INTRODUCTION

The colonial transplant of English after World War I has taken root in Cameroon and
flourishes today as a Cameroonian language in its own right. It certainly made a great
revolution. In southern Cameroon (the northwest and southwest regions), English became the
primary medium of education and with its adaptation, there came the earliest efforts towards
the “Englishization” (Kachru, 1986) of Cameroon although it is doubtful if this process
created Cameroonians in blood and colour, but English in taste, opinion, in morals, and in
intellect. In turn, a firm foundation was however laid for the localization of the English
language in Cameroon. English in Cameroon, for example, is said to have undergone
nativization, because changes have occurred in aspects of phonology, vocabulary, and
grammar, so that it is now recognised as a district variety of English—CE (Cameroon
English).

In its Cameroonized form, English has now become an integral part of Cameroon’s
linguistic repertoire. The peculiar Cameroonian situation and the experiences of
Cameroonians make a local variety of English imperative. It is also clear that “pure” British
English cannot function effectively in Cameroon any more than it can in the United States or
South Africa. While nativization is the natural result of linguistic and cultural content, this
paper argues that Cameroon’s intralingualism and ethnic pluralism have added further levels
of complexity to the simple idea of conscious or unconscious innovations in the language to
functionally adapt it to the local milieu. In mixing (Clyne, 1972) words, phrases, clauses, and
idioms from Cameroonian languages, PE (Pidgin English), and French into English, or in
switching (Fishman, 1971) from one language identity into another, Cameroonians are not
just using a code; they are also expressing an identity, a linguistic belonging to a geographical
location called Cameroon. When a Cameroonian opens his/her month to speak English, the
Cameroonian identity is transparent. This identity is not only the pronunciation of some
vowels or consonants or in the stressing (or lack of stressing) of words, but is deeper than
that: It is in the rhythm and the pauses. Cameroonians were never encouraged to speak like
the “master”. The “accent bar” (Abercrombie, 1951) was purposely used by the British as a
linguistic indicator for maintaining a distance between the “masters” and the “natives”.

LINGUISTIC SITUATION OF CAMEROON

The Linguistic Situation in Cameroon, a country of over 12 million inhabitants (the

1987 Census) covering a surface area of 475,000 km2 is said to have been “discovered” by
Portuguese explorers in 1472 (Chumbow & Bobda, 1996, p. 402). The great majority of
Cameroonians are either bilingual or multilingual. This bilingualism and or multilingualism
should be no surprising thing, for according to the linguistic atlas of Cameroon there 239
indigenous languages belonging to many totally different families (Chumbow & Bobda, 1996,
p. 44). This makes Cameroon one of the most linguistically complex nations in the world. As
a result of inter-ethnic interaction, many Cameroonians are capable of mastering a number of
these languages and can thus code switch spontaneously depending on the interlocutors
involved. Superimposed

LEXICAL FEATURES OF CAMEROON ENGLISH

Home Language Lexical Influences on English The influence of home languages on

English is mostly felt in the area of vocabulary. It is in this domain that we easily see the
originality and the particularity of Cameroon English. Understandably, Cameroon English
vocabulary reflects the local socio-cultural realities and attitudes of the users. There is a range
of words borrowed from local languages in some cases, because these are no readily available
English equivalents or because local words are more convenient as seen in Tables 1-2 as
regards clothes and food items respectively.

Table: Dress Lexical Items from Some Cameroonian Languages.

Cameroonian Lexical item Cameroon standard Meaning

language English
Mokpwe Kaba Kaba: I bought a A big loose dress
kaba for my wife
Mokpwe/Oroko Sandja Sandja: He has on a Loin cloth for men
sandja
Fulani Bouba Bouba: My mother’s Blouse
bouba is white
Mokpe/Douala Mboti Mboti: I bought some Clothes
mboti in Soppo
market.

Table2 Food Lexical Items From Some Cameroonian Languages.

Cameroonian Lexical item Cameroon standard Meaning
language English
Mokpwe/Oroko Ekwang Ekwang we had Grated cocoyam
ekwang for lunch wrapped in green
yesterday. vegetables
Bayang Eru Eru fufu and eru is Wild green
quite popular among vegetables
the Bayangs
Bafut/Mankon . Achu Achu will be on the Pounded cocoyam
menu on Monday
Douala Ndole My daughter likes Bitter leaves mixed
and plantains. ndole with groundnuts
Bassa Mbongo My favourite food is A sort of black soup
Mbongo.
Ritkak kpwem My wife usually Cassava leaves
cooks kpwem for
whenever I am
coming back a
mission.
Fulani Tasba Fatima invited me to Vegetable
eat Tasba

Table 1. Examples of preferred forms of lexical items in CamE

Standard British English Standard American (Preferred) CamE form

English
Office of Foreign Affairs State Department Office of Foreign Affairs

Vice-Chancellor President Vice-chancellor

Parliament Congress Parliament

Lorry Truck Lorry
Bill Cheque Cheque
Essay Term paper Term paper
House of Commons House of Representatives House of Assembly/ National
Assembly
Source: Atechi (2008).

INFLUENCE OF FRENCH IN CAMEROUN ENGLISH

In Cameroon, borrowing comes not only from the widespread local languages, but also
and most importantly, from French, the dominant official language. Actually, the system of
government in this country is French-based; generally, official documents are conceived in
French and then translated into English, with the French version alone being legally binding.
This situation is reflected in the lexis of this country’s English, which includes a sizeable
proportion of French loans and French-sounding words. These features are captured below
under the labels direct loan and loan translation.

1. Direct loan

French loans abound in various domains of the official life of the country. In the domain
of administration for example, the French word “demande d’explication” is generally used in
place of its English equivalent “query”. Similar loans are attested in the domain of politics,
finance, law, army, health and the like, as can be inferred from the illustrations below:

- demande d’explication: query The director gave me a demande d’explication this morning
because yesterday I left the office before closing time

- procureur: magistrate appointed by presidential decree to act as a public prosecutor in a

court My classmate was nominated procureur at the Buea first instance court (note the use of
“nominated” in place of “appointed”, which is accounted for below)

- concours: competitive examination Some university graduates write more than five
concours in a year and of course they keep on failing

A close look at these direct loans shows that they are used in Cameroon English to
solve at least four major linguistic problems. First, they are used to designate objects and
concepts for which the English language does not have a name, like capacite (certificate
issued by a law faculty and equated with the British GCE A level). Secondly, they are used
when the English term for an object or concept does not describe it effectively or is less
expressive, like accoucheur, which refers to both a female and a male midwife. Thirdly, they
are used when an English term is too wordy or is lengthier than its loan counterpart, as can be
illustrated by concours (competitive examination). Fourthly, they are used to facilitate
effective and quick communication between the francophone and anglophone members of the
community.

Loan translation

Loan translation is a word formative process which consists in forming a new word by
translating word for word the individual parts of a lexeme. In Cameroon English, this process
does not only yield words which are literal translations from French, like “minister of State”
(<French: ministre d’etat), “assistant nurse” (<French: infirmier adjoint). It also causes most
French and English cognates to be used as equivalents, irrespective of their meanings. Hence,
the Standard English words “direction”, “controller”, “align” and “lieutenant” are instantly
used as equivalents for the French words “direction”, “controleur”, “aligner” and “lieutenant”,
which is what Nash et al (1996) refer to as deceptive cognates in their Puerto Rican English
corpus. Needless to say that such translations sometimes interfere with existing words, like
“secretary of state”, which renders the French word “secretaire d’etat” and therefore differs
from the standard word “secretary of state”. Below are cited two words identified in each of
the institutionalised semantic domains listed. The sentences illustrating these words are
constructed by the informants, unless otherwise specified.

- decision (<Fr. decision): work contract for low level state employees like drivers, cleaners,
porters and the like.

Immediately his decision was signed, he took up duties and since then, he has been receiving
his salary every month

- nominate (<Fr. nommer): appoint

Mr Awanti is nominated chief of service in the direction of General Affairs (Mr Awanti is
appointed service head of Personnel Office)

- Financial controller (<Fr. controleur financier): state auditor

The former treasurer was appointed financial controller of the Ministry of Agriculture

- Co-wife (<Fr. co-epouse): wife in a polygamous set-up

The secretary phoned this morning to tell you that her co-wife got a baby last night and that
she was attending to her, so she may not come to work today
Other illustrations can be seen in the table below:

Cameroon English words French source words Gloss

prolongation Prolongation extra time
brigade Brigade gendarme station
caution Caution security/guaranty
dispensary Dispensaire pharmacy
enclaved Enclave(e) landlocked
align a child Aligner un enfant register the birth of a child
life certificate Certificat de vie affidavit
median line Ligne mediane halfway line

Firstly, it is used to fill a cultural gap, as can be illustrated by the word co-wife, which
designates wives in a polygamous household. Native English cultures are inherently
monogamous, so no provision is made in the language to refer to this practice. As the French
language has a word for it, this French word is translated literally into English (co-wife: <Fr.
co-epouse).

Secondly, loan translation is used when an English cognate word, because of its
similarity with a French word, is chosen as the equivalent of this French word, irrespective of
context of use. Such choices have extended the list of French and English false friends in
Cameroon. To take just one example, the English word “prolongation” is adopted as the
equivalent of the French football term “prolongation”, that is “extra time”

Thirdly, loan translation is used to facilitate communication between the anglophone

and francophone communities of the country. In fact, an English structure interspersed with
loan translation words is potentially easier for francophones to comprehend – and to produce
– than one with standard words and expressions. Actually, the use of native and colloquial
terms can blur communication with francophones and can eventually lead to antagonistic
behaviour.