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Understanding a discourse community requires more effort than simply reading a

dictionary entry. There are multiple requirements that a group of individuals must meet to fall

under this umbrella of a social location. Through extensive research, I have discovered that I am

currently an active member of such a community. My fraternity is a connection of young adult

males that reside on colleges campuses across the nation. It contains groups of like-minded

people who have the main goals of instilling in its members the tenets of intellectual awareness,

social responsibility, integrity, brotherly love. The common set of ideas on which the group is

governed is that all members of the fraternity are considered brothers. Everyone is treated as a

member of a collective family because, while we are not tied by blood, we act as a support group

as would a family. And in accordance with the characterization of discourse communities, the

social behavior that is unique to our family is that we all thrive on frequent social interaction. All

representatives of the fraternity adhere to the principles established to ensure that our community

“pursue objectives that are prior to those of socialization and solidarity.”1 As a member of the

fraternal organization, I have been able to dissect the very nature of Greek life and how it does

indeed fall under the guise of a “social location”, including its use of genre to communicate.

According to the author of “The Concept of Discourse Community”, English linguist

John Swales outlines six criteria that must be observed to be considered a discourse community.

The six criteria are the following: the group must have a set of rules must be agreed upon by

members of the specific community, there must be a clear form of communication between all

members, participation must grant access to important information that leads to the completion

of the shared goal, there is a developed set of expectations that everyone should follow in order

to have a well-functioning community, it is necessary to create specialized terminology to

1
John Swales, “The concept of discourse community,” Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings:
Page 24
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communicate effectively, and there are always people coming into and leaving the community

through recruitment of new members. He notes that in order to meet the criteria, all points must

be satisfied. Once determined that a group is a discourse community, it is necessary to determine

the genre in which communication is able to function.

The genre used by the fraternity to communicate is the text message. Used every day by

every member, it is the main medium of communication. Texts are sent to brothers in the house

to quickly convey an idea, inform someone, or to simply make a joke. In order to adequately

analyze text messages, it is crucial to consider context and function, textual features and implied

or assumed features.

The context and function of text messages are to establish contact with the desired

recipient as quickly as possible. The recipient does not need to be unoccupied to receive the

message. Therefore, the sender can send his message and it can be read at any time after being

delivered. There is no need to ensure that both people have time to talk on the phone because

everything can be coordinated through only three to four messages. The context of these

messages will vary greatly on a day to day basis. It can be as simple as saying “what’s up”, and it

can be as complicated as having to inform your brothers that all of the good cereal has been

consumed. Anything can be said through text, so there are unlimited subject matters to be

discussed. Within my fraternity, text messages are used more commonly for specific purposes,

which includes asking people out to eat, inviting girls to parties, or scheduling plans for the

upcoming weeks. Texts are so crucial because the reader and writer can both establish

connections with each other with the ease of typing. Readers and writers get the satisfaction of

communicating with one another without having to confer face to face or with time restraints.
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Textual features of a text message differ according to the personal styles of each writer.

But generally, they follow a format of short sentences, many abbreviations, and a lack of correct

grammar/punctuation. The purpose of text messages is to be direct, so wordy sentences will not

be included for the most part. Writers attempt to persuade the readers through clever wording

and amusing jokes that may or may not be appropriate. Many rhetoric appeals are used so that

the text stands out amongst a sea of other texts the reader may have received. They may be

absurd, canny, tacky, and written with visible emotion, all of which are written with the goal of

being noticed by the reader. There is no standard format of how to write a text, just a general

length limit of three sentences per text. For example, if a brother wants to go out to eat, they may

send a mass text saying “does anyone want to eat?”. It is concise and conveys the message in one

short sentence. On the other hand, if a brother wants to tell a joke, the text may be longer and

read “A bear walks into a restaurant and say’s ‘I want a grilllllled …………..cheese.’ The waiter

says ‘What's with the pause?’ The bear replies ‘Whaddya mean, I’M A BEAR’”. This text is

longer only because there is more content in a joke versus a simple question. Also included in

texts, slang may shorten the length of the text, or elicit a response from the reader. Slang can be

found in any text sent by brothers, excluding ones they send to their mothers. To emphasize how

prevalent slang is within the Greek organization, I will dive into all the possible slang for the

word “friend”: homie, homeboy, bro, bruh, B, G, kid, guy, dude, buddy, dawg, pal, boy, etc. This

example proves that because texting is so informal, it makes slang commonplace. There is no

right or wrong format for a text, but most people follow the general rules described.

The implied and assumed features regarding text messages are clear. Readers and writers

appreciate the quick conversations that happen through text. Lengthy human conversations are

not always necessary, and many people appreciate this especially for quick conversations that
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have no need to be time-consuming. This shift away from extended phone calls and in-person

conversations has given rise for text messages to become a popular form of communication.

Anyone with a phone and friends to message is welcome to participate. However, texts sent

between two people exclude everyone else in the world because they are private conversations.

The most relevant content within text messages is schedules and plans because they require a

response to ensure both parties will attend. The writers’ attitude towards the reader and world are

casual because the texts are meant to be casual encounters.

To conclude, the social location must be a group in which a specific language, set of

ideas, or form of social behavior is unique to members within the community. Within my

discourse community of greek life, it is clear that texts are the genre which acts as the backbone

for communication. All members can instantly connect with each other, whether it be for

planning events, future social interactions, or quick conversations. It simplifies language

connections while also being casual because there is no need for perfect writing in common

conversations (as long as the true message can still be deciphered). All things considered, text

messages are the most important genre used in the fraternity, and its use makes life simpler for

both readers and writers.

Works Cited
Swales, John. "The Concept of Discourse Community." Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston: Cambridge, UP, 1990. 21-32.