Discourse Community
John Pappas
Mrs. Fogle
English 101
9 December 2009
Frisch’s Discourse Community What is a discourse community? According to John Swales, a respected written communication analyst, a discourse community is described as a group of people that have the same goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. In addition, “A discourse operates within conventions defined by communities, be they academic disciplines or social groups” (Swales, 119). This is not be confused with a speech community, “a community sharing knowledge of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech” (Swales 121). In determining whether or not a group is a discourse community, there are several certain rules, rather a list of criteria, in which the certain community must comply with in order to be established as a discourse community. The group of people that I observed, and now am writing about, is the employees at the Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in Toledo Ohio. Being an ex-employee and because no one in the past has verified this coalition as a discourse community, I have chosen this establishment’s occupants to analyze. In this workplace, there are three different types of positions that employees can assume. These three occupations include; the servers (waiter or waitress), the cooks, and the managers. There are really only two levels of expertise, the managers have the highest ranking in the Big Boy “hierarchy” and everyone else (cooks and servers) are equal. At any one time throughout the day, there are always three servers, two cooks and a manager on staff, however, occasionally during holidays and special weekends these numbers vary. In order for the restaurant to successfully function, all the employees must work together as a team. This is why communication is essential; any miscommunication can lead to a number of potential problems. Although communication is a key factor in a discourse community, there are several more characteristics that must be considered
Mrs. Fogle
English 101
9 December 2009
Frisch’s Discourse Community What is a discourse community? According to John Swales, a respected written communication analyst, a discourse community is described as a group of people that have the same goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals. In addition, “A discourse operates within conventions defined by communities, be they academic disciplines or social groups” (Swales, 119). This is not be confused with a speech community, “a community sharing knowledge of rules for the conduct and interpretation of speech” (Swales 121). In determining whether or not a group is a discourse community, there are several certain rules, rather a list of criteria, in which the certain community must comply with in order to be established as a discourse community. The group of people that I observed, and now am writing about, is the employees at the Frisch’s Big Boy restaurant in Toledo Ohio. Being an ex-employee and because no one in the past has verified this coalition as a discourse community, I have chosen this establishment’s occupants to analyze. In this workplace, there are three different types of positions that employees can assume. These three occupations include; the servers (waiter or waitress), the cooks, and the managers. There are really only two levels of expertise, the managers have the highest ranking in the Big Boy “hierarchy” and everyone else (cooks and servers) are equal. At any one time throughout the day, there are always three servers, two cooks and a manager on staff, however, occasionally during holidays and special weekends these numbers vary. In order for the restaurant to successfully function, all the employees must work together as a team. This is why communication is essential; any miscommunication can lead to a number of potential problems. Although communication is a key factor in a discourse community, there are several more characteristics that must be considered
Cited: Betz, Stephen. Personal interview. 28 Nov. 2009. Mirabelli, Tony. “The Language and Literacy of Food Service Workers.” What They Don’t Learn in School. Peter Lang Publishing, 2004. 185-198. Print. Pappas, Johnathan. Field Observation. 28 Nov. 2009. Swales, John.”The concept of Discourse Community.” Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Setting.US: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 119-128. Print.