Linguistic inequality in Cameroon: The case of advertising in Douala

Nkamta, Paul Nepapleh; Ngwenya, Themba

doi:10.1080/02572117.2017.1316934

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Also, LL studies carried out in the state of Cameroon are very rare. In their article on "Linguistic inequality in Cameroon," Nkamta & Ngwenya (2017) deplore the fact that indigenous languages in the city of Douala are marginalized to a large extent, something which is most evident in the field of advertising as part of the overall landscape. Leaving out indigenous African languages in advertising and commercialization, among other things, denies many Cameroonians access to information and knowledge in their vernaculars, along with opportunities to participate in higher-level, formal discourses of advertising.…”

Section: Linguistic Landscapes Of Africa and Earlier Ll Studies On Ca...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the linguistic landscape of Cameroon: Reflections on language policy and ideology

Pütz

2020

Russian Journal of Linguistics

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This contribution focuses on the study of Linguistic Landscapes in the Central/Western African state of Cameroon, with particular reference to its capital, Yaoundé. Linguistic landscapes is a relatively recent area of research, and can be broadly defined as the visual representation of languages in public space. This paper will show that the field of linguistic landscapes can act as a reflection of linguistic hierarchies, ideologies and acts of resistance in multilingual and multicultural communities. At the same time, the sociolinguistic situation in the country will be investigated, which is paramount to understanding the linguistic and ideological conflicts between the anglophone minority and the francophone government. Cameroon’s linguistic landscape will be explored via the various spaces that English, French, Pidgin English, Camfranglais and, to a minor degree, indigenous African languages occupy in its sociolinguistic composition. The methodological design is quantitative in nature, involving collecting more than 600 linguistic tokens (digital photos) in various public places mainly in and around the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé. It will be demonstrated that the deployment of languages on signs and linguistic tokens, apart from serving informative and symbolic functions for the audiences or passers-by they target, also has social and political implications in an ethnically heterogeneous and linguistically hybrid society such as Cameroon. Whereas in some other former British colonies there are indications that the public space is being symbolically constructed in order to preserve some of Africa’s indigenous languages (e.g. in Botswana, Rwanda, Tanzania), in Cameroon the linguistic landscape almost exclusively focuses on the dominant status and role of one single language, i.e. French, and to a lesser extent English, whose speakers therefore feel marginalized and oppressed by the French government.

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Section: Linguistic Landscapes Of Africa and Earlier Ll Studies On Ca...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the linguistic landscape of Cameroon: Reflections on language policy and ideology

Pütz

2020

Russian Journal of Linguistics

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“…Among other case studies that are published in SAJAL (South African Journal of African Languages) is a paper on Zimbabwe's linguistic landscaping (Mamvura 2020) as evident in the country's toponymy which is shaped by a naming strategy that pays respect to outstanding traditional leaders . Another paper has to do with LL in officially bilingual Cameroun, where, however, English is less privileged than French (Nkamta & Ngwenya 2017) . LL in the same country is dealt with in the exhaustive and extremely informative Pütz (2020) paper .…”

Section: Residualmentioning

confidence: 99%

African linguistic landscapes: Focus on English

Legère¹

2022

LiA

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English is the official or co-official language in 21 African nations. Out of these the linguistic landscape analysis here focuses on two countries, that is Namibia and Tanzania. In the latter case, the national language Swahili enjoys de facto the same status as English which, however, for the number of competent speakers is a minority language in this East African country, Namibia and elsewhere in Africa. The paper deals mainly with the English use in various domains, as evidenced in billboard texts, shop signs, on murals, buildings and more. It describes the top-down (originating from central institutions) or bottom up (grassroots) approach to shaping the linguistic landscape in public. From this perspective the paper demonstrates the high prestige of English.

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Linguistic inequality in Cameroon: The case of advertising in Douala

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Exploring the linguistic landscape of Cameroon: Reflections on language policy and ideology

Exploring the linguistic landscape of Cameroon: Reflections on language policy and ideology

African linguistic landscapes: Focus on English

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