In the Name of British Cameroon: Post-colonial Languages as Markers of Identity in Cameroon

Language is a complex abstract notion, which helps in shaping particular identities in the process of nation-state building. However, many other variables play a role in the development of individuals identifying as a collective group bearing the same identities. For example, a unique legacy of colonialism in Cameroon is the nation’s division along the Country’s two official colonial languages: English and French. This division has been the source of a recurring pattern of political conflicts between the Anglophone and Francophone. Many scholars narrate colonialism as a link in the creation of two major linguistic identities in-groups through the post-colonial languages. Consequently, the official post-colonial language situation translates into a conflict of division between linguistic groups of belonging, which leads to politics of identity regarding the case of British Cameroon. This results to seeking sovereignty in order to attain the right of self-determination. In order to...Show moreLanguage is a complex abstract notion, which helps in shaping particular identities in the process of nation-state building. However, many other variables play a role in the development of individuals identifying as a collective group bearing the same identities. For example, a unique legacy of colonialism in Cameroon is the nation’s division along the Country’s two official colonial languages: English and French. This division has been the source of a recurring pattern of political conflicts between the Anglophone and Francophone. Many scholars narrate colonialism as a link in the creation of two major linguistic identities in-groups through the post-colonial languages. Consequently, the official post-colonial language situation translates into a conflict of division between linguistic groups of belonging, which leads to politics of identity regarding the case of British Cameroon. This results to seeking sovereignty in order to attain the right of self-determination. In order to shed light on British Cameroon’s choice of constructing an Anglophone identity in relation to their regions, this thesis examines the position of post-colonial languages as a tool in re-negotiating social identities, in order to change the present condition of English-speaking Cameroonians. It traces the historical and socio-linguistic emergence of specific pressure groups and activists, who took radical measures in the forming of the Anglophone identity in the space of Cameroon.Show less

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In the Name of British Cameroon: Post-colonial Languages as Markers of Identity in Cameroon