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Kevin Chiu
Professor Adler
English 1A
14 April 2015

Engineering Discourse

In a general view, people use language as a tool to mainly communicate with each other,
but in retrospect, many subsidiaries of particular individuals have their own way of
communication. With the usage of genres and specialized language, they all have shared goal to
accomplish. John Swales, an analyst of literary communication defines discourse community
with six characteristics: A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public
goals; A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members; A
discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and
feedback; A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the
communicative furtherance of its aims; A discourse community has acquired some specific lexis;
A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant
content and discoursal expertise (Swales 471-473). In my own interpretation, a discourse
community is a group of certain individuals who communicate with each other solely, with a
particular topic or in a particular field of work.
Based on my own interpretation on discourse community, I have chosen to analyze the
discourse community of the engineering field. To be specific, I have analyzed one of the largest
aerospace company called Boeing. Boeing has been known from its aviation technology and the
development of new ideas and explorations for aerospace.

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Because of Boeing, there are many careers pertaining to engineering. The most common ones are
electrical, mechanical, industrial, software, and many more. Engineering has been a growth and a
development in a variety of industries. In these engineering fields, they are involved in a few
practices of designing to solve the real world problems. Within these engineering fields, they
mostly have all common interests in which on how they communicate with each other.
Like any other type of discourse community, the engineering discourse community share
the same goal. With the same goal at hand, they go through exploring new facets, experimenting
ideas, and then applying to new developments that they have been researching. Engineers
practice themselves by collecting and analyzing data, using observational correlations,
performing mathematical calculations and modelling, and also providing their results to other
engineers for any critical assessment. One common goal that is deeply shared upon all engineers
is that they involve themselves into the practice of designing new ideas to solve real world
problems. With this common goal, people become engineers because of social issues concerning
improvements around their environment.
Throughout the engineering discourse, communication is one of the characteristics in a
discourse community. Whether they use oral or textual ways of communication, they use a few
genres to intercommunicate with each other.
A genre that is mostly used throughout an engineering discourse community is a set of
ideas. In the academic and the industry field, engineers makes ideas, discussing and writing the
intents with other engineers. This way of genre could be accomplished individually or with a
group of other engineers. Once composing an idea, engineers could work as project teams to
address the ideas or make a report.

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As a engineering in training, one of the genre used in the engineering field is solely based
on oral communication. This expands onto their lexis but oral communication is recognized as an
essential element of on how they communicate. A journal called The Importatnce of Talk by
Ann Darling and Deanna P. Dannels, they state According to a survey of industry
representatives, engineers say they spend over half of their day communicating, either with other
employees working on the same project or with individuals outside the organization (Darling
and Dannels 2). In the academic and the industry field, we are expected and required to share out
our ideations and research in works of a project. Through guidelines that are presented from the
professor, we are to follow certain instructions. A requirement for one of presentations is the
design statement, in which it provides a detailed statement on the reason of your ideations. With
that, it also includes case studies, where you research on the topic and find an abundant
information of the same ideas that has been produced.
In the mechanical engineering field one of the genre used is a software called
SolidWorks. SolidWorks is a program that is able to construct and design three dimensional
concepts with certain tools and materials. Through SolidWorks, the main focus of the program is
to show your colleagues and companies the product that you designed. With dimensions, choice
of material, and a visual and detailed interpretation of the design, it gives information to your
members of the discourse community to give back feedback.
The genre that used dominantly in the industry is the report from an engineer. The
engineers report is solely utilized to compose a set of data collected and provide a relationship
toward the engineer and its client for feedback. In a writing called How Engineers Write, by
Bernard McKenna, he illustrates the concept of how engineers communicate by stating,
Engineering writing is an instrumentalist discourse that is epistemologically constructed by the

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scientific concepts that provide its intellectual foundation (its social construction of reality) and
is socially embedded m the relations and shared understandings that exist between engineer and
client (McKenna 192). From this quotation, it establishes how written reports are made to
communicate between members of the engineering discourse community. Whether its the client
or the engineer, they both share a universal yet particular understanding on where they
intercommunicate.
Another type of genre and also concurrently being use as a type lexis that is mainly used
is metaphors. In definition, Metaphor is a mechanism of analogy in which we conceive a
concept that belongs to a certain conceptual domain in terms of another conceptual domain, and
in which correspondences between the attributes of both domains are established; we speak
about source domain and target domain, and mappings across them (Roldan-Reijos and Mansilla
533). The metaphorical language is used by engineers as they research topics and write reports.
Engineers consider many of their data in terms of their final product, in which they use mapping
to collect ideas through metaphors and analogies. Most of the metaphoric expressions rely upon
living organisms giving them an idea or function that would be technical and yet mechanical.
Ideas and concepts are started off from metaphors.
In terms of the specialized language in the engineering discourse community, there are a
few that are used, specifically in the mechanical field. With these specialized vocabulary,
mechanical engineers often use it during the usage of programs such as SolidWorks.
One of the specialized terms in using programs is CAD, in which it is called computeraided design. To explain, this term is often used to operate and show a two dimensional drawing
that shows top, right, and front planar views.

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Another lexis used in the mechanical engineering field is ISO, in terms is represented as
an isometric view. ISO is mainly used in the program, SolidWorks, in which it shows a view that
represents a three dimensional figure. The word assembly is also known for using SolidWorks, in
which it is the construction of singular parts made to showcase its function and its mechanics.
A common use in lexis of a mechanical engineer is based on its specifications. Whether it
is the use of materials, which factors on the density, or the dimensions that are used, it is
commonly used how the design would look.
In the article called, Discourse Community, by Erik Borg, he speculates that If
discourse communities are seen as stable, with experts who perform gatekeeping roles, then their
genres are normative, and novices must conform to the expectations of the community in order to
enter it. Other writers (e.g. Canagarajah 2002) suggest that this view takes power away from
learners, and instead he proposes that conventions and rules should be deconstructed, with
novices encouraged to appropriate the discourse of the community, both for their own purposes
and for the renewal of the discourse community itself (Borg 400). In suggestion, the concept of
learning to become a certain discourse community member is more likely mandatory, instead of
expecting to already be a member. The idea of being expectant of knowing the discourse is
unreliable to even join. Experiencing on firsthand through a discourse community gives the
novice member accommodating involvement.
Joining a specific discourse community have its requirements. Boeing or Google, to be
specific, one of its major requirements is obtaining a Bachelor, Master, or doctorate degree.
There are universities that offer five to six years programs that grants both Bachelor and Master
degrees. Having a degree is a minimum requirement, but having the technical skill is more
deeply required then having a degree. In addition, Boeing offers internships to college level

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students who aspire to become an engineer. With the internship program, you will be able to
learn and experience the genres and lexis used in their specific field.