According to “Discourse Communities” by Writing @ Saint Leo University and John Swales “The Concept of Discourse Community” there can be multiple ways to figure what is and isn’t a discourse community but you always need to look for certain defining characteristics. Both texts emphasize the crucial parts of identifying what makes a discourse community. First and most important, the group must have a shared common goal. Whether in an academic, workplace, or social setting, every single community must have a purpose. Second, the discourse community will most likely have a specific way of communication. For example, meetings, emails, or even a group chat. Another key feature is the presence of a distinct type of language that most people outside of the community might have a difficult time understanding. That language meant for the group is known as a lexis. This essay also argues how participation can be very important as well. The idea that everyone is working together and helping each in different ways is a crucial concept of an overall discourse community. This could relate to feedback. Allowing yourself to receive feedback from others and use that to better yourself and improve the entire community in a positive way must be something you need to do in order to fit into a group. The last characteristic is a genre. A genre, or format in other words, could be things like research papers or reports. These are used to help achieve everyone’s objective. Once you analyze and see that a group contains all these concepts, it can be identified as a discourse community.
Leave a Reply