Discourse communities in electronic environments: Language practices and social interactions of the wired world

The notion of “discourse community” offers a basis for understanding the relationship between language and community. As a theoretical model, “discourse community” provides a framework to analyze rules of language and elements of “community.” Sociolinguist John Swales presents one model as a set of criteria to critique aspects belonging to real-world communities. However, Swales' model neglects to account for the roles that electronic technologies perform in digital communities. This thesis explores these roles. It defines technological factors and explains how they cultivate digital communities; analyzes discursive conventions that result from technological influences; and offers reconfigurations of Swales' model. The results of this examination suggest that technologies perform overlapping roles in structuring digital discourse communities. In conclusion, this thesis determines that technology not only demands a reconfiguration of “discourse community,” but also a reconfiguration of “citizenship” in order to classify participation in digital communities.