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“Dr. Peter Vakunta masterfully leads the reader on an
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exploration of the emergence of Camfranglais from both A
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sociopolitical and linguistic perspectives in this book. A ingM
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thorough discussion of the many issues surrounding cultural f a
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identity and language use in contemporary Cameroon, the ew
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author offers a cogent argument for the recognition of a in Cameroonian Literature
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Camfranglais as a legitimate literary language employed a
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national identity.” amG
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Dr. Erin N. O’Reilly, Associate Professor, ro
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Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, ia
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Th is study raises awareness to the emergence of a new genre in world r
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literature—hybridized literature. It rejects the assumption according
to which literatures writt en in less commonly taught languages should
be subsumed into one universally accessible global idiom. Instead,
Vakunta challenges literary scholars and readers of literature to regard
untranslatability as the key to cross-cultural engagement. Th e book’s
multiple approaches and innumerable sources generate complex P
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interdisciplinary connections and provide an excellent introduction t
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to a complex literary phenomenon alien to literati resident outside r
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the offi cially bilingual multicultural and multilingual Republic of
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Cameroon. t
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DR. PETER WUTEH VAKUNTA is a native of Bamunka-Ndop in the a
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Northwest Region of Cameroon. He is an Assistant Professor in the u
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Department of Modern Languages at the University of Indianapolis, USA. t
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Langaa Research & Publishing
Common Initiative Group
P.O. Box 902 Mankon
Bamenda
North West Region
Cameroon
CAMFRANGLAIS:
The Making of a New
Language in Cameroonian
Literature
Peter Wuteh Vakunta
Langaa Research & Publishing CIG
Mankon, Bamenda
PPublisher:
Langaa RPCIG
Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group
P.O. Box 902 Mankon
Bamenda
North West Region
Cameroon
[email protected]
www.langaa-rpcig.net
Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective
[email protected]
www.africanbookcollective.com
ISBN: 9956-792-96-9
© Peter Wuteh Vakunta 2014
DISCLAIMER
All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.
Dedication
To victims of linguicide in the Republic of Ongola
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement………………………………………. vii
Preface………………………………………………….. ix
Chapter 1: The Post-colony writes back………………… 1
Chapter 2: Camfranglais: The Making of a New Language in
Cameroon………………………………………………. 59
Chapter 3: The Signifying Monkey: Le Camfranglais, quelle
parlure?........................................................................................ 71
Chapter 4: Literary Camfranglais in Mercédès Fouda’s Je parle
camerounais: pour un renouveau francofaune………………….. 81
Chapter 5: Fictionalizing Camfranglais in Fonkou’s Moi
taximan………………………………………………….. 97
Chapter 6: Streetwise French in Nganang’s
Temps de chien…………………………………………….. 111
Chapter 7: Camfranglais and the Question of Orality in
Cameroonian Literature…………………………………. 133
Chapter 8: Conclusion…………………………………. 157
Works cited…………………………………………….. 165
Glossary/Glossaire……………………………………... 183
Index……………………………………………………. 215
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Acknowledgement
A work of this calibre is, undoubtedly, the end-product of
sustained perusal and critiquing of works by peers in the field.
This book was inspired by interest in the seminal works of
language scholars and linguists in Cameroon, namely André-
Marie Ntsobé (2008); E. Biloa (1999); E. Chia (1983, 1992);
Jean-Paul Kouega (2013, 2008, 2007); Paul Mbangwana (983,
1987); Simo Bobda, (1994,1999) and Ze Amvela (1989). I
owe these genuine intellectuals a debt of gratitude. Portions
of several chapters of this book appeared in the following
journals: Translation Review73 (2007), Meta54.4 (2008), Midwest
Modern Language Association Journal 44.2(2011), Journal of African
Literature Association 6.2(2012) and Pambazuka 574(2012). For
permission to republish, I thank the editors and journals.
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Preface
Camfranglais: The Making of a New Language in Cameroonian
Literature addresses the emergence of a hybrid code in
Cameroon and its usage as a narrative canon in francophone
literature. In order to transpose the speech patterns and
idiolects of Cameroonians into fictional writing, creative
writers consciously deconstruct the French language in an
attempt to reflect socio-cultural realities. Linguistic
manipulation engenders a third code that poses enormous
problems for readers and translators not acquainted with
Cameroonianisms. When creative writers resort to linguistic
miscegenation as a narrative device they do so in a bid to
superimpose the speech particularisms and value systems of
indigenes upon a foreign tongue—in our case French. By
resorting to the domestication of French the writers whose
works constitute the corpus analysed in this book give
leverage not just to indigenous languages but also to the kind
of streetwise French spoken by the Cameroonian rank and
file.
The first chapter of this book theorizes postcoloniality; it
delves into theories of post-colonialism and their
ramifications for fictional writing after colonization. Chapter
Two is a review of Kouega’s extensive research on the
emergence of a new code in Cameroon—Camfranglais. It
dwells on the sociolinguistic and morphological structures of
this emerging language. Chapter Three explores the trope of
signifying (or linguistic tricksterism) as a literary canon in
Cameroonian literature. It provides readers with an inventory
of words and expressions that have come to be accepted as
the functional vocabulary of Camfranglophones. Chapter
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