IVAN CHAPARRO

DISCOURSE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

As part of our daily lives, we have different forms of communicating with our peers and
relatives. We are accustomed to know our limits on what to say while either texting or talking to
someone in person. Either way, we know how to send our message through the mind of the
listener and audience by the use of the appropriate terms and tone.
In the Discourse Community map we developed in my group, we included our most
common divisions of associations that are included in our normal day routines. Academics,
which is the most common group which we communicate with, is the first community we
included. Within this group, we associate with our fellow classmates, Professors, and even the
people we meet walking around campus. Family is our second community which we chose. Our
parents, siblings, and other parts of our family belong in this community since we are most
closely attached to them. Our final community is Social Life which includes our friends and even
some of our coworkers.
If we are going to ask a question about an assignment, we refer to the Academic
community since they have the resources to help us. Obviously, there are certain types of ways
we discuss problems with those belonging in that community. For example, we cannot say Yo
can you help me with this? We ask a question with a distinct vocabulary by saying I have a
few questions and I would like to know if you will be able to help. The vocabulary you choose
to use has to be direct, professional, and respectful. Common topics discussed here include
assignments, projects, school events, and even some social topics such as school events and
more. The most important aspect here is that we all share a certain goal, which is, succeeding.
We all collaborate with each other in order to reach that goal, since we have the same view to

IVAN CHAPARRO
DISCOURSE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

complete our degree. In order for that to be accomplished, we communicate our expressions in
ways people in our class or group understand in order to progress.
Receiving a lecture from your parents or even discussing what to do in the weekend
requires a tone of attentiveness and respect. Hey mom/dad and Good Morning! would
include some of the common phrases used. Our parents and siblings are mostly part of our daily
lives making this community the most associated with. In essence, every family has a goal of
keeping everyone united and informed. Family meetings often happen if there should be a vote
on certain ideas or discussions. For example, a common topic might be back to school since we
are still within the first month of school. In my family, we have some slang words and nicknames
such as Jefe or Jefa (they mean mom and dad in Spanish), but all fall into the respectful category.
Members of this community only include those who are in our family, so not everyone can be a
part of it in contrast to Social and Academic communities.
Hanging out with friends is a normal part of our life, for most of us of course. We tend to
be a bit more relaxed when talking amongst friends since we feel there is less restriction in
vocabulary. There are certain guidelines also, such as respecting the curfews of your friends and
also being respectful towards each others parents. Also, the most common topics in this group
include school, work, family, and events. There might also be an inclusion of certain nicknames
for those who either deserve one or prefer to be called by one. For example, my friend Francisco
goes by the name Chacho. It has humor to it, but is still respectful. There is no certain goal in
this community, other than entertainment and for having a social life. In my social life, I have
friend that share the same goals as me, that is to finish college. We try and help each other Just as

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DISCOURSE COMMUNITY RESPONSE

we would in our Academic community, but still know each other very well. Not everyone can be
considered to be part of your social community, mostly only friends.
In conclusion, we all have communities that vary upon who we decide are part of them.
As I have described above, all three communities have the same guidelines which include respect
and participation. Mostly, the only element that changes is the tone and the vocabulary, but not
the core values. We learn about this as early as childhood, because we figure that we cannot talk
to our parents the same way we talk to our friends. Classmates and Professors are not as close to
us as these two communities, but greatly depend in our ability to learn and our future. Overall,
we interact with these groups every day without noticing and that is an essential part of our daily
lives.