J.R. Firth

J.R. Firth was a linguist known for his work in the 20th century, especially in developing methods for analyzing language meaning and context. He emphasized that words derive their meaning from the surrounding words and overall context, rather than in isolation. This idea, called "contextual meaning," influenced how linguists study language, emphasizing that understanding language requires considering how words function within a sentence and social situation. Firth's insights laid important groundwork for fields like semantics, pragmatics, and later natural language processing, highlighting the importance of situational and relational factors in language interpretation.