Recontextualisation

Recontextualisation is a process that extracts text, signs or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context. Since the meaning of texts and signs depend on their context, recontextualisation implies a change of meaning, and often of the communicative purpose too. Linell defines recontextualisation as:

"the dynamic transfer-and-transformation of something from one discourse/text-in-context ... to another." (Linell 1998: 154)

Linell distinguishes between recontextualisation at three diffent levels:
* intratextual: recontextualisation within the same text, discourse or conversation. Intratextual recontextualisation plays an important part in most discourse in so far as it refers to what have been said before, or anticipiates what is to be said. In conversation, for instance, the one part usually infuses what the other part just - or earlier - has said in a new context thus adding new meaning to it. Such turns of decontextualisation and recontextualisation combined with metadiscursive regulation are crucial for the continual unfolding of texts, discourses and conversations. (Blommaert 2005: 47-48).
* intertextual: recontextualisation relations to specific texts, discourses or conversations. It is an important aspect of texts that they explicitly or implicitly fetch elements from other texts. The importance of this becomes clear when it is realised the meaning of a word is based on its meaning in other contexts; it could be an encyclopaedia, but more often its meaning stems from contexts in which it is used. See: intertextuality
* interdiscursive: recontextualisation between types of discourse, such a genres. In Fairclough, chains of genres is closely connected to interdiscursive recontextualisation. Chains of genres denotes how genres depend on each others discursive material, e.g. the relation between interviews, transscription of interviews and the analysis of interviews. However, interdiscursive recontextualisation is also abundant between large interdiscursive entities or formation and is part of society's discursive workshare. An example is the import of results from statistic theory into social science with the purpose of testing quantitative analyses. See: interdiscourse

Though recontextualisation often is use within linguistics, it also has interdisciplinary applications. Particularly, in Basil Bernstein's concept of the pedagogic device that consists of three fields: the fields of production, recontextualisation and reproduction. The field of reproduction is field of schooling institutions. The field of production is field where knowledge is produced (often universities). The field of recontextualisation mediates between these two fields. The recontextualisation field "is comprised of two sub-fields; namely, the official recontextualising field (ORF) and the pedagogic recontextualising field (PRF). The ORF consists of 'specialized departments and sub-agencies of the State and local educational authorities'. The PRF consists of university departments of education, their research as well as specialised educational media

References

Bernstein, Basil. (1990) The Social Construction of Pedagogic Discours. In: Class, Codes and Control. Vol IV.

Blommaert, Jan (2005). Discourse - a critical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Fairclough, Norman. (2003) Analysing Discourse - textual research for social research. New York: Routledge

Linell, Per (1998). Approaching Dialogue. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 1998.