Discourse Community Analysis - Research Paper Example

Dis Community Analysis A dis community can be defined as a group of individuals or people with common texts and practices whether a group of social network users or group of academicians (Boreczky &Wyclifs 34). Members of a discourse community usually uses both verbal and written communication to express their feelings emotions and interest and these will be understood and acted upon by their audience. This paper aims at analyzing the common verbal and written methods conventionally used by mothers in the society. The paper will further identify the common abbreviations, jargon and language used when mothers get angry. Communication among mothers is one that is often characterized by the use of abbreviations and other non-verbal symbols that is clearly understood within their social cycles. The kind of abbreviations used while communicating depends on various factors like age, location and experience that one is undergoing. Understanding the abbreviations and the nonverbal signs used by mothers requires one to have interest and remain abreast with the current dynamics and changing terminologies. One of the common abbreviations used by mother is BM which is used to refer to the breast feeding mothers. The abbreviation is common amongst mothers who are breast feeding or used by other women when referring to the mothers with young babies. Women who undergo pregnancy tests also prefer using the abbreviation BFN standing for the big fat negative. The abbreviation is also prevalent amongst mothers who intend to pursues pregnancy test to enable them know their status. The term is normally used to help confine the communication amongst themselves in order to preclude others from being privy to such information especially at the earliest stage. To describe the menstrual cycle experienced by women, mothers have mostly used the abbreviation AF- Aunt Flo. The term is largely common amongst mothers and women during their menstrual cycle. Most mothers feel shy to have unintended individuals to be privy to their menstrual cycle except for those they are consider very close with. Mothers’ discourse cycles have also innovated some abbreviations to help minimize the use of long sentences and words while communicating. It is in this spirit that mothers who shop at baby centers refer to the baby shopping centers with the abbreviation BBC. To make their communication simple when describing current affairs maters, mothers often use the abbreviation BCPS to refer to birth control pills. Other common abbreviations include BF – breast feed common with breast feeding mothers, CF – cervical fluid, DC- day care, EED – expected date of delivery common with expectant women. These abbreviations are common with most women regardless of their location and depending on the issues at hand. Most of these abbreviations are understood by mothers and those in constant communication with women. Mothers at different stages or ages will tend to use different abbreviations as they have different experiences. Mothers discourse community also uses jargons that is well understood by themselves and those they communicate with. Some of the jargons used by mothers include pramnesia used by women to imply the forgetfulness in women arising from child rearing. Mothers have also used the term code brown when describing the need for replacement of nappy. Moreover, the term dummy mummy has also been widely used by women to describe new mothers who cannot talk about anything apart from their new baby born. Mothers have embraced these jargons to enable them converse on topics that they have often thought should not be easily comprehended by other audiences that might not have the interest (Boreczky &Wyclifs 36). Some of these jargons have also been considered instrumental when passing some information that is considered important to mothers alone. In most cases, some of these jargons are complemented with other communication symbols and expressions. When gossiping, mothers have use jargons that are not understood by those who are not in the discourse community as a way of keeping secret the message. For instance, my mother likes using the term ‘LOL’ laugh out loud when amused as a way of expressing her happiness. When sharing such moments, mothers tend to maintain a very close distance between themselves as a way of showing the interest in the subject under discussion and to ensure all details are noted. Mothers’ language usually change depending on their feelings. When angry my mother tend to use impolite language and a sharp increase in their intonation. At these times, mothers also tend to be repetitive in their language. Some mothers opt to remain reserved with signs of bitterness that makes other individuals refrain from engaging them. Some mothers will show stress tendencies when angry which could lead to a cut in weight loss and other physical body changes. My constant interaction with mothers both at home and in the other social cycles provides me with the opportunity to understand their discourse community. Staying with my mother at home enables me to understand the jargon they commonly use amongst themselves and the reactions both when they are happy and during their low moments. Helping my mother perform most of the family chores including spending time with her in the kitchen has further strengthened the bond between us. Most importantly, I spent a lot of time with my mother as a child as I learnt what is right and wrong and learnt of the values acceptable to the family. For me, I celebrate and revere mum for what she has done for me. Different people will belong to different discourse community and each discourse community subscribe to different values, beliefs and practices. Mothers discourse community is one characterized by strong emotional connection and strong agitation of feelings and expressions. The ability to analyze the various discourse community is crucial in understanding the behavior and ensuring proper communication is achieved. Because of the important roles played by mothers at both the family and societal level, understanding their behavior and language becomes crucial for everyone. Work Cited Boreczky, Elemér. John Wyclifs Discourse on dominion in community. Leiden, NL: Brill, 2008. Print Read More