As an experienced conversationalist who has been using verbal words since childhood, you can easily move from one group of people to another by adjusting your tone, your vocabulary, and your syntax accordingly. Often without reflection, you talk to your parents differently than to your teachers and differently from both groups when alone with your friends. You would not dream of using the same ways of speaking in the locker room and the church sanctuary.
Most writers understand the concept of audience and why it is important to understand who their audience is when they compose. Yet simply understanding the “who” of your audience is just the beginning for experienced writers. Effective writing, writing that works and delivers the intended message and impact, must be embedded in the discourse community it is destined to serve.
What is a discourse community? A discourse community is a group of people who “speak the same language” or in other words people who have an interest in certain topics, share a lot of knowledge on those topics and possess a common vocabulary to discuss those topics. Have you ever been around a group of people who shared a common passion about which you knew nothing? Maybe it’s a particular sport or activity, artistic talent or work, but probably without sharing that same passion you find it hard to follow their conversation. This is because you are not a member of that discourse community. As they speak the same language as you – English – the context of the discourse community changes the way a language is used as well as the content of that language.
You already belong to several discourse communities as a result of your family, ethnic and religious background as well as your personal interests and activities. Students enter the larger discourse community of the institution they attend as well as many smaller discourse communities within that institution including specific classrooms, clubs and organizations, and majors and programs. Workers enter their employer’s larger discourse community and depending on the size and focus. of the institution may also enter smaller discourse communities also within it. For example, in a hospital a nurse could belong to the discourse community of the hospital, the nursing staff and the Emergency Department.
So why is it important for writers to consider a discourse community?
Discourse is a conversation or a broader and more formal discussion of our ideas either speaking or writing. Discourse is important because that is how we communicate in the social world in which we live and work. The social groups in which we communicate are called communities. A community is a group of people connected for a common purpose or purpose. So a discourse community is a social group that participates in discourse.
When you participate in a discourse community, you need to understand what language is used, how a language is used, what knowledge is generally possessed in the community, and what motivated and interested the community. Understanding a discourse community extends beyond simply knowing your audience and purpose – it means understanding what words to use, how to frame those words into units (sentences, paragraphs, etc.), and what information community members already possess.
Once you understand the concept of discourse community and begin to apply it to your writing, you will immediately see an increase in the effectiveness of your writing. Then you can start making informed decisions about every aspect of your writing from the word choice, grammar and sentence / paragraph construction to tone and level of formality.
