ntext implies about the referential meaning. This systematic approach mirrors the manner in which we learn words in everyday settings. Hayakawa and Hayakawa offer two examples of this. We may determine the meaning of a word directly from its context as when we hear a word that is unknown to us and use contextual clues to decide what it means. Hayakawa and Hayakawa use the example of the term "oboe" and the person who overhears a conversation in which the oboe is said to be "played." The listener could conclude that the oboe is either a musical instrument or a game. When another sentence sets "oboe" in a musical context, "game" is eliminated as a possibility and, when playing the oboe is compared to playing the clarinet, the listener gets even closer to understanding what an oboe is, i.e., a musical instrument that may be similar to a clarinet (Hayakawa and Hayakawa 35). Even more common, they note, are cases where we learn the meanings of words in context but might not be able to define them with any accuracy. Thus a golfer is repeatedly told
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