Cortez 1

Oscar Cortez
Professor Ogbara
English 1A
February 3, 2015
Choosing the Right Discourse
Introduction
What is a discourse community? My understanding of what a discourse community is
that it is a group of people who share the same values, and goals. The goal I have set is to
become a computer scientist. Can I already be part of a discourse community just fby setting a
goal to become a computer scientist? Im already sharing this goal with many people which can
probably include a few hundred people trying to accomplish this task of becoming a computer
scientist. It can be a simple goal of passing a coding class student or even a goal as simple as
creating a beta for a software. Other shared goals within the community would be able to create
your own running software that can be a difference in the future or being able to create a brain
chip that can be used to control a mass army of military robots. John Swales in The Concept of
Discourse Community thinks you can be able to take part of a discourse but do not necessarily
need to join it (Swales 1990). James Paul Gee in What is Literacy? uses discourse as an
identity kit and opens how a linguist must learn how to speak, think, and act like a linguist
(Gee 7). This is a perfect example to show that computer science is a discourse because a
computer scientist has many obstacles from English to a very difficult programming class. There
are other discourses out there also like being a part of sports team fan club, being a student, or
even the class you are currently taking.

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Anne Johns in Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice says Discourse
communities can also be professional; every major profession has its organizations, its practices,
its textual conventions, and its genres (John 1997). This quote can be used to show how
computer science can be viewed a professional career in which you can be creating the
technology of the future. There are so many definitions that define what a discourse community
is. I have showed different definitions that were given by Anne John, John Swales, and James
Paul Gee, they were all pretty easy to understand but I feel that Anne Johns saying about a
discourse community is more powerful on how discourses can be professional. Seeing computer
science as a professional discourse is more interesting, but I still like how James Paul Gee
explain, We acquire this discourse, not by over instruction but by being a member of a primary
socializing group (Gee 8). Like I was saying earlier, being able to communicate with others in
the discourse community it would be a little easier to fit in. Just look at it when youre out going
out to a baseball game that your favorite team in playing, youre already taking part in a
discourse community as all of you fans are cheering on your team hoping they come out
victorious.
Jargon is also used throughout the discourse itself. What is Jargon? Jargon is another way
of saying specialized text used by the community. Examples of the jargon used is Dial-Up and
we may all know this by the being one of the earliest forms of internet which one of the slowest
also. There is a lot of jargon involved in the community and it is mainly used to talk in the
computer language. The jargon is used by companies and leave the jargon on some programs
because they are easily seen as regular names also. They dont realize that Mac OSX or Windows
8 is actually jargon because it is the name of the software that way created. If you dont know
what these basic jargon terms are then you are not part of this discourse community. They are the

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two biggest softwares out there today, every laptop that is not Apple, are currently running
Windows 8 and Apple products are running Mac OSX. To some people this jargon may be very
confusing. Some other examples of jargon that can be hard to explain if your part of community
would be exe which stands for executable or in simpler terms, the program you want run can be
open in a Windows type software. Most jargon can be easily comprehended, but most words can
be really out of nature.
Methods
My research process was a bit hard to conduct with the time give which was a month. So,
I interviewed Joey Rodriguez, a fellow member that is taking part of the discourse. Computer
Science has a variety of areas of study in which we can explore. Joey chose to take himself into
the Electronics Engineering area. This interview was conducted through email. He is currently a
student at DeVry University. For my second interview I used an interview conducted by the
University of Kentucky, two professors were interviewed. Ken Calvert and Jim Griffioen both
have a Ph.D. in a subfield of computer science. I chose this as my second interview because if
the one month given to conduct interviews. I could not find a professional in the field, that I
would be able to interview.
Some example questions used in the interview with Joey were What led to you choosing
this major? and Are you looking forward to working your career field? The process of this
interview did not take long. When the interviews were asked to be conducted, Joey was my
number one interviewee for my student interview. The estimated time it took was a couple of
days for me to ask and get a response for the questions.
As for the second interview conducted by the University of Kentucky on Ken Calvert and
Jim Griffioen was pretty easy to find after I could not find a professional in the field in computer

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science. Some questions that were asked during their interviews were, What are shaping up to
be the greatest areas of opportunity in the computer science field over the next few years? and
What areas in the field besides security and privacy need attention? While looking over this
interview I found it useful to my paper. The responses given by the both interviewees hold strong
information can be used to show computer science as a discourse.
Results
John Swales uses six characteristics in which he uses to describe a discourse community.
Those six characteristics are;
1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. (Swales
1990).
2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.
(Swales 1990).
3. A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide
information and feedback. (Swales 1990).
4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the
communicative furtherance of its aims. (Swales 1990).
5. In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired a specific lexis.
(Swales 1990).
6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of
relevant content and discoursal expertise (Swales 1990).
For the first characteristic he uses A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common
public goals. (Swales 1990). In the interview I conducted on Joey Rodriguez, he said Most of
the students would like to get an internship during school to get a good starting (Rodriguez
2015). When I read the first characteristic, Joeys response come to my mind. Getting an
internship job as a student must be really important because it can help them get ready for the job
that can hold in the future. Most of the students currently attending the DeVry University course

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currently have that goal set in mind. These small goals are letting them set the course into joining
the discourse set by many professionals that have been through our steps and have achieved there
diploma in the area of study. We are setting the goal to join this community once we have
accomplished getting our diploma. There is still other key components before joining the
discourse, and that can be another set of common goals for those who have their diploma and are
still trying to join the community.
The second characteristic used by James Paul Gee is A discourse community has mechanisms
of intercommunication among its members (Swales 1990). What I believe Gee is trying to
explain is that you need good communication to be part of a discourse. I agree with him because
communication is a vital key to be able to work with someone within the discourse. You can see
this all throughout the discourse even into the professional area where they are making new
electronics. Most people wont realize the time it takes it come up with a new model for an
electronic device. Communication between the makers is very important as they discuss how the
device will impact others outside the community. In the discourse many members in the
professional side have long conferences discussing whether which prototype will be making it to
the production zone, where it will become the next iPhone or Xbox.
The third characteristic used by James Paul Gee is "A discourse community uses its participatory
mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback." (Swales 1990). Like I explained in
the other characteristic with communication, the same happens with gathering information and
trying to create a new electronic. It takes about a year to almost five-ten year's max to come out
with a new electronic or software. In "Virtual Reality Based Support System for Layout Planning
and Programming of an Industrial Robotic Work Cell" by Hwa Jen Yap, Zahari Taha, Siti Zawiah
Md Dawal, and Siow-Wee Chang, they use virtual manufacturing, which is a virtual realm to be

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able to create and generate 3D models and real time simulations (2). This shows how technology
used by fellow members can used to gather information on how we can use a virtual realm to
create many real time simulations before things can get out of hand. Most of the members in the
community are giving feedback to other members who are making their own devices or
software's. Within companies like Microsoft and Apple, the professional members are providing
feedback daily on new software's that they are working on to make things simpler. Jim Griffioen
in the interview conducted by the University of Kentucky, said "There is so much software out
there, so many programs, so many computing languages, that I can't play with them all" (2012).
There is so much technology out in the world it is either new, old, or a prototype. Professionals
can only as much as they can to provide feedback and information about the device being tested
or used.
The fourth characteristic used was "A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or
more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims." (Swales 1990). I believe that
Computer Science has various genres with in the discourse. You the computer programmer who
handles and writes computer programs. Many people have been through this stage on their
computer once in their lifetime. They tend to try hurry up the installation process and end up
interrupting the progress causing the program to malfunction. There is a software engineer who
designs the software product and chooses whether older products should be updated. These
people mainly work with a large group of programmers to be able to create and test each product
before the final product is pushed towards the public. This can be related towards how the game
industry pushes betas and wants to receive feedback from the players to be able to improve the
game. Another genre that is part of the community is a System/Programmer analyst who designs
specific software that people use to interact with like for example Facebook, or Instagram which

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are two very popular applications used around the world. Finally we have Consultants that are
the main computer scientist who go out and fix software problems. For example, Geek squad
they go out and repair your computer if you get nasty virus or your computer keeps freezing.
They have a very basic job, in most companies they are used to choosing the software that is best
for the company. Consultants are important for making the work area as simple for the people
using the computers for work.
The fifth characteristic is "In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired a
specific lexis." (Swales 1990). Specific lexis can be Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and other
social networks. In the community they are used to communicate with others within the
discourse. There are many lexis in the discourse, they are lexis that have come and gone like
AOL and MSN messenger. New lexis are being created today by computer engineers. Facebook
is a great example to use as the application is almost updated every two weeks for mobile
phones. This shows how this lexis is being improved to be able to communicate in a much
simpler way.
The sixth and final characteristic used by James Paul Gee, "A discourse community has a
threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal
expertise"(Swales 1990). Within the discourse there are more and more people getting their
decree in the field of Computer Science. If you look at the percentage of gender I believe that
this field is impacted by more than woman. In "Cracking the Girl Code" by Eliana Dockterman,
she adds that more woman are now getting their degree in Computer Science. This shows how
more and more people not just men are joining the community. Most people can actually figure
this out on their oval because if you go any computer store where they fix computers you are
most likely to get a male that will fix the problem for you. I find it great that woman are joining

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the community because woman can probably be the key the next invention that can maybe
change the world.
Conclusion
A discourse community is a group of people who share the same values and goals.
Overall there are many definitions to describe what a discourse community can be. A great
example is using your favorite sports team that you love and will love forever. Take that team
and look at the fan base of the team and you will get a picture of a discourse community. Take
the fans of the Dodgers, they love their baseball team and all the fans share the same value which
is the team and players. The goal for the community to help bring another World Series title back
to Los Angeles by helping and cheering on the team pushing them to win every day they are out
on the field. When I meet my requirements to join the community of my major Computer
Science. I will be entering a community where I get to share my values and goals with my fellow
members as we engage to make better electronics and try to make software's that can be easily
used in common everyday appliances. Like James Paul Gee said we can use a discourse as an
"identity kit" as the community shows us the steps and requirements to join the discourse, use
that to our advantage to help gain our entry into the discourse