Keyword: «limits of a linguist’s competence»

The article addresses the problem of the limits of a linguist’s competence when it is necessary to involve extralinguistic context in conducting linguistic research or forensic linguistic expertise. The practical part of the article consists of an analysis of a fragment of messenger correspondence, where a correct interpretation of numerical designations is only possible with reference to the macrocontext and extralinguistic context. Finally, the article formulates the conditions under which the use of extralinguistic context remains within the linguist’s area of competence.