Membership Required

The term “community” indicates a similarity, a likeness, and a sense of being one.  When a group is identified as having common ways of thinking, behaving, and communicating, it can be considered a discourse community.  More specifically, James Porter defines it as “individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated”.  By defining a discourse community in this way, he incorporates the elements of regulation and approval into the notion of unity and likeness.  Being part of a discourse community means that there are certain approved ways of doing things and of sharing ideas.  To be part of this community means understanding what these ways are, and for the most part, abiding by them in order to gain membership.