Multilingual Practices in Presbyterian Churches in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper examines multilingual practices in Presbyterian Churches in Cameroon, paying special attention to the languages that are used to perform church activities and the factors that determine the choice of these languages in a given polity. The data are drawn from two parishes in Yaounde, Cameroon: the Oyomabang parish of the Eglise Presbyterienne Camerounaise and the Nsimeyong parish of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. The framework for analysis is that used by Kouega (2008a) to describe language use in the Catholic Church in Cameroon. The analysis of the data collected reveals that a service in Presbyterian Churches can be broken into some 15 sections and the dominant languages used in Yaounde are English, French and Basaa, an ancestral language. Besides, one foreign language – Latin – and seven ancestral languages – Akoose, Bulu, Duala, Kenyang, Lamnso’, Meta’ and Mungaka – are used in the parishes. These languages are chosen for a variety of reasons including the historical background of these churches in Cameroon, the numerical weight of a group of faithful in a given parish and the degree of involvement of a given tribe in

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