Contextualization in sociolinguistics refers to the use of language and discourse to signal relevant aspects of an interactional or communicative situation. Basil Bernstein (1990 [1971]) uses contextualization when referring to the reformulation of scientific knowledge in pedagogical contexts, for instance in textbooks. John Gumperz (1982a, 1982b) and others in interactional sociolinguistics study subtle "contextualization cues", for instance intonation, that allow language users to infer contextually adequate meanings of discourse.
