The Self-representation of Refugees through Pronominal Choice. A Case-study on Migration Counter-discourse in a Collection of Narratives on Refugees by Refugees

This paper explores self-representation of refugees by analysing pronoun usage in a collection of refugee narratives. By adopting a corpus-assisted discourse studies methodology, this work aims at providing insights into how refugees perceive themselves individually and collectively. The analysis reveals a predominant use of the pronoun "I," reflecting an individual identity. However, several narratives also exhibit the consistent use of "we," which is employed in both referential and impersonal contexts, though never in a vague sense. Three primary referents are identified: for the referential use, the family and the community; and for the impersonal use, an undefined generic group, which may refer to any refugee or all of humanity.