Gee, “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction” (p. 5-17)

Rhetoric is a technique of using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form. It is an art of discourse, which studies and employs various methods to convince, influence, or please an audience. In the reading, Gee says, “while
you can overtly teach someone linguistics, a body of knowledge, you can’t teach
them to be a linguist” (page 7). This quote explains that language is taught, so there are going to be biases which relates to rhetoric. Rhetoric is biased and I see it as somewhat of a form of propaganda. Gee also talks about how tone of voice is important when regarding rhetoric. The way someone acts is very important, not just the way someone speaks. In his article he says, “It is a truism that a person can know perfectly the grammar of a language and not know how to use that language. It is not just what you say, but how you say” (p. 5). Gee defines Discourse as the combination of saying, writing, doing, being. Gee also says, “Discourses. Discourses are not mastered by overt instruction (even less so than languages, and hardly anyone ever fluently acquired a second language sitting in a classroom), but by enculturation (“apprenticeship”) into social practices through scaffolded and supported interaction with people who have already mastered” (p. 7). I think what he means by this is you have to become a member of a discourse community to learn new discourses. You have to learn from experiences and discourse community can not be taught. One last thing Gee talks about is dominant discourse and non dominant discourse. Dominant discourse is more of a mainstream idea, the ideal view of someone or something based on society. Non dominant discourse is more underground and not so popular.