“Contextese”: How Context Helps You Understand a Language

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Archive note: I wrote this article in 2013 after a comedy clip reminded me how much we infer from setting, body language and familiar story patterns.

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Here is the clip that prompted the idea:

I came across this strange video while taking a break from a project. It parodies an episode of Law & Order with chickens instead of people, so the dialogue is made up of clucks.

Even so, you may be able to follow what is probably being “said”, especially if you know the usual structure of Law & Order. Which parts did you infer?

Why share this on a language-learning blog? It demonstrates something I have relied on while trying to understand languages I did not yet know well: context can help you form a plausible interpretation from partial information.

For instance, after two hours of learning Polish, I picked out the one or two words I understood in a phrase and used the surrounding situation to fill in some gaps. That helped me follow the gist better than those few words alone would suggest.

I had not magically learnt a large amount of Polish in that short time. I was making a best guess from a small amount of language plus the immediate context, even though much of what I heard still sounded like noise.

After two months of learning Egyptian Arabic, I had my first in-person conversation and it moved into topics beyond what I could express myself. I took what I did understand, considered where the conversation seemed to be going and inferred the likely meaning. That was enough for me to follow the gist.

Seeing through the noise with context

When I start learning a language, much of what I hear is not yet intelligible. It can feel like listening to the chickens in the clip, with an occasional word I understand among the noise.

But I also have plenty of context to help me: facial expressions and body language, pauses, volume and tone, what was said just before, who I am talking to, what we are likely to discuss and what is happening around us. Years of everyday communication give adults practice with these contextual cues. I jokingly call that skill “Contextese”.

Context is one reason we can watch a programme before we understand every line and attempt real exchanges before we are fluent. The language may still contain plenty of noise, but the situation gives us clues.

Those clues are useful, but they are not proof. Context can also lead you to the wrong interpretation, especially when you do not share the same cultural assumptions. Treat your inference as a hypothesis and check it with the speaker when the detail matters. In medical, legal, safety or other consequential situations, do not rely on context alone.

Language learning is not only vocabulary and grammar. It is also practice in communication, including noticing context, testing your understanding and asking for clarification. “Contextese” will not replace the language, but it can help you participate while you are still learning.