Sociocultural impact of the Chinese presence in Senegal: Intercultural dynamics and multilingual communication

While Sino-Senegalese relations have grown substantially in recent years, our understanding of the cultural and sociolinguistic impact of this phenomenon on Senegalese society is still limited. The objective of the present research is to understand the implications of the growing Chinese presence in Senegal, with a particular focus on interpersonal relations and linguistic dynamics. The research is developed using a mixed methods design. An ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 163 Senegalese participants and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Senegalese participants. In addition, 4 ethnostories were collected from Chinese citizens living in Senegal. In order to understand the general sentiment of African media on the considered topic, Sentiment Analysis was performed on 142 news articles in French and English language regarding Sino-Senegalese relations. Our findings suggest that personal interactions between the two studied populations are sporadic and mostly due to commercial needs. The Chinese diaspora appears to be highly heterogeneous with regard to the composition but also to integration patterns and outcomes. As a result of the growing Chinese presence in the country, there has been a growing interest in learning Chinese language by the Senegalese population, as suggested by data collected through questionnaires and interviews. Senegalese perception of the impact of China on Senegal is subject to highly polarising opinions and can be analysed mainly from two perspectives: the economic and the sociocultural impact. However, the positive view of the phenomenon is predominant among participants for both sides. African newspaper coverage of Chinese presence in Senegal revealed a predominant neutral/positive sentiment towards the phenomenon. Despite this, negative views were noted, particularly regarding the impact of Chinese enterprises on the local market. As we can only expect Sino-Senegalese relations to grow in the near future, we firmly believe further research should be undertaken in this area of interest.