Discussing the Terms - Vernacular, Social Network, Crossover Effect, Creole Continuum - Research Paper Example

Social network: The phrase, social network, refers to a group of people who are held together by familial, professional or other interests. Generally speaking, the most common social networks are family groups, referring to both nuclear and extended families. Insofar as children or youth are concerned, school and college friends constitute a social network of primary importance, just as work colleagues often do with adults. Indeed, were one to critically consider the concept of social networks in relation to oneself, one would discover him/herself to be a member of various social networks, both real and virtual.

In application to myself, I would identify my real-work social networks as my friends and family, to name but two groups and my virtual social networks as all the internet chat and interest groups to which I belong and with whose members I share common interests and hobbies.Ethnography of Communication: As a concept, ethnography of communication, refer to a very interesting phenomenon; one which is based on a concession to the fact that there is much more to verbal communication and interaction than the exchange of information.

According to the anthropologist, D. House (2003), the concept of ethnography of communication was introduced and developed by the anthropologist Dell Hymes, who argued that verbal communications can only be fully understood and appreciated were their social context taken into consideration. In other words, and as House (2003) explains, within the context of practically any and all forms of verbal communications, the meaning is not communicated through words alone but also through silences, tones, nuances and the gaps between exchanges.