Kyle Ziemnick (University of Virginia School of Law) has posted The Association Game: Applying Noscitur a Sociis and Ejusdem Generis (111 Va. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2025)) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The Supreme Court has applied noscitur a sociis, often called the associated words canon, in many notable decisions-including the recent Fischer v. United States. This canon has a longstanding history in American jurisprudence, but interpreters face challenges in finding a common theme among words or phrases and supporting it with surrounding context. And some scholars argue judges can use noscitur to bring in external policy preferences and ideological beliefs. This Note proposes several steps to guide the use of noscitur and, by extension, its cousin ejusdem generis, including the clear identification of an association and multiple common themes, and principles for transparent contextual a(nalysis. These steps can shield judges from the appearance of guessing or ideologically influenced decisions and encourage more accurate results by providing a clear roadmap of these canons' proper application. They also may bring interpreters of all methodologies closer to their interpretive goals.
An interesting student note. For a different perspective, see Pragmatics and Textualism, which uses foundational ideas in the philosophy of languge and theoretical linguistics to develop an account of the role of context in statutory communication.