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Article published In: Language, Culture and Society
Vol. 7:1 (2025) ► pp.5–27

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Epistemic authority, authenticity, and the Filipino conyo

ORCiD logo with link | University of Alberta
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Alberta.

Published online: 31 July 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lcs.25002.lac
Abstract
This article investigates the negotiation of authenticity and authority through conversation analysis of a post on an online Filipino forum and two interactions from its comment section. I first review literature relating to sociolinguistic authenticity and authority, which are supposedly in conflict, and epistemic authority. I argue that epistemic authority is intimately connected to authenticating oneself as a valid member of an identity group. I then look at the Philippine context, such as authentication in relation to the conyo, a supposedly fake and English dominant Filipino that serves as the foil to a real, authentic Filipino. Close conversation analysis of a Reddit post and its comments regarding conyo identity demonstrates how claiming authenticity means claiming epistemic authority and vice versa.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Authenticity and authority
  • 3.Epistemic authority
  • 4.Data and methodology
  • 5.Negotiating the conyo category
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Works Cited
References (53)
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