Professor: Joe Brogdon

Thursday, Feb. 1 – COMMENT BELOW – How would you define the concept of a discourse community?

After reading the Perri Klass article, and seeing her experience with being inside of a DC, how would you define the concept of a DC? Write a three to four sentence definition in the comments section below.

Here is a sample framework of sentence starters that you can use as a model or adapt to structure your definition.

  • A discourse community is _____________________________________________________
  • One important thing that makes a discourse community is ___________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________.

  • Another key feature is __________________________________________________________.
  • Discourse communities are ____________________________________________.

10 Comments

  1. William

    In my eyes, I’d say a discourse community is like a set off smaller subset of culture, that usually has some unique things that set it off from just being brought up casually in a conversation, if you aren’t in that same group.

    Not many people would just talk about certain smaller hobbies that they have extreme interest, whether that be Programming, or Soccer, then go into the intricates of certain player’s plays.

    Oftentimes these kind of cultures contain jargon that unconsciously isolates people from properly integrating themselves in the culture due to the knowledge gap that these communities display, and a lot of the word choices seem to have rules under certain circumstances, or just overall sound foreign to the casual listener that isn’t apart of the group.

  2. Jiayan Zhu

    A discourse community is it’s characterized by a shared language and ways of interacting that facilitate effective communication within the community. One important thing that makes a discourse community is people that in that community have the same or similar goal that everyone in the community it working towards. A key feature might be specific terminology or jargon unique to the discourse community. This specialized language helps members communicate efficiently and distinguishes them from outsiders.

  3. Isidore

    A discourse community is a group of people that share the same values to achieve a goal they have set for themselves. One important thing that makes a discourse community is the different things you can learn by getting involved with the different genres of groups. Another key feature is they have there own unwritten rules that’s related to their groups.

  4. Ravishan Munasinghe

    A discourse community is a group that is created by people who have shared basic beliefs and values. One important thing that makes a discourse community is that the majority of the group have common public goals which also help them to communicate better and help each other. Another key feature that is important that is that methods of communicating among members, which also shows that it is a discourse community.

  5. Luis

    A discourse community is a community composed of individuals that perform in the same field or pursue the same hobby. The members of discourse communities share particular terms or words that are used to define something that only applies to their particular field. People that form part of a discourse community usually support each other in order to achieve a common goal or to improve in their common area of interest.

  6. Danny Acero

    A discourse community is a group of people who share similar goals and can communicate with each other. One important thing that makes a discourse community is common public goals, genres that define the group and communication methods. Another key feature is the importance to keep members connected and working well together.

  7. Yahir

    Discourse communities are communities that share a different yet similar kind of language that is easily more understandable within a specific community, making communication very effective. Discourse communities tend to have people who use different kinds of phrases or slang that mainly people in the community would understand. Discourse communities also change in grammar that is understandable to those who are in the community.

  8. Melanie Sacta

    A discourse community is language that is used amongst groups of people with shared experiences and is only understood by said groups of people. One important thing that makes a discourse community is common interests as well as cultural implications in some cases. Upbringing, where you are from, hobby’s..etc are all things that bring group of people together. Within those groups people tend to have lingo and dialogue that only they understand. Another key feature is grammatical conventions/ slang and abbreviations. Discourse communities are built off of the need to communicate efficiently, effectively, and as a sense of comradery. 

  9. Norman

    A discourse community is a group of people with similar interests. This could be either an activity that they all have a similar interest, or a career path. Often times they use terminology associated with their community.

  10. syeda monjur

    A discourse community is group of people who have something in common and have shared experiences. They are able to understand each other and relate to one another because of this. A specific language is developed through their interactions within their shared situations. This “special” language is birthed through their bond and helps them grow closer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *