One of the most complicated issues of present-day linguistics is the relationship of three types of knowledge: linguistic knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and encyclopedic knowledge. After discussing the complexity of their interplay from different perspectives, the chapter presents a model to explain their relationship. The model has linguistic knowledge on one side, and the sociocultural background knowledge (world knowledge) on the other side. There is constant interaction between the two sides in language use. For analytic reasons, within the sociocultural background knowledge there a distinction is made between conceptual knowledge and encyclopedic knowledge. According to this model, meaning is constructed in the dynamic interplay of actual situational context and lexical items, with the context representing the actual, present, situational, ever-changing side of sociocultural background and the lexical item(s) embodying previous experiences and relations in the sociocultural background. The lexical items with their semantic properties (linguistic knowledge) represent prior reoccurring experience (conceptual knowledge), and the actual situational context triggers the other part of world knowledge that we previously called encyclopedic knowledge. The difference between the two types of sociocultural background knowledge is that the conceptual knowledge part is immediately tied to linguistic knowledge while the other type of sociocultural background knowledge (encyclopedic knowledge) is called upon as needed in language use.

The chapter examines the relationship of three knowledges: linguistic knowledge, conceptual knowledge and encyclopedic knowledge. It is argued that within the socio-cultural background knowledge we should distinguish between conceptual knowledge and encyclopedic knowledge. According to the model described in the chapter, meaning is constructed in the dynamic interplay of actual situational context and prior context encapsulated in lexical items. The context represents the actual, present, situational, ever-changing side of socio-cultural background and the lexical item(s) used in the interaction encapsulate previous experiences and relations in the socio-cultural background.

First language is defined and ELF is related to the definition. Then the intracultural–intercultural continuum is explained. After that variables that affect movement on the continuum are discussed. These variables include proficiency, preferred ways of saying things and preferred ways of organizing thoughts, common ground, intersubjectivity and context-sensitivity.