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Cameroon is home to 230 languages. These include 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, and 173 Niger-Congo languages. This latter group is divided into one West Atlantic language (Fulfulde), 32 Adamawa-Ubangui languages, and 142 Benue-Congo languages (130 of which are Bantu languages).[1]
English and French are official languages, a heritage of Cameroon's colonial past as both a colony of the United Kingdom and France from 1916 to 1960. The nation strives toward bilingualism, but in reality, very few Cameroonians speak both French and English, and many speak neither. The government has established several bilingual schools in an effort to teach both languages more evenly.[2] Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie.
Most people in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest provinces speak Cameroonian Pidgin English as a lingua franca.[3] Fulfulde serves the same function in the north, and Ewondo in much of the Center, South, and East provinces.[4] Camfranglais (or Frananglais) is a relatively new pidgin communication form emerging in urban areas and other locations where Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians meet and interact. Popular singers have used the hybrid language and added to its popularity.[5]
There is little literature, radio, or television programming in native Cameroonian languages. Nevertheless, a large number of Cameroonian languages have alphabets or other writing systems, many developed by the Christian missionary group SIL International, who have translated the Bible, Christian hymns, and other materials. Sultan Ibrahim Njoya developed the shu mom script for the Bamum language.[4]
- ^ Neba 65.
- ^ DeLancey and DeLancey 51.
- ^ DeLancey and DeLancey 220.
- ^ a b DeLancey and DeLancey 192.
- ^ DeLancey and DeLancey 131.
[edit] References
- DeLancey, Mark W., and DeLancey, Mark Dike (2000): Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press.
- Neba, Aaron, Ph.D. (1999). Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon, 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers.
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