August 31st, 2020

English 1121

Word count: 350

Micro-Activity #2

Quote #1: “These DCs have acquired many abbreviations and acronyms as well as some special words and phrases that are needed in order to get their jobs done more quickly and more efficiently—terminologies that are not used, nor even often understood, by the general public.”

Response: This quote caught my attention because local discourse communities do have their own abbreviations and acronyms. When I started working at the company I currently work for, I would hear my coworkers using many acronyms (such as CO, PO, COI, RFI, RFC etc.) that I didn’t understand at first; but, after a couple of months I was using them as well. If I talk to somebody outside my job using these acronyms, most likely they won’t understand what they mean.

Quote #2: “Today, these kinds of DC are much aided by modern conveniences such as email and the cell phone. In some cases, they may produce a newsletter or have some other kind of publication that is distributed among the members.”

Response: Indeed, these modern forms of communication have helped focal discourse communities. A group of people that share the same ideas, hobbies, political views and business interests can easily communicate even when being far from each other, because of these modern ways of communication. I believe that one of the reasons why the meaning of the words “Discourse Communities” has develop is because the world has changed substantially with technology.

One community I was part of was my local church. The church was organized into different groups, and I was part of the youth group. In this group we had the responsibility to organize events and activities for the adolescents in the church.  We would set up meetings to discuss plans and agendas.

I also volunteered in a group in my hometown, whose purpose was to bring food to the most needed ones. We also organized events for children during Christmas and during the month of April which was designated as the month of childhood in Colombia. This group would raise funds and find sponsors to be able to help the community.