**4. Managing languages during the colonial and post-colonial periods**

When the Germans annexed Cameroon as a colony in 1884, Pidgin was a fully developed language [4] but they declared the language illegal. Soon the Germans found it difficult to communicate without it. They realized that it would take long to teach a generation of Cameroonians German and be able to work with in the territory. Pidgin English was then used in oral transactions. The German rule was short-lived. At the end of World War I in Cameroon in 1916, Cameroon was divided between the British and the French, with the majority (80%) of Cameroon ceded to French control [6] and 20% to British as a mandatory territory. French Cameroon gained its independence in 1960, and the union of French Cameroon and English Cameroon took place in 1961 [6] after British Cameroon gained its

own independence deciding to join French Cameroon. Bilingualism in English and French was chosen to resolve the problem of multilingualism in the new country and to preserve national unity in a fragile federation [7]. Although it was not accorded official status, Pidgin English remained in and is used [6] for daily business, being the oldest foreign language used across different parts of Cameroon.

Today, Pidgin is mainly spoken in the Northwest, Southwest and Littoral Regions of Cameroon. Its spread is more in the two official Anglophone areas, plus the two adjacent Francophone regions: the Littoral and the West Region and recently the Central Region's main cities [4]. It is also a main Lingua Franca of other main cities of Cameroon, especially in the Northern Regions by virtue of its proximity with Nigeria. Pidgin is spoken even in the predominantly French-speaking capital. Ethnic neighborhoods developed there after reunification in 1961, when Anglophone appointees to federal positions began to move there [8]. After the movement of important public services to Yaounde in 1972, immigration from the Anglophone region turned into a flood and has remained intensive with the War of the Restoration of the State of Southern Cameroon. Anglophone neighborhoods have emerged in main cities and Pidgin English and the English Languages have made major in routes as a result of the settling internally displaced persons in the Majority French speaking territory.

## **5. Evolving interactions of European and local languages in Cameroon**

The history of European Languages in Cameroon dates as far back as the period of Portuguese explorations when they traded in the Gulf of Guinea, starting with the trading in goods then in humans (Slave Trade). They named the territory along the Wouri River as Cameroes, meaning shrimps culled from the Wouri River that they had named Rio dos Cameroes (River of Shrimps). The Spanish Language followed, then the English Language. By the beginning of the 19th Century Slave Trade had ended. American and English Missionaries came across with Christianity to Africa and the English Language was introduced in Cameroon in 1841 [7] through the first missionaries. When Cameroon became a German territory through annexation the German Language was introduced for German colonial administration. The English Language continued to be used as the language of instruction in schools and for missionary work. When Britain and France defeated Germany in 1916, Kamerun was divided into two. Britain took the Western Territory bordering Eastern Nigeria and named it British Cameroons and France took the Eastern Territory and named it French Camerouns. While the English Language continued being used in the Western Territory, The French Language was introduced in the Eastern Territory. The French Language was introduced in 1916 when French influence started after the World War I [6].

In the British Cameroons Territory the British reserved a place for three local languages in schools: Duala, Bali (Mungaka), and Fulani, based on the policy of "Indirect Rule" and in an attempt to avoid uprooting Cameroonians from their culture [6]. Alongside these languages and the English Languages, the Pidgin English prevailed as the lingua franca and the most widely spoken across the board in administration, trade and missionary work. British missions were the first to put Cameroonian vernaculars into writing [6]. The Bible was translated into the three local languages and these languages were used for instruction in schools at initial levels and for missionary work in communities. Although originally more localized, the British policy gradually became less friendly to other Cameroonian vernaculars after four decades [7]. Peoples who spoke languages other than the three resisted and wanted their own languages to be included in the policy. In 1956,

#### *Multilingualism in Cameroon: An Expression of Many Countries in One Country DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99703*

local languages were only used if more than 75% of students spoke the language. Gradually, English replaced the native languages, and English was declared an official language in 1961 at Independence [9]. The British policy was to encourage anyone that could attend school to do so but Chiefs and notables in the British Territory preferred sending the children of commoners to be beaten as used to obtain with slaves.

The French policy on the other hand was to completely convert the people of her territory to French speakers and to replace languages with the French Language and the local cultures with French culture. During the period between the World Wars, although French was used in schools, schools were not intended for all children [10]. They were often established for the sons of chiefs, members of the traditional elite class who would presumably inherit political leadership [10]. Although the schools varied, they always taught French language, French administrative procedures, and traditional laws. Their mission was political aimed at legitimatizing French rule and diffusing spoken French so that colonial administrators would not need interpreters [10] in discharging their duties. From 1920, the French required the use of their language in all schools, and local languages were forbidden [9]. By independence, French was present in school, administration, and other domains [11]. Education was valued for the way it provided access to the social and economic realm of colonial power [12]. French educated children usually found work with Europeans, rather than returning to villages to work in farms [12]. Education, the French language, and power were all closely linked.

French Cameroon gained its independence in 1960, and British Cameroon obtained its independence on February 11, 1961 and joined French Cameroon to form the union of French (East) Cameroons and English (West) Cameroons that took place in on October 1, 1961 [6]. To efficiently manage the territories where the English Language and the French Languages were spoken, "Bilingualism" was chosen to resolve the problem of multilingualism in Cameroon and to preserve national unity in a federation thought to be fragile [7]. It would not have been possible to privilege one of the languages to the detriment of the other. The English and French Languages were enshrined in the Federal Constitution of 1961 as languages with equal status. With the Constitutional amendment of 1996, these provisions were reaffirmed in unequivocal terms. Article 1, paragraph 3, thereof provides that: "The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be English and French, both languages having the same status. The State shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country". This was not just policy as from 1961 (see **Figure 3**).

Actions to support teaching and translation followed. In 1962 a bilingual university was created in the new country's capital, Yaounde. Cameroonian English pidgin remained in use [6] across the territory as a lingua franca, especially for business, evangelism and socializing. To encourage individuals to speak both English and French, the Ministry of National Education instructed that French be taught in all institutions above the primary level in the Anglophone regions, and that English be taught at all institutions above the primary level in the Francophone regions. This led to the widespread of both languages across the country. Though later highly contested because of the management of the bilingualism policy which led to dissension against the central government by people inhabiting the dominantly English Speaking territory in 2016 leading to a problem, crises and a war from November 2017. The response from government was the creation of a National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism in 2017. The issue of languages was going to be handled within the aspect of multiculturalism, language being one of the main aspects of culture. It means managing more than 280 languages spoken in Cameroon.

**Figure 3.** *Stepwise definition of country according to linguistic groupings.*
