Professional+Discourse

The discourse community that will be discussed is that of my workplace. I work at the Museum of Art/WSU as a gallery attendant. Most of the people that come into the museum are students that are working on assignments from an art class that they are in. The rest of the people that come in are not really familiar with the way artists do things. When the curator gives tours and talks all about the history of the piece and how it is made there are always a lot of questions regarding the terms he uses to describe the process. There are also a lot of times where sometimes I don’t understand what they are talking about even though I have been working there for over months.

The primary language used at the museum is English. There aren’t many people who come into the museum that do not know how to speak English. When this happens the person usually has an interpreter that is with them to help translate otherwise there will be a big language barrier.

Since I work in a museum, there are many topics that are not suppose to be discussed due to the fact that it is a very professional atmosphere. It would definitely be looked down upon if you came into work and started talking about some crazy party that you attended. Talking about anything illegal is also not open to be discussed. Any topic that relates to artwork is pretty acceptable unless it has anything to do with committing a crime. The people that I work with love when you ask questions if you don’t understand something. They will do this for all co-workers and the people who come to the museum to look at the art. There are not a lot of instances where conflict arises about what is being discussed. Most people know how to talk and behave while in a museum.

In this discourse community, slang and profanity is not really used. It is expected that you use professional discourse while at work. Sometimes though, when there is nobody in the museum and my bosses are in just chatting it is usually okay for a few slang words or curse words. If they are used it is never anything offensive. Most of the time the language stays very professional. Slang words are not as big of a deal as curse words. The usage of slang words in the museum is a lot more common among the visitors than the personnel. If a person comes into the museum cursing a whole bunch, it is the duty of the gallery attendant to ask them to leave because they are disrupting the other people who are trying to enjoy the work.

Professional language doesn’t generally allow for a lot of interruption in conversations. I would not be allowed to keep my job if I intentionally interrupted all the people who came into the museum. When my co-workers are just chatting it isn’t as big a deal if you interrupt, but most of the time we are all very patient and know when it is our turn to talk. The members in this discourse community know when it is there turn to talk when the other person asks for their opinion or finishes what they are saying.