Discourse Community Response
Throughout history, individuals have shown a tendency to form groups and congregations that share their same goals, views, abilities, etc. But I had failed to notice how becoming part of a community could greatly affect the way we express ourselves and communicate with each other in a daily basis. For example, when I lived in Mexico, even though I knew how to speak English, I would have had no clue what simple phrases like “What’s up with it?” or “How’s it hanging?” could have meant! It wasn’t until I started hanging out with people from El Paso that I learned many of the slang and lingo that usually pertains to the American community. As time passed by, little by little I became more cognizant and acquainted with the specialized language that many distinct communities use to converse; not only in English, but also in other areas of my life.
Being a student is nothing new. To most of us (if not all of us), academics have compromised a huge part of our life. From our early years to the present times, we have consistently been part of an endless academic circle, with two main goals in mind: to learn and improve/keep consistent our standards of living. Being a student is not a complex task; one simply has to go to school, pay attention to your teacher, and do the work that is assigned to you. Learning is a process based solely on oral, written, and visual skills, so communication is crucial. Much of the material one learns is orally through the teacher, or in many cases through the textbooks, articles, internet, etc. As a student one is required to do his part too. You might be required to do homework assignments, presentations, or write essays. One also has to show dedication and the willingness to learn, go to class, and try to create a good environment with your teachers and peers. Moreover, interacting with your classmates is many times necessary and encouraged, like making groups or forming study groups, which in turn enhances communication within the community even more.
My friends are an incredibly important part of my life. Basically almost everything I do includes my friends. Ranging from hanging out, doing homework, or just randomly having fun, most of my friends are always there when you need them. Keeping that circle of friendship is really easy to attain; you just have to keep in touch and commune often. This task has become relatively simple as time and technology progresses. Most of our forms of communication are text messaging, calling each other, and most recently: using the innovations of the World Wide Web, like Messenger or Facebook. With the progress of time we created our own form of slang, but our speech also includes many of the common words and phrases like “dude, guey, that’s hot,” and many others. Unfortunately we also grew accustomed to the constant use of scurrilous vocabulary amongst ourselves. But even if it is offensive, it is just another example of how close a circle of friends we have created.
To me and my friends creating a band at first seemed like a random and crazy idea, but as we started to get together and play, we discovered what we now consider one of the greatest pastimes ever. We don’t play for money, publicity, advertisement, or any of the sorts; we play for the love of music and to simply improve as much as we can. We normally just text or call each other, get together, and start jamming out. Usually we just agree on the songs we like and learn them individually to play it as a group. We chat using messenger or video chat and so we can show the other members the songs we like, or the new licks we can play. Other times we would write music of our own and try it out with all the band members. Talking amongst the members is like any normal friend conversation; the only difference is that we use more musical terms like forte, crescendo, chord, or tempo.
The bond that my family has created is really strong. Being an only child, my closer relatives only include my mom, dad, and me. But even though we are small, that only brings us together even more. I normally leave my parents notes when I go out, or just text them of specific times or events. We do not usually call each other, but when we are distant we keep in touch by calling often. The outer part of my family is also very close, and they normally try to call each other all the time to try to get together. Most of them always notify each other of special events and particular occasions in which all the family should get together: birthdays, weddings, graduations, anniversaries (basically any excuse for a party!), which in turn keeps the family united. Sometimes the older relatives send letters to stay connected; this might seem really outdated, but it gives it a rather personal touch.
It is incredible to contemplate the number of discourse communities to which an individual can belong, and as we get older, the number only gets bigger. All these communities make individuals more and more diverse in language, communication becomes much simpler and easier, and our abilities to interact with each other become ever increasing.
