Let’s begin by asking ourselves: What is a discourse community? Well, according to a paper by Dan Melzer, a discourse community is used to “describe a community of people who share the same goals, the same methods of communication, the same genres, and the same lexis” (Melzer). A discourse community has some criteria that need to be met. There are a total of six different requirements. The first criterion is that it should have a “broadly agreed set of common public goals” (Melzer). Secondly, it needs “mechanisms of intercommunication among its members” (Melzer). Thirdly, “it uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback” (Melzer). The fourth one is that it needs to “utilize and hence possess one or more genres …show more content…
In this essay, I am going to analyze how a veterinary office is a community discourse. A veterinary office is a building that is used for the medical treatment of animals. Throughout this office, there are many different types of jobs. According to Highland Vet Clinic, the different positions in a vet's office are veterinarian, vet tech, vet assistant, receptionist/CSR, animal care attendant, groomer, practice manager, and laboratory technician. With all of those different jobs in one building, there are going to be a lot of different sources of communication, a lot of people working towards doing the same thing for the same cause, and so on. Throughout this essay, I will be providing different ways a vet's office is a discourse community. I am going to cover three different criteria: mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, how they use participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback, and then finally the threshold level of members and provide evidence on how each of them is used in a vets office. The first point that I want to cover is the “specific lexis” (Melzer). Typically, in vet offices, you will hear the different terms or lingos that are used around the
Researcher John Swales in “ The Concept of Discourse Community” explains that there are six characteristics that need to be identified for a group of people to be a discourse community. According to Swales, there are six characteristics that make up a discourse community. They are common public goals, mechanisms of intercommunication among members, participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback, utilizing one or more genres in communication, a specific lexis, and a threshold level of members with a degree of relevant content and discourse expertise (220-222). Discourse is in communities are all around us.
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technically oriented university with a diverse set of majors not limited to just engineering. From engineering students to history majors, Stevens makes sure to highlight the importance of understanding technology in today’s world. Computer science is one of the more prominent majors outside of the field of engineering and the Stevens freshmen in computer science have created a discourse community for all those taking entry level computer science courses. According to American Linguist John Swales, a discourse community is defined by a group of people with a means of entry maintained by following set goals and rules, as well as, communicating using genres and lexis unique to the community. It’s unsurprising
Just like everyone starved for a safe community, the Discourse Community serves a place to build trust, respect, and communication skill. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the word discourse means to express oneself especially in oral communication. Discourse community should be a place where one can live comfortably as it own self and not concealing its’ negative side. It should be a place where everybody treated each others like a family and where one can express its true feeling. Bethel Worship group is a community that I joined three years ago and still an active member there. Bethel Worship group is one of the department that Bethel Baptist Church If a person wanted to join a certain group, then “a person must learn the typical ways people in that community communicate and argue” (P30). This paper will prove that I successfully joined the Discourse Community through my logical appeal, emotional bonding, and my credibility.
The heuristic that is used for this research guide to identify a discourse communities is the six characteristics that John Swales identifies in “The
James T Porter describes a discourse community as a group who “Shares assumptions and what objects are appropriate for examination and discussion”, in other words; a group of people who are in some way or form connected. So, take engineers for example where every member pays the same price for entry, an engineering degree. This would mean that from day one every member is indoctrinated with the same way of thinking and share a common knowledge at the core of their education. The shared goals of the community are to design, develop and create new feats of engineering in their respective fields. In order for engineers to accomplish their goals, they need to work together and communicate. But, how exactly does an engineer communicate if they are
According to Swales, a discourse community is made up of individuals who share a set of common public goals, has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, has and uses one or more genres that help the community achieve its goals, has acquired some specific lexis, and has a reasonable ratio of novices and experts (220-222.). Even though that may seem like a large number of requirements in order to be defined as a discourse community, it truly is not. Everyone in this world belongs to at least one discourse community, while others belong to multiple communities. I decided to look at the Type 1 diabetes discourse community, because it is a community I am personally a part of.
A discourse community is a social collective that shares ideas, goals, values, and themes. Discourse communities existed in all facets of life, and are important to each individual’s social life. We all belong to varies discourse communities. The people you hang out with, the social networks you belong to, and even your favorite sports teams are discourse communities. Today we will look at a specific one; we will look at the discourse community of Mixed Martial Arts.
As a freshman that is entering an English 1301 class, I happened to study about the rhetoric essay and how (the or a) student could take part in a group of people with shared knowledge and similar ways of communicating about those goals. Being assigned into teams for water pollution after becoming a member in the Environmental Organization had assisted me with the knowledge of water pollution (logos); organizing, overcoming anxiety and gaining credibility (ethos); and developing an open-mind (pathos). In this essay, I will prove to the audiences how the group I joined in my high school in Viet Nam had helped me create a foundation to join other organizations and be more active in the communities later on.
A discourse community comprises of a group of people sharing a common and distinct mode of communication or discourse, especially within a particular domain of intellectual or social activity (Oxforddictionaries, 2017). Some of the discourse communities I consider to be a part of, include an Indian joint family, my peer group, high school education in India, the Apple community and education at Pace university.
The YWCA School of Dance in Bristol, Connecticut can be considered a discourse community based on the characteristics
When I began the quarter I had no previous any knowledge about "discourse", as the quarter progressed I have learned a lot about this idea of discourse. Although there are a lot of different ideas of what "discourse", I think they share some common things. You become a member of an institution or group, that share similarities and have a specific goals to accomplish that pertain to literacy. You have to be able to work as a group to make sure you accomplish these common goals. There are a couple of things that they have in common. First of all you have to have lexis, which is important in able to communicate and have these special language . This allows you to distinguish yourself from other communities, and allows you to communicate with the members of the group. If you don’t understand the lexis, than you will not be accepted by the group. Another important part is having one or more genres, which is important to make sure that the goals of the group get met. The last thing that I think is important is that you having boundaries or rules, that people know are not okay to do. For example, in an academic community everyone would agree that plagiarism is completely wrong and accepted. These are a couple of things that I found present throughout all the articles I read.
Life is like a massive highway that have infinite routes anyone can choose take to reach some type of designated goal. Those various routes lead to distinct exits, where one can discover a group or groups that share similarities dealing with viewpoints, beliefs, or understanding towards a particular goal. These groups can be identified as discourse communities. According to, “The Concept of Discourse Community,” in the textbook, Writing About Writing, John Swales stressed that in order to be classified as a discourse community the group has to have all six defining characteristics. Swales emphasized, “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals, mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, utilities and hence processes one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims, acquires specific lexis, and has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discourse expertise” (Swales, 221-222). Keeping this key detail in mind, there is numerous type of discourse out there.
Discourses are the “social and cultural practices through which individuals and groups use language to establish their identities…they provide ways of being, thinking, acting and using language so that people can identify themselves in social and cultural networks” Discourses affect peoples views on all things, for example, two different
As I embark on the journey toward attending veterinary school and becoming a veterinarian, my goals span the realms of professional, personal, and community aspirations. Professionally, my primary objective is to excel in veterinary medicine, specializing in the care and well-being of animals. I aspire to contribute to advancements in veterinary science, particularly in animal welfare and health areas. On a personal level, I am committed to continuous learning and growth within the veterinary field. From an early age, my fascination with animal welfare and a commitment to aiding even the tiniest creatures have been constants in my life.
discourse community is a group of people who share the same common goals. A example of a discourse community are Police Officers. Police Officers share the same goals to protect and serve the community. They also use their own text and language they speak to communicate. Police Officers within the discourse community have a relationship between language and power by sharing common public goals, having a common text used to report crime, using jargons inside the community to communicate, and receiving feedback from outside sources.