contexthow
Contexthow is a theoretical construct in communication studies and computational linguistics that denotes the extent to which contextual information modulates interpretation of utterances, actions, or texts. The term was introduced in 2017 by researchers at the Center for Pragmatic Studies as a way to describe the dynamic influence of context on meaning, particularly in cross-situational and cross-cultural settings. It gained traction in NLP as models sought to incorporate context beyond sentence-level text.
It encompasses linguistic context (co-text), situational context (physical setting, goals), cultural context (shared norms), and discourse
Researchers assess contexthow through experiments that present participants with sentences under varying contexts, measure changes in
In NLP, contexthow can improve coreference resolution, sentiment analysis, and intent recognition by leveraging broader situational
Limitations include subjectivity, variation in how people define and weight context, and challenges in standardizing measurements