On the conditions of authority in academic publics

The discourse of some of the most powerful public figures in today’s world is often incoherent and nonsensical. Incoherent yet authoritative discourse shows that authority does not rest in language but results from non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions. The non‐linguistic and pre‐textual conditions are exemplified in an Australian case‐study of a media debate between the Immigration Minister and a refugee, drawing on research by Smith‐Khan (2019a, 2019b). Two such conditions are then examined with reference to academic publics. First, I ask which languages do or do not carry authority, before moving on to speaker identity as a condition of authority. The close association between English and academic excellence has resulted in diminishing the authority of academic publications in languages other than English. The same is true of publications by women and people of colour. I close by reflecting on referencing practices as forms of extending authoritativeness to voices in excluded languages and from excluded scholars in academic publics. 关于学术群体和权威性的探讨 当今世界有权势的公众人物话语时常缺乏逻辑且荒谬。缺乏逻辑但却具有权威性的话语表明权威并不源自于语言本身，而是来源于非语言因素和先语篇的条件。非语言因素和先语篇条件可以从 Smith‐Khan (2019a, 2019b) 在澳大利亚进行的一项案例研究体现，这项研究对移民部部长和一位难民在媒体上的争论进行分析。本文要探讨的是非语言因素和先语篇条件在学术界的问题。首先，本文探讨哪种语言具有或不具有权威性，其次，本文讨论说话者的身份如何影响话语权威。本文指出英语和学术能力的密切关联导致非英文学术作品失去权威性。同样，女性和有色人种的学术作品也无法获得权威性。最后，本文指出文献引用应顾及被学术圈排斥在外的语言和学者们，因为文献引用是话语权威的延伸形式。