Epistemic authority, authenticity, and the Filipino conyo

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 validates 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.