The construction of the author's voice in academic writing: the interplay of cultural and disciplinary factors

Abstract

The presentation of scientific discourse in academic texts is characterized, among other features, by the construction of an authorial voice which projects an image of the authors themselves and of their relation to their arguments, community, and readers. The construction of the author's voice is here explored in the frequency of use, distribution, and discourse function of first-person pronouns across languages (English and Spanish) in research articles within the discipline of Business Management written in English as L1, and in English as L2, and in Spanish by Spanish academics. The divergences observed suggest that the disciplinary and the linguistic variables interplay and determine the textual points in the research article at which authors make themselves visible, and the frequency of that visibility. Significant conclusions can be drawn as to how visible Spanish academics make themselves when writing in English, and whether the divergences/similarities found in comparison with their Anglo-American peers respond to interference of their academic literacies in Spanish. This knowledge may then allow them to make informed decisions as to whether and/or in what senses they may modulate their voice to comply with what is expected from writers publishing in international contexts in Business Management.