Dialogue and reflection

Discourse communities

Mercer also discusses specialised language or discourses which characterise particular professions and subject areas. Within a short time of beginning studying a new topic or participating in a new activity people learn new vocabulary items and ways of talking. This can be beneficial to the members of the 'subject community' who will be able to communicate more quickly and easily with each other, but it can exclude people unfamiliar with the 'discourse' who may be confused by the 'jargon'. Think of the time when you first joined the staff of a university. Your vocabulary probably increased considerably.