Krissel Marin Hernndez

Rhetoric and Composition I

Discourse Community response
September 13th 2015
We all have discourse communities we belong to, they could go from small ones
with just three people, to huge ones like it is school. Discourse communities are made
out of people that share traits or similar characteristics among them, for example same
taste of music or literature, or the need to pass the same class. All these features that
they have in common is what makes each community different to others and also what
makes them special. We behave with each discourse community in a different way
according to how we communicate with the people in it and how comfortable we feel
around them. In my case I have several communities I belong to, but Im just going to
describe the four I consider the most important to me which are my family, my friends,
my extracurricular class and my school.
The discourse community I consider the most important is family because is the
one I had belong since birth and where the people I love the most is. In my family we
are very united, so we are often receiving visits from other members in our house. We
communicate using Spanish because we are from Mexico and is the language
everybody of the family knows best. We speak to each other in an informal way
because we are comfortable around each other and everyone is close. We love,
respect, and support each other very much. To be able to belong to this discourse
community you need to be born into it or marry someone who is from it.

Next is the community of my friends. With them I can speak also in an informal
way because we trust each other, and I can talk with them about everything because of
the same reason. I met them in high school and I have lived a lot of important moments
with them. We are still together because we understand, help and support each other
when is needed. I communicate with them also in Spanish because is our mother
language and the one we prefer the most. To belong to this group you have to be
accepted by all of us and be considered a good person.
The extracurricular discourse community I belong to is Polynesian dance. In here
I have learned a little Hawaiian and Tahitian vocabulary, mostly the names of the steps
we use during choreographies, and other words from songs; some examples are varu,
afata, faa rapu, kaholo and tahape. I also learned how to interpret traditional songs with
my feet, hands, arms and hips to be able to transmit a story with them. We need to have
dedication to be able to do some steps because they are hard, and also responsibility to
always bring our materials to class and to be on time. To be able to belong to this
community you have to pay for the class, be motivated and love to dance.
Last but not least is the community of college, in my case the University of Texas
at El Paso. The reason why I am here is to learn about my career and all the necessary
tools needed to do my job in a professional manner once I graduate, not only
educational material but also abilities that will help me preform my work right. I have to
use a formal vocabulary to show respect to the professors and the other faculty
members, and to look professional and mature. I have to be very responsible to show
on time to my classes and do every activity my professors ask for, for example papers,
presentations and homework. This is the one with the most complex requirements

because you need to apply, have all the documents needed, be accepted, do some
tests, and pay tuition to be able to belong to the institution.
I conclude that discourse communities represent a huge part of our lives
because we learn everything from them. All the discourse communities we have been
part of had help us mold to the people we are today, and the ones we are right now will
help us improve the abilities we possess for the future. I think it is important to belong to
several communities because then we can learn new things from different environments
and different points of view. This way we can grow as persons and individuals, each one
contributing with something new to the other communities or creating new ones.