Official bilingualism and indigenous language loss: The case of Cameroon

Cameroon is an African country whose complex linguistic and cultural situation has attracted a lot of interest in academia. From the early days of independence, decision-makers in Cameroon have attempted to find ways to promote a peaceful coexistence between the various languages and cultures within the country. Nevertheless, they have mostly encouraged the use of two colonial languages as evidenced by the country’s dual system of education. Though the dominance of English and French in Cameroon’s education has had positive effects such as opening the country to the world, it has also contributed to the marginalisation and gradual extinction of vernacular languages, which were spoken before the arrival of colonial masters. This paper therefore sets out to examine the reasons behind the overwhelming presence of European languages in Cameroon’s education. It is also a call for the preservation of Cameroon’s indigenous languages in a context where most of them are losing domains of use. Claims made in this paper are backed by a review of research works on Cameroon’s language situation, a description of Cameroon’s education system, and an observation of the country’s linguistic and cultural dynamics. The foregoing shall be complemented by the author’s first-hand experience and continuous contact with teachers and other educational stakeholders.