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Secretary ›› 2022, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6): 72-82.

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Exploring the Multiple Contexts of Official Documents

YANG Xia   

  • Online:2022-11-15 Published:2022-12-01

Abstract:

An official document is a speech act by which a social organization uses linguistic symbols to convey the meaning of management ideas. The intended meaning of an official document is always generated by the interaction between the discourse and its context. The context can limit, complement,and interpret the meaning-construction of the discourse. The successful realization of these contextual functions depends on the discursive context of the document as represented by the linguistic form. It also depends on the interplay of various contexts,such as the communicative context of a particular management event,the social management environment in which it takes place,and the cognitive framework of the subjects. Therefore,the context of the official document is a dynamic system composed of multiple contexts. This system’s constituent elements are both interrelated and interdependent,which provides the appropriate background conditions for the accurate expression and effective understanding of the meaning of the official document discourse.

Key words: official document, context system, discourse context, event context, cognitive context