Neologisms and Cameroonisms in Cameroon English and Cameroon Francophone English

Abstract

Language learning/use is a very delicate task. When a learner/user of a given language is confronted with a difficulty, he/she is forced to create to communicate. This can be observed in most New Englishes. Those varieties of English abound in neologisms and local languages items. From an interlanguage frame, this study looks at some neologisms and Cameroonisms in Cameroon English (CamE) / Cameroon Francophone English (CamFE). The data come from debates on national radio stations and TV channels, conversations among students and university lecturers on university campuses across Cameroon, casual encounters such as public gatherings or during journeys, and from students’ essays. The findings show that, in CamE, most neologisms come from Pidgin English or French while Cameroonisms come from local languages, the inflection of some English words and skilful combination of some English structures. In CamFE, most neologisms come from French and Cameroonisms from home languages and code mixing.

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