‘ Being Anglophone is not enough’: language, nationality and group membership in Cameroon.

1. ‘Being Anglophone is not enough’: language, nationality and group membership in Cameroon. Dr Rebecca A. Mitchell

2. THE LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN CENTRAL AFRICA

3. Population c. 20,129,878 Exoglossic language policy French and English are sole official languages No national language No majority language Large urban population (58%) High literacy rate (76%) CAMEROON

4. THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC CONTEXT OF CAMEROON • Region of exceptional ethnolinguistic diversity • 248 - 285 local languages; 3 out of 4 of Africa’s linguistic phyla attested (Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Kordofanian). • Dialect-language controversy: A70 languages are mutually partially intelligible but ethnically distinct.

5. THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES • 8 Francophone provinces and 2 Anglophone provinces : 20% Anglophone. • Official exclusion of the local languages from the education system. • Bilingual schools.

6. LINGUA FRANCA DISTRIBUTION Hausa, Arabic (supraregional) Fulfulde Kanuri & Wandala Cameroonian Pidgin English Douala Beti-Fang Basaa

7. RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS • 109 respondents; SES, gender and ethnic group not previously quantified; average age 21 • Focus of questionnaire: • self-reported proficiency in the local languages • perception of the relevance of local languages and culture to the education system • attitudes towards the official language policy • perception of the role of language, ethnic group and race as identity markers

8. ETHNOLINGUISTIC VARIABLES OF RESPONDENTS • 84% monoethnic • 36% born in Douala. • 49 different ethnic groups. • 50% of respondents are Bamileke (19 different ethnolinguistic variants) • All languages are of the Bantoid branch of Niger-Congo • Grassfields, A40 (Bassa), A10 (Bakossi & Oroko), A20 (Douala & Bakweri), A15 (Mboh), A60 (Yambassa, Manguissa) and A70 (Eton, Ewondo, Beti & Bulu)

9. THE BILINGUAL IDEAL

10. BILINGUALISM • Role of French and English as identity markers • 20% ‘Anglophone’, 74% ‘Francophone’, 5% ‘bilingual’ • Bilingualism: characteristic of Cameroon and a desirable societal/personal attribute. • 4% of respondents disapprove of official bilingualism.

11. COMPARTMENTALISATION • Progressive narrowing-down of the linguistic repertoire in the home. • Child-parent discourse: 23 non-European languages reported. 57% say their parents speak to them in French or English. • Parent-child discourse: 31 non-European languages reported.73% speak to their parents in French or English. • Dialect, langue maternelle, patois, mother tongue, langue camerounaise, langue traditionelle, native language, local language, vernacular.

12. LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE • 25% consider ‘French’ and ‘English’ to be ‘Cameroonian languages’. • 10% cannot speak a local language. • Linguistic competence is lower in respondents who do not visit the village • Evidence of linguistic and cultural attrition: rural exodus prevents replenishment of the rural population.

13. RURAL LANGUAGES IN CRISIS • Twendi in Sanga village (< 1000 speakers) • Njen in Njen village (1,800 speakers) • Tuotomb in Bonek village (1000 speakers) • Mbule in Mbola village (100 speakers) • Pam (30 speakers) NB. 2007 estimates

14. PROPOSALS FOR A NATIONAL LANGUAGE • 56% propose a language other than their own: suggests high level of linguistic security. • Preference for established lingua francas, eg. Douala (16%): symbolic identiary role • Bamileke: geographically predominant, protective of culture, renowned for business acumen. • ‘Bamileke, because it’s similar to English’. • 2nd most popular choice: English (16%), cf. French (6%) . • Suggestion of one language per province.

15. LANGUAGE AND NATIONAL UNITY • 10% believe bilingualism is a prerequisite for Cameroonian identity. • Only 5% equate being Cameroonian with the mastery of a local language. • Linguistic diversity: positive rather than divisive. • ‘to be a Cameroonian one must learn how to speak the 2 national languages’. • ‘being capable of expressing myself in my mother’s tongue, being bilingual’ • ‘to be Cameroonian is to know your country and all its languages’ • ‘it’s to speak a Cameroonian language and be Francophone/Anglophone’

16. IDENTITY MARKERS • 3-tier identity system proposed for Gabon: racial, national, ethnic group [Anglophone/ Francophone] • Resulting order: African, Cameroonian, ethnic, Anglophone/Francophone. • 47% placed Anglophone/Francophone last. • Challenges existing claims that being Anglophone/Francophone is central to identity construction • New variables: name, appearance, ethnic group, nationality, language, class, character and race. • Nationality (82%), name (79%), ethnic group (57%) and race (27%). • Ethnic group is a relatively weak identity marker

17. ETHNIC GROUP MEMBERSHIP • 45% can identify a stranger by his language use. • 13% cited competence in an indigenous language as necessary for ethnic group membership • ‘I must be able to speak the language’.

18. CONCLUSIONS • French and English have been indigenised as ‘Cameroonian languages’. • Ongoing attrition of local languages in domestic discourse • Self-reported competence in the local languages is fairly high • Linguistic security is robust • Strong sense of national unity • Bilingualism is a salient characteristic of nationhood but speaker-perceived bilingualism is very low • Risk of cultural and linguistic attrition > ethnolinguistic levelling favouring majority languages.

19. SOLUTIONS • Community initiatives. • Cameroonian cultural studies in schools: Familiarise students with ethnic groups and local languages Basic language instruction Introduction to history, music, oral literature etc. • Obviates need for actual standardisation but absence of written records could be problematic • Role of the sociolinguist or social anthropologist in raising awareness.