Open Discourse is a technical term used in discourse analysis and Sociolinguistics and is commonly contrasted with Closed Discourse. The concept of open and closed discourse is associated with the overlay of open and closed discourse communities and open and closed communication events. Keys to determining whether a discourse is open or closed include access to information, equity of access, open access, quality of discourse and mechanisms and modalities of discourse control: overt, covert, implicit and incidental. As a conceptual filter and cultural construct, ideology is a function and mechanism of discourse control. Channel and signal of a communication event and register of communication together control discourse and therefore, determine the degree of social inclusion and social exclusion and, by extension, the relative efficiency of that communication event. Open and closed discourse operate along a continuum where absolute closure and complete openness are theoretically untenable due to noise in the channel. The nature of the channel, signal, code, replicability, recording, transmissibility, cataloguing, recall or other variable of a communication event and its information control and context of transmission-as-event, impact its relative position along the continuum between open and closed discourse. In all cases, open discourse is assumed to be sustained discourse.
"Although most discourse control is contextual or global, even local details of meaning, form, or style may be controlled, e.g. the details of an answer in class or court, or choice of lexical items or jargon in courtrooms, classrooms or newsrooms (Martin Rojo 1994).[1]
"The Web is the most important and valuable human artifact ever created. And, it is not owned by any single group, government, company, or person. It is not patented, no one is in charge, and we have no idea whatsoever as to how much we have invested in it, or even how much it costs us to keep it running.... The Web – and in particular the rise of the so-called blogosphere – has led to a resurgence of open public discourse that is unparalleled since the emergence of independent newspapers and pamphleteers at the outset of the Industrial revolution. The Web has grown from a handful of websites to millions of individuals and organizations publishing on every conceivable topic from every imaginable perspective."[2]
Open discourse as open-endedness: text and context as living document
Open discourse as living document may also be understood as the open-endedness in both a communication event and the inability to collapse a communication event into definitives, the unequivocal import of a cultural artifact and the associated inability to resolve ambiguity due to noise and ever-changing context and audience, as Graham (2000: p.5) further states:
...I understand the play on multiplicity of interpretation and open‐endedness that ambiguity signifies however, the term ambiguous is itself ambiguous – it not only means “open to various interpretations” but also “of doubtful and uncertain nature; difficult to understand” and “lacking clearness or definiteness, obscure” (Macquarie Essential Dictionary, 1999: 23).[3]
Medicine, scientific publishing and pharmacology
Dayton (2006) frames the transition from open access to open discourse in the Internet discourse community in regards to the parameters of scientific publishing thus:
"The [I]nternet is expanding the realm of scientific publishing to include free and open public debate of published papers. Journals are beginning to support web posting of comments on their published articles and independent organizations are providing centralized web sites for posting comments about any published article. The trend promises to give one and all access to read and contribute to cutting edge scientific criticism and debate." NB: proper noun of 'Internet' repaired from the error 'internet'.[4]
Dawson & Taylor (1998) have documented experiential learnings of the logistics of open and critical discourse in the discourse community of the science classroom.[6]
In framing the relationship between the discourse community of a classroom and therefore pedagogical discourse throughout all media and associating open discourse to a democratic ideology Celce-Murcia & Olshtain (2000: p.11) hold that:
"...it is important that teachers understand what critical discourse analysis is and that they are at the very least sensitized to the potentially discriminatory and demeaning discourse that may arise in the classroom and in teaching materials and be prepared to deal with it constructively (i.e., to use such instances of discourse as opportunities for discussions and activities that can make the language classroom a more democratic and open discourse community)."[7]
Notes
↑ Van Dijk, Teun A. (c2003). "Critical Discourse Analysis." Cited in: Schiffrin, Deborah; Tannen, Deborah; Hamilton, Heidi Ehernberger (2003). The handbook of discourse analysis. Volume 18 of Blackwell handbooks in linguistics. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN0-631-20596-9, ISBN978-0-631-20596-8. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010), p.357
↑ Boyd, Stowe (February 2009). "Open Social Discourse and Web Culture." We Magazine. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010)
↑ Graham, Linda J.(2005). "Discourse analysis and the critical use of Foucault." Queensland University of Technology. Paper presented at Australian Association for Research in Education; 2005 Annual Conference, Sydney: 27th November – 1st December. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010), p.5
↑ Dayton, Andrew (2006). "Beyond open access: open discourse, the next great equalizer." Retrovirology. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010)
↑ Elisabeth ter Borg & Gertjan Dijkink (1995). "Naturalising Choices and Neutralising Voices? Discourse on Urban Development in Two Cities." Urban Studies, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp.49-67.
↑ Dawson, Vaille M. & Taylor, Peter C. (1998). "Establishing open and critical discourses in the science classroom: Reflecting on initial difficulties." Research in Science Education. Netherlands: Springer. ISSN 0157-244X (Print) 1573-1898 (Online). Volume 28, Number 3 / September, 1998. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010)
↑ Celce-Murcia, Marianne & Olshtain, Elite (2000). Discourse and context in language teaching: a guide for language teachers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-64055-5, ISBN978-0-521-64055-8. Source: (accessed: Monday April 12, 2010), p.11
Internet slang is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is "LOL" meaning "laugh out loud." Since Internet slang is constantly changing, it is difficult to provide a standardized definition. However, it can be understood to be any type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes or to compensate for small character limits. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting, instant messaging, and social networking websites. Acronyms, keyboard symbols, and abbreviations are common types of Internet slang. New dialects of slang, such as leet or Lolspeak, develop as ingroup Internet memes rather than time savers. Many people also use Internet slang in face-to-face, real life communication.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the discipline of sociology:
Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. Following pioneering work by Michel Foucault, these fields view discourse as a system of thought, knowledge, or communication that constructs our experience of the world. Since control of discourse amounts to control of how the world is perceived, social theory often studies discourse as a window into power. Within theoretical linguistics, discourse is understood more narrowly as linguistic information exchange and was one of the major motivations for the framework of dynamic semantics, in which expressions' denotations are equated with their ability to update a discourse context.
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any or all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on language and the ways it is used. It can overlap with the sociology of language, which focuses on the effect of language on society. Sociolinguistics overlaps considerably with pragmatics and is closely related to linguistic anthropology.
Network society is the expression coined in 1991 related to the social, political, economic and cultural changes caused by the spread of networked, digital information and communications technologies. The intellectual origins of the idea can be traced back to the work of early social theorists such as Georg Simmel who analyzed the effect of modernization and industrial capitalism on complex patterns of affiliation, organization, production and experience.
Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice. CDA combines critique of discourse and explanation of how it figures within and contributes to the existing social reality, as a basis for action to change that existing reality in particular respects. Scholars working in the tradition of CDA generally argue that (non-linguistic) social practice and linguistic practice constitute one another and focus on investigating how societal power relations are established and reinforced through language use. In this sense, it differs from discourse analysis in that it highlights issues of power asymmetries, manipulation, exploitation, and structural inequities in domains such as education, media, and politics.
Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is an approach to the analysis of written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event.
Media democracy is a democratic approach to media studies that advocates for the reform of mass media to strengthen public service broadcasting and develop participation in alternative media and citizen journalism in order to create a mass media system that informs and empowers all members of society and enhances democratic values.
A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourses, understood as basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals. Linguist John Swales defined discourse communities as "groups that have goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals."
Recontextualisation is a process that extracts text, signs or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) and reuses it in another context. Since the meaning of texts, signs and content is dependent on its context, recontextualisation implies a change of meaning and redefinition. The linguist Per Linell defines recontextualisation as:
the dynamic transfer-and-transformation of something from one discourse/text-in-context ... to another.
Multiliteracy is an approach to literacy theory and pedagogy coined in the mid-1990s by the New London Group. The approach is characterized by two key aspects of literacy - linguistic diversity and multimodal forms of linguistic expressions and representation. It was coined in response to two major changes in the globalized environment. One such change was the growing linguistic and cultural diversity due to increased transnational migration. The second major change was the proliferation of new mediums of communication due to advancement in communication technologies e.g the internet, multimedia, and digital media. As a scholarly approach, multiliteracy focuses on the new "literacy" that is developing in response to the changes in the way people communicate globally due to technological shifts and the interplay between different cultures and languages.
James Gee is a retired American researcher who has worked in psycholinguistics, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, bilingual education, and literacy. Gee most recently held the position as the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University, originally appointed there in the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education. Gee has previously been a faculty affiliate of the Games, Learning, and Society group at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a member of the National Academy of Education.
Civil discourse refers to respectful conversation aimed at fostering understanding and constructive communication, where individuals within a group share different perspectives, enhancing the learning experience. It is a fundamental aspect of freedom of speech, characterized by dialogue that supports the societal good." Members of the U.S. Supreme Court session in 2011 aptly described civil discourse as "robust, honest, frank and constructive dialogue and deliberation that seeks to advance the public interest." Arguments are grounded in reason and evidence, adhering to strict guidelines for the appropriate behavior to be practiced. In contrast, uncivil discourse contains direct insults, unwarranted attributions of motive, and open contempt."
A significant construct in language learning research, identity is defined as "how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is structured across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future". Recognizing language as a social practice, identity highlights how language constructs and is constructed by a variety of relationships. Because of the diverse positions from which language learners can participate in social life, identity is theorized as multiple, subject to change, and a site of struggle.
Mediated discourse analysis (MDA) is a specialised form of linguistic discourse analysis —it mediates discourse, agency, and practice into what Scollon calls a "nexus of practice". The goal of MDA is to focus on discourse in action, as opposed to discourse as action, thus making discourse analysts responsible for applying discourse into various practical and useful contexts.
Claire L Ramsey is an American linguist. Ramsey is an Associate Professor Emerita at the University of California, San Diego. She is an alumna of Gallaudet University and is former instructor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ramsey's research has focused on the sociolinguistics of deaf and signing communities in the US and Mexico.
Media linguistics is the linguistic study of language use in the media. The fundamental aspect of media linguistics as a new systematic approach to the study of media language is that media text is one of the most common forms of language existence today. It studies the functioning of language in the media sphere, or modern mass communication presented by print, audiovisual, digital, and networked media. Media linguistics investigates the relationship between language use, which is regarded as an interface between social and cognitive communication practice, and public discourse conveyed through media.
Multimodality is the application of multiple literacies within one medium. Multiple literacies or "modes" contribute to an audience's understanding of a composition. Everything from the placement of images to the organization of the content to the method of delivery creates meaning. This is the result of a shift from isolated text being relied on as the primary source of communication, to the image being utilized more frequently in the digital age. Multimodality describes communication practices in terms of the textual, aural, linguistic, spatial, and visual resources used to compose messages.
Public sphere pedagogy (PSP) represents an approach to educational engagement that connects classroom activities with real world civic engagement. The focus of PSP programs is to connect class assignments, content, and readings with contemporary public issues. Students are then asked to participate with members of the community in various forms of public sphere discourse and democratic participation, such as town hall meetings and public debate events. Through these events, students are challenged to practice civic engagement and civil discourse.
The Mozilla Manifesto lays out the guiding principles of the Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit that leads the open-source Mozilla project best-known for its Firefox web browser. Penned in 2007 by Mitchell Baker, with adjustments in 2018, it promotes free software, universal access to the internet, and interoperable technologies, and emphasizes values of privacy, openness, and a belief in the ability of the internet to enrich the lives of people.
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