When reading the characteristics and definitions of discourse communities in Swales’s "The Concept of Discourse Community," I immediately thought of the community of Major League Baseball fans. This group communicates in a very distinct and technical way, making it a salient community compared to many others.
The first of Swales’s characteristics is that the community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. Baseball fans form their community on a sense of pride in one’s hometown or favorite team and as a type of escapism from the stress of everyday life. Baseball is a nostalgic sport which appeals to a large audience.
The next characteristic is there must be mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. A baseball field during a game provides a location for fans to come together and bond over their favorite teams. There are also countless websites, forums, radio and television programs in which fans can discuss different topics pertaining to their teams.
Forums and call-in radio shows are examples of participatory mechanisms used by the community to provide information and feedback. These resources provide an interactive opportunity for fans to discuss their opinions to the rest of the community.
The fourth characteristic is the community has to utilize and hence possess one or more genre in the communicative furtherance of its aim. Within the baseball discourse community, each team consists of a micro-community that may use some unconventional discourse compared to the other smaller groups, but still embraces the overarching goals of the whole community.
The baseball community communicates with a specific, somewhat complicated lexis. Much of the conversation consists of statistical and historical information. Player statistics such as ERA, batting average, WHIP and on base percentage are just some of the topics to be understood in order to effectively communicate in the group.
The baseball discourse community ranges from experts to beginners. It consists of all races, ages and genders. Typically, loyal members of this community will remain an integral part until they die.
This community meets the requirements of being classified as a discourse community. All six characteristics are clearly represented and defined.
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