Language and Intentionality: Exploring agency in language use as a marker of identity among Senegalese street sellers in Florence

Since the 1980s, Italy has become one of the leading destinations of Senegalese migration and one of the countries with the most numerous Senegalese population in Europe. Along with other African diasporas, Senegalese migrants in Italy are an object of interest of the national media that generally portray them as a monolithic group, uniformed under simplistic images and victim of its circumstances. The presence of this community has also been the interest of many scholars within the social sciences. In their works, these scholars adopted a more nuanced and objective look towards Senegalese migrants’ conditions in Italy, taking into account agency and diversity in dealing with the complex situation of this migrant community. Building from the corpus of research laid down by these works, this thesis contributes to the discussion on Senegalese migrants’ agency from a different perspective. Drawing from the example of Senegalese street sellers working in Florence, the present work shows...Show moreSince the 1980s, Italy has become one of the leading destinations of Senegalese migration and one of the countries with the most numerous Senegalese population in Europe. Along with other African diasporas, Senegalese migrants in Italy are an object of interest of the national media that generally portray them as a monolithic group, uniformed under simplistic images and victim of its circumstances. The presence of this community has also been the interest of many scholars within the social sciences. In their works, these scholars adopted a more nuanced and objective look towards Senegalese migrants’ conditions in Italy, taking into account agency and diversity in dealing with the complex situation of this migrant community. Building from the corpus of research laid down by these works, this thesis contributes to the discussion on Senegalese migrants’ agency from a different perspective. Drawing from the example of Senegalese street sellers working in Florence, the present work shows how the use they make of language can be seen as a way to recover actors' agency. Specifically, by considering the use they make of language as an identity marker, the present thesis reveals the role that Senegalese street vendors have in dealing with their new (linguistic) circumstances. Within this framework, intentionality in language use works as a concept to understand and investigate agency. In this way, the present work sheds light on language use as an asset for Senegalese street sellers’ agency; moreover, it gives a practical solution to understand and analyse agency by pointing to how intentionality may be expressed in language use.Show less

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Language and Intentionality: Exploring agency in language use as a marker of identity among Senegalese street sellers in Florence