Cameroonian Slang

The Camfranglais is a Cameroonian slang born in the 70s which is primarily a mixture of borrowed words in French, English, pidgin English and local languages and some newly invented words by the Cameroonian youth. It is an urban language which reflects the way of life of young young cameroonian secondary school students and university students in cities such as Yaounde and Doala. It is an element of social cohesion since people indifferently of their social class, ethnicity and their speak Camfranglais.

It brings together all Cameroonians youth and allow them to express their Cameroonity. It is used by these pupils and students to communicate among themselves to the exclusion of non members. Its underlying structure is French-based and its lexical items are non standard as the words used are drawn from different variants. This mixture yields a language variant cherished by thieves, laborers, peddles, prisoners, prostitutes and people of the same educational level and social status.(Kouega, 2009)

Socio-Linguistic Background Of Cameroon

Cameroon has a special linguistic history typified by contacts of people and languages from various parts of the world. Since the period of the European trade on the African west coast in the 14th and 15th centuries till colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries, the contact of several peoples (Portuguese ivory and spices merchants, European slave traders, European and American religious missionaries, and of course German, French and British colonialists) and languages has been attested in this country (Anchimbe, 2012). The linguistic outcomes of cultural and historic contacts in this State reveal that Cameroon is the only African country with three former colonial languages (German, French and English).

Located in the heart of Africa, Cameroon is often indicated as ‘Africa in miniature’ because its geo-climatic, ethnic-religious, cultural and linguistic diversity make the country almost a synthesis of what is found in other African countries (Siebetcheu, 2012).

The language policy of Cameroon is based on its official bilingualism (French and English), i.e. a language policy whose aim is to unify the French part (eight regions) and the English part (two regions) of the country through linguistic communication. Ayafor (2005) underlines that in Cameroon, there is one approach to national integration and another to linguistic integration, both intended to be complementary to each other to achieve and sustain national unity in terms of territorial fusion and social cohesion through linguistic communication.

Actually, unlike for most of Eastern Africa countries with Swahili or for Senegal with Wolof, in Cameroon none of the indigenous languages have an official status nor national recognition. Although it is the African country with the largest number of languages after Nigeria, according to Ethnologue data (Lewis, 2009), Cameroon, with its 279 local languages and two official languages is the theatre of a language conflict due both to the ‘rivalry’ between local languages and the dominance of the two official languages. In fact, a very small percentage of the Cameroonian population is able to speak the two languages with functional fluency.

As in many post colonial African countries, we can observe the diglossic relationship between local and official languages where the latter are used in formal and informal domains. The sociolinguistic situation of Cameroon is also characterized by the creation of three mixed languages deriving from the contact between local and official languages: Pidgin English, Camfranglais and Franfulfulde.

These simplified idioms derive not only from the fact that they (specifically pidgin English) are lingua franca for the communication between people speaking different languages but also because they are the result of a protest against the language policy almost exclusively oriented towards the two official languages. Moreover, these simplified idioms derived also from the lack of language education that does not always guarantee the same competence of the official languages.

For example, in some areas of Northern Cameroon, the majority of dropouts and failures in the early years of school are due to the lack of competence in French (Siebetcheu, 2012:178). It is important to observe that despite their status collocated in a lower situation compared to the official languages, simplified languages are used by to compose popular modern Cameroonian music.

  • From the abolition of slavery and slave trade to the end of the first world war.
  • From 1919-1960 (the Versailles treaty of July 1, 1919)
  • From 1960-1972 (independence and re-unification)
  • From 1972-present (Unification and the Republic of Cameroon

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First Language, Dialect, Slang and Jargon

There are different types of interpersonal interactions such as: speech, language (first language, dialect, slang, jargon), and non verbal (posture, facial expressions, touch, silence, proximity, reflective listening). The first type of interpersonal interaction is speech, people who are of different ethnic groups, cultures, professions and localities have their own phrases, words and speech patterns because of the different backgrounds and the different uses of language. Service users might get easily confused, feel misunderstood or even feel mistreated with the way they are spoken to simply because they are not used to it.

The second type of interpersonal interaction is language. First language is the language an individual learns to speak when they are born. Working with service users who have different first languages can be difficult as mental translation between languages may be required. For example, if there is a problem with a child in a nursery and their parents do not speak English well or don’t understand it at all, it will be difficult to deliver the information about the problem with the child. To help overcome this, a translator will be needed so they can help the parents understand what the problem is.

Healthcare professionals tend to use jargons; words that are used by a particular profession or group that are hard for others to understand. An example of a jargon being used in a health care setting would be in a hospital, a doctor could be explaining to a patient the problems they have with a part of their body, for example their knee cap and the patient may not understand that due to the doctor using technical term such as ‘patella’ instead of the simpler word ‘knee cap’. Those who are from a different geographical area will use different words and pronounce words differently; this is often referred to as using a different dialect.

Dialect is known as, words and their pronunciation which is specific to a geographical community, for example people who live in the north west of England will use a different dialect to those who live in London. An example of different dialects being used in a health and social care setting are early years settings, the pronunciation of ‘bath’ can be different when people are from different geographical areas.

People, especially youths are more likely to use slang, informal words and phrases that are not usually found in standard dictionaries but which are used within special social groups and communities. Examples of slang are “bare”, “allow it” and “yo”, these words tend to be exchanged between friends. In health and social care settings, it is highly unlikely that slang will be exchanged between ant of the professionals however setting which have young people, for example sexual health clinics, may have the exchanges of slang sometimes between the professional and patient, the patient may be used to say such words so it can easily slip out without the patient realising what they are saying.

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Types of Slang

According to the range of usage, slang is divided into two types: general slang and special slang. General slang is the language which is popular for most people. It is used to break up the standard language and to vary the level of discourse more fomal. For example, the British use the word “quid” for their currency instead of pound. On the contrary, special slang is distinctive for some social and professional groups such as teenager, university, public school, Air Force. Therefore, it may show the user’s own identity and may deliver information about the speaker’s background to the listener.

Whereas the majority of slang words and phrases are used throughout all of Britain, others are restrained to smaller regions. The first type of minor slang group is Cockney Rhyming Slang which originates in the East End of London. It is replaced by a rhyming word, typically the second word of a two-word phrase. For example, the stairs become “apples and pears”. The second word is then often dropped entirely so it becomes: “I am going up the apples” (instead of “I am going upstairs”).

The second type is Polari (from Italian Parlare) means “to talk”. This type was used prevalently in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s by actors in the circus or fair, the criminals, the prostitutes and latterly by the gay subculture. For example, the word “ AC” or “DC” means “ a couple”, “ajax” means “nearby” (from adjacent), or “blue” is the another word of “homosexual”.

Internet slang is another category of slang that Internet users make popular. The acronyms, keyboard symbols, and contracted words are often used as methods of abbreviation in Internet slang. For example, the word “LOL” which is the abbreviation of “Laugh Out Loud” is often used by Internet users to express their feeling.

The forth type of minor slang group is slang of the army and police which includes a series of terminologies in the armed forces. For example, the word “Blighty” means Great Britain (It had ever been used in the 1800s in India as an English visitor). In addition, there are more than one hundred words for “police” in different thesauri. Some names are taken from the coloring of police clothes such as blue boy, blue jeans, man-in-the-blue.

The last one is money slang. A lot of English money slang originate in various London communities, which for different reasons, they are used in their own circles. They usually appear in wholesale markets, the ports among street traders, criminals, taxi drivers, and the immigrant. For example, the word “commodore” is “fifteen pounds”.

Its origin is almost certainly in London, and this word reflects the wit of Londoners: fifteen pounds equal three times five pounds (3×5=15). In Cockney rhyming slang, five pounds is “a lady” (from Lady Godiva) so fifteen pounds equal “Three Times a Lady” which was a song of the group The Commodores, so they use a commodore instead of fifteen pounds.

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Language Slang

Language is one of those spheres of human activity that are the first to bring reaction to social and other kinds of changes in human life and activities. Language may even not only follow or accompany these changes but also cause them. Every social or political change, revolution, innovation, introduction of new words and terms is reflected in newspaper publications. A great number of people, over 70%, read newspapers everyday[1 5]. Andto keep such a large number of people reading, the newspaper must be easy to read and understand. Using a type of speech that people se everyday is an easy way to accomplish that.

Using colloquial speech should also be used depending on the audience that is reading a newspaper article[1 1,125-126]. Colloquial speech should also be used if an article is written for children or teenagers. A teenager would better relate to “Hey, what’s up? ” than “Greetings. How are you this fine September afternoon? ” Because they can relate to it, they are more likely to understand the text and keep on reading. Not only teenagers and children use this type of language. Many adults still use words like “radar” and “e-mail”; either of them are formal English[1 5].

That is why the theme of this term paper is of a great importance. The relevance of the term paper iscaused bypermanent development of language. While doing our research we will take into account the works of such scientists as Arnold I. V. , Galperin I. R. , Rayevska N. M, Kukharenko V. A. , Antrushyna H. B. and other scholars, who have already made a great contribution to investigating colloquial vocabulary and newspaper style. The task of this term paper is to present the use of colloquial words in British and American newspapers. The aim of the term paper is to analyze the colloquial vocabulary in English newspapers.

To achieve the above mentioned purpose the following objectives are established: to study the theoretical material which is related to the topic of the term paper; -to analyze the newspapers of Great Britain and USA with the aim of selecting special colloquial words; -to define the dominant part of colloquial vocabulary prevailing among the newspapers. The object of the term paper is lexical units representing colloquial English vocabulary. The subject of the term paper is the study of the eculiarities of colloquial vocabulary of English newspapers.

The material for the study is taken from different newspaper articles in the following British and American newspapers: The Gurdian, The New York Times, The Daily mirror, The Sun. In this term paper thefollowing methods of research have been used: -the method of analysis and synthesis; -descriptive method. The method of analysis is used to break a complex topic into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The method of synthesis is used to combine separate elements of research in order to form a coherent whole. Descriptive method is used o present the picture of a phenomena under study.

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Adulthood by Nikki Giovanni

Adulthood by Nikki Giovanni BY urnerl 203 Umer Rehman Professor : Boisson English:200 Adulthood Nikki Giovanni wrote many peoms , basically between the time of 1960s and 1970s. At the time of depression. Adulthood is one of the peoms written in the same time as well. Adulthood is a short story about a girl and which shows her childhood and gradually coming into adulthood. In this peom the Narrator tells us at many places about the economic status of the little girl in different ways.

In the beginning “when i was a little girl in Indianapolis”, Indianapolis is a subarban area, not a good economy there. It has small towns there and so Just by this we can figure out that girl is not from a rich family or place. in the next line it says “sitting on the doctors porches with post dawn pre debs”. Sitting on the doctors porches refers to someone sitting on the steps and doing nothing. It shows as someone who has no Job or has nothing mportant to do, so they Just sit and look around.

It describes how the place where girl lives has people, who have not much t do and so they sit on door steps and kill time. when we read the next two lines of the peom, where is says “i wondered if life would give me a chance to mean”. it relates with the fact that she is sitting there doing nothing and thinking she is worthless, and hoping life gives her a chance to make herself mean something important rather than sitting here.

Narrator also mentions the slang language being used again and again in the poem like “usta” and the informal way she uses like “and other bullshit stuff’. This potrays her surronding , how and where she is brought up, as the economic status is not good and we see where she Ilives is not with many educated people so the slang language is used alot. They talk about stuff which is not important while sitting and conversing,shows kind of place and people there are.

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The Power of Language: Overview

Language is to power as words are to books, with one comes the other. The use of language correctly and fluently gives the speaker power over others; this brings about a moral obligation to use the power given correctly, as well as an opportunity to help others in many different ways. Malcolm X’s autobiographical essay, “Coming to and Awareness of Language”, William Lutz’s “Doublespeak”, and Gloria Naylor’s “Meanings of a Word” are all on the subject of language and power and how that power can be used.

They all talk about context, all use personal examples, all are trying to teach or inform, and all only use their own personal learning. They differ in their approaches to writing and the audiences they are trying to reach. All three of the writers talk about how language gives one power and how that power can be used. Malcolm X talks about how he needed to learn to use language because he was trying to reach men in power (X 22).

He knew that for him to gain any sort of sway or compulsion over these men in power that he would have to get an education; he describes this process as “slow” and “painstaking”, also saying that he duplicated the first page of the dictionary and it took him an entire day accomplish this small task (X 23). Gloria Naylor states that the use of the N-word by African-Americans was a way for them to take a word used to degrade them and turn it into something of a compliment or a group term for people who had broken the social norm (Naylor 127).

She tells the reader how her family used the word to either commend a man for being successful in something or using it as a term to identify those who “overstepped the bounds of decency” (Naylor 127). William Lutz asserts that doublespeak is a way to get around the meaning of a word, or a way to confuse someone (176-181). Lutz provides four distinct types of doublespeak: euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook or bureaucratese, and inflated language (176-178). He also says that the use of doublespeak is almost always to deceive; therefore, the use of doublespeak is deplorable and should be avoided (179).

The use of doublespeak to mislead people should be abhorred by all. The usage of doublespeak to deliberately misinform is a complete misuse of the power of language. An example of this use of doublespeak would be if a car mechanic used jargon, which is a specialized language within a group of professionals, when talking to a customer to deliberately confuse him/her (Lutz 177). Another example Lutz uses is the gobbledygook/bureaucratese, or “piling on or overwhelming the audience with words”, used most commonly by politicians to dodge answering questions (178).

This technique of using gobbledygook or bureaucratese to dodge answering questions is commonly used when a difficult question is asked of the official; this is evidenced by the response of Jesse Moore when asked about the Challenger catastrophe, Mr. Moore replied with a paragraph of jargon spliced in with gobbledygook so that he appeared to have answered the question when he had in-fact completely confused and distracted the audience (Lutz 178). Naylor also discusses the misuse of the power of language in her essay when she references the little third grade boy calling her the N-word (126).

This is a misuse of the power of language because the boy knows that that particular word is used to degrade and hurt black people. Even though the N-word was turned into an empowering word by Naylor’s family, it should not be used at all (Naylor 127). Naylor’s family’s use of the N-word shows the reader how important context is. Use of the N-word among her family members was ok because they were using it as a tool of emancipation from the oppressive use of the word by whites (127).

Used by a white person this word is completely derogatory, this is because the word is not used in the correct context. The only correct context in which this word can be used is when a black individual is talking about someone in a complimentary manner or referencing a group of people that have done something bad (Naylor 127). The context that doublespeak is used in is very important as doublespeak can be used in the correct context and not be a misuse of language.

This context would be using jargon amongst one’s peers in a profession or using inflated language to make a jest of a less than savory job such as saying sanitation engineer instead of garbage man/woman (Lutz 179). On the other hand, using doublespeak in the correct context can also be a misuse of the power of language. Lutz makes this clear when he tells of how Chrysler called firing 5,000 workers “[initiating] a career alternative enhancement program. (179)” Malcolm X’s essay is the best example of when and where to use what type of language.

He relates his experiences of when he did not know to speak proper English and attempted to write to men in power (X 22). He could not accurately convey his feelings in his letters because he could only speak in street slang, this use of street slang would have been acceptable if the men he was trying to reach were also black men from Harlem, instead they were white men in positions of power (X 22). Even when he was trying to reach other black men from Harlem, he could not write effectively because the language he was using was not something that could easily be put into a coherent written structure (X 23).

This is an example of using language in the wrong context because a letter was not the place for the type of language he was capable of using, but once he learned by writing and reading the dictionary he was entirely capable of using language in a letter and this gave Mr. X power (X 24). The reason that X was trying to reach his friends in Harlem even when he couldn’t write was to inform them of the teachings of a man called Elijah Muhammad (23). Once he became educated he began to write more coherently, he was able to inform people once again.

This time instead of telling them about Mr. Muhammad, he wrote about his own life and learning experience to show others that it can be done (X 24). Naylor also wrote her essay to inform others but she wrote to show how a word can affect “the human psyche (Naylor 125). ” She explains that her family and other black people used the N-word as a way to throw off the oppressiveness of the word (Naylor 127). In the same way, Lutz tries is explaining to the world how doublespeak can affect them.

Lutz says that instead of helping to “develop and advance”, doublespeak breeds “suspicion… and, ultimately, hostility (Lutz 179). ” All of the author’s purpose is to inform and teach but to do this they had to learn something also. Malcolm X learned in prison that language in context is very important, he couldn’t speak the way he did to his friends in Harlem the same way as he could when he was trying to write letters to men in power (22). Lutz had to learn to identify each different type of doublespeak so that he could tell where they were appropriate and where they were not appropriate (Lutz 175-179).

Naylor learned through her family the different ways the N-word could be used but she had to learn from a little white boy how it could hurt her (126). She tells the reader that used in the correct context, the N-word can be uplifting (127). To inform people of something important the authors had to choose the correct audience for their papers. Each author chose a different audience with the hope of informing that specific demographic on an issue that affected them most. For example, X wrote an autobiography that he knew many other black men would read.

In his essay he talks about how his appearance of education is entirely due to “my prison studies,” this is showing that if he can do it in prison then anyone can do it (X 23). Another example of this is on a broader spectrum is Lutz’s essay, which was written for everyone. Lutz provides information that is easy to understand, such as examples of doublespeak and ways to spot doublespeak effectively; making his essay easy to understand for anyone who can read (175-179). Each author’s examples provide information regarding to language used in the correct context.

Lutz’s examples of doublespeak are all aimed at showing the dangers of doublespeak when it is used in the wrong context, he talks about politicians using it to confuse the population and professionals using it to mislead their customers (177-178). X’s examples show that to communicate effectively he had to learn a new language because the men he was trying to reach didn’t speak his street slang (23). He couldn’t use his normal language in the context he was attempting to write in without being ignored (X 22).

Malcolm X’s essay shows the world why language is so important; without the power of language it is easy to be ignored or forgotten. Malcolm himself is a perfect example of this, he went from being a random hustler on the streets to being one of the most influential men of the 20th century. Without the power of language he would have been widely ignored and forgotten about in time but because he used language so powerfully he will be remembered forever. Without language one cannot have power and without power one cannot be successful or go anywhere in life. Without the power to change people one can do almost nothing in the world.

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Amy Tan’s Mother Tongue

Based on Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” it is evident that language has an affect on our lives. Language defines the type of person I am generally and it has had an affect on my choices as well as my lifestyle. Depending on my friends, family, and others I talk to my choice on language tends […]

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