Exploring Discourse Communities

Study Notes

Discourse Communities

A discourse community is a group of people who share common goals, values, and beliefs and use language to achieve these goals.
Not everyone who speaks a language is part of a discourse community.

Characteristics of Discourse Communities

A discourse community has its own language variety, genre, and lexis.
It has a shared knowledge and common values.
Members of a discourse community share a common goal and communicate with each other to achieve this goal.
A discourse community is not defined by geographical location or social class.

Examples of Discourse Communities

Academic disciplines, such as biology or physics, are examples of discourse communities.
Professional organizations, such as lawyers or doctors, are also discourse communities.

Multiple Discourse Communities

A person can be a member of multiple discourse communities.
Membership in multiple discourse communities can lead to language contact and the development of new language varieties.

Close-Knit and Loose-Knit Discourse Communities

Close-knit discourse communities have a clear and specific purpose, and members are closely tied to each other.
Loose-knit discourse communities have a more general purpose, and members are not as closely tied to each other.
Examples of close-knit discourse communities include academic departments, and examples of loose-knit discourse communities include online forums.

Discourse Communities and Speech Communities

A speech community is a group of people who share a language or language variety.
A discourse community is a subset of a speech community, and is defined by its common goals and values.
Not all speech communities are discourse communities.

Language Variety in Discourse Communities

Language variety is an important aspect of discourse communities.
Members of a discourse community use language to achieve their goals and to create a sense of identity.
Language variety can also be used to exclude outsiders from a discourse community.

Description

Test your knowledge on discourse communities and their unique characteristics with this quiz. Explore the shared goals, specialized terminology, and communication patterns that define these communities. Challenge yourself and see how well you understand the dynamics of discourse communities.