word and the context in
which that word occurs that affect how well a given set of cues will actually be utilized
in a particular task and situation. In the next sections, the application of each of these
aspects of context utilization will be discussed.

2.4.1 Decoding OfExternal Context

When someone encounters new words in a verbal or written context, he∕she may attempt
to utilize the external context in which the words occur in order to figure out their
meanings. Stemberg & Powell’s (1983) theory specifies external contextual cues and the
mediating variables that influence the likelihood that these meanings will be correctly
inferred.

Contextual Cues

Context cues are hints contained in a passage that facilitate decoding the meaning of an
unknown word. Stemberg and Powell (1983) propose that contextual cues can be
classified into eight categories depending on the kind of information they provide. These
context cues are the following:

(a) temporal cues: cues regarding the duration or frequency of X (the unknown word) or
regarding when X can occur;

(b) spatial cues: cues regarding the general or specific location of X or possible locations
in which X can sometimes be found;

(c ) value cues: cues regarding the worth or desirability of X or regarding the kinds of
affect X arouses;

(d) stative descriptive cues: cues regarding physical properties of X (such as size, shape
colour, odour, feel etc);

(e) functional descriptive cues: cues regarding possible purposes of X, actions X can
perform, or potential uses of X;

(f) CausalZenablement cues: cues regarding possible causes of or enabling conditions of X;

(g) class membership cues: cues regarding one or more classes to which X belongs or
other members of one or more classes of which X is a member;

(h) equivalence cues: cues regarding the meaning of X or contrasts (such as antonym) to
the meaning of the X.

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