"The Concept of a Discourse Community"

When first starting to read about what a discourse community was, I did not know exactly what the topic would be about. I've actually never heard of a discourse community. However, after careful and thorough reading I came to the assumption that a discourse community is mainly a specific group that have goals to initiate communication with one another. This is mainly so the group can create a sense of understanding with one another. Looking at this broad general meaning, I now know that discourse communities can be found almost anywhere in this world. They can range from community learning centers, schools, daycares, religious sermons, and even universities.

All of these contain within them elements of what a discourse community requires. Speaking with one another, giving updates, and forming connections to keep things going. All in all, discourse communities have always proven to be effective. This effectiveness mainly has to do with the fact that human beings develop all the needed qualities to live comfortably by being able to communicate with others and learn from their own surroundings.

Discourse communities can also range from social groups, and even individual platforms in which one has the opportunity to discover their own knowledge and skills. The writer of the article compares the different factors between a discourse community and a speech community. One comparison that I grasped from the article was that discourse communities and speech communities both offer some of the same qualities depending on  the individual uses it to their advantage.