A discourse community is “a group of people sharing a common and distinct mode of communication or discourse, especially within a particular domain of intellectual or social activity” according to Oxford Dictionary. There are many aspects and roles that make up a discourse community. Some examples being sharing common goals, intercommunication, and participatory mechanisms. By sharing common goals, it allows for the discourse to be formed. Without this thing in common there’s no interest to be shared. Intercommunication is communication that occurs within a group. Communication is essential for the group to be united and collaborative. This also allows the group to be formed by sharing your opinions and ideas with others. Participatory mechanisms are when groups test their members’ allegiance to them. This is often by participating in group activities and proving your willingness to be a part of that group. Although everyone might share things in common this can of course lead to problems. One being the threshold membership level. In this approach there is a hierarchy of members inside the group. This can often cause animosity with the group members which then leads to the whole group being affected. There are many different types of discourse communities. Some being coworkers, classmates, sports or music fans. Even though all of them may be very different they still have that cohesiveness in common.
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