Cameroon Languages

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Cameroon

Languages

Description

Both English and French are official languages, although French is by far the most understood language (more than 80%). German, the language of the original colonizers, has long since been displaced by French and English. Cameroonian Pidgin English is the lingua franca in the formerly British-administered territories. A mixture of English, French, and Pidgin called Camfranglais has been gaining popularity in urban centers since the mid-1970s. The government encourages bilingualism in English and French, and as such, official government documents, new legislation, ballots, among others, are written and provided in both languages. As part of the initiative to encourage bilingualism in Cameroon, six of the eight universities in the country are entirely bilingual.

In addition to the colonial languages, there are approximately 250 other languages spoken by nearly 20 million Cameroonians. It is because of this that Cameroon is considered one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.

Literacy in official languages according to the 2005 census (population of age 12 and above)

Rank	Language	Percentage	# of population
1	French (Total)	57.6	6,405,981
2	English (Total)	25.2	2,802,794
-	French only	46.0	5,112,479
-	English only	13.6	1,509,292
-	French and English	11.6	1,293,502
-	Neither French nor English	28.8	3,199,221
	Total	100.00	11,114,495

Word List(s)

For word list and help researching in Cameroonian records, see:

• French Genealogical Word List