- This combination of forms of interactions is important to Gee because these dictate the ways that social interactions function at both a basic and complex level. If everyone only operated in one Discourse, then people would interact the same way with their parents, siblings, teachers, significant others, friends, acquaintances, and strangers. It is because we are able to form different templates, subconsciously, for different social situations, that we are able to understand and communicate with each other on a more efficient and productive way.
- Gee believes that the root of being a linguist, or person who studies something else specific for that matter, is in practice and practical knowledge and want to learn. A person can be taught, let’s say biology, for years throughout school. This gives them a basic knowledge of biology. But these people can’t truly be classified as “biologists” because they have no desire to continue to study it, and no experience pursuing the knowledge. Although the technical definition of these sciences are “a person who studies ____”, you can’t define a person as a person who studies ____ if they don’t actively pursue or study on their own or willingly.
- There are different types of Discourse that Gee defines in his passage. The first distinction is between primary and secondary Discourse. The difference between these is when and where you adapt them. Primary Discourse is the very first form of Discourse that you learn, and tend to default to. It may be the Discourse with your parents or siblings, or with your guardian if you don’t have parents or siblings. Secondary Discourse is every other form of Discourse that you adapt through your lifetime, whether it be with teachers, with your regular hairdresser, with your neighbor, friend or significant other, each one has their own special Discourse that you adopt. The second distinction that Gee states is dominant and non dominant Discourse. The difference between these is relative comfort using the Discourse. A dominant Discourse is what you default to in certain situations. There can be a couple of these, but it describes how you automatically begin to interact with someone. A non dominant Discourse is one that you have to focus on using, or one that you’re not as comfortable using. This could be because it conflicts with your primary or another dominant Discourse, or because you don’t use it often, but these you have to focus on using. If you lose focus on using a secondary Discourse, it is common to revert back to a dominant one.
