ABSTRACT

Narrative analysis has become one of the most important methodological tools for the study of processes of uprooting, relocation, adaptation to new surroundings and linguistic realities, and the consequent identity struggles of migrants and transnational individuals. It is widely accepted that narratives are a fundamental means through which people make sense of and share their take on experiences, no matter how big or small, how life-changing or insignificant. Narratives are a ubiquitous discourse genre given the many functions that they fulfil in social life. Stories are told to create common ground and to share experiences, to amuse and to instruct, but they can also be used to differentiate, to feed disputes and arguments. They are tools for both sociability and conflict in everyday life; however, they are also often imbricated in institutional practices and public communication and underlie many linguistic struggles. It comes as no surprise then that the study of narrative has attracted the attention of sociolinguists and other scholars interested in the interactions of language and social life and that it has experienced such a surge in popularity in the last decades.