Eric A. Anchimbe

University of Bayreuth · English Linguistics

Using readers’ comments on an online news forum (The Post newspaper), this paper describes patterns of belonging to the historical (colonial) linguistic in-group anglophone and out-group francophone in Cameroon. These groups emerged from the British-French colonisation of the country after WW1, with anglophones representing the former British colon...

The issue of attitudes towards indigenised varieties of English (IVEs), also called New Englishes, Postcolonial Englishes, within their respective contexts gives interesting insights into the acceptability and stability of these Englishes. Speakers usually identify with their varieties of English only if their and their fellow speakers’ social atti...

Given the global spread of English and its extensive use in various parts of the world, it is now used by diverse groups of new speakers who now struggle to create new identities and identity icons around it. One outcome of this process is the redefinition of the standards of the language in relation to specific groups of speakers. Taking Cameroon...

The aim of this chapter is to investigate the types of tag questions commonly used by Cameroonian men and women in both formal and informal and single-sex and mixed-sex interactions in Cameroon English. A major question we seek to answer is: do the tags used by Cameroonian women suggest tentativeness, hesitancy, and powerlessness as implied by lite...

This introductory chapter outlines the aims and objectives of this book, i.e. to further illustrate, using authentic, naturally-occurring data, processes of indigenisation in two ex-colonial languages, English and French, and a Pidgin, Cameroon Pidgin English, in Cameroon. Additionally, the volume investigates patterns of indigenisation beyond the...

The aim of this illustrative paper is to show how words and expressions are coined or changed in Cameroonian speech in English and French in order to insult or stereotype other groups of people. Taken along official language lines, ethnic boundaries and social divides, these lexical elements reproduce some aspect of the addressee's history, social...

This article discusses the implications of the names given to varieties of English that were the outcome of British colonial expansion into Africa, parts of Asia, and the Caribbean. It explains the origins of these names, their appropriateness and their currency, and their relevance in the present state of the varieties. What stands out is that, al...

This paper discusses name-avoidance by Cameroonians, and some of the socio-pragmatic impacts it creates. Focus is on five items that are often used in place of personal names—manyi (mother of twins), tanyi (father of twins), moyo (in-law, especially male), mbanya (co-wife in a polygamous marriage), and mbombo (namesake). The paper identifies some o...

For the past thirty years or so, research on new Englishes has been predominantly based on identifying at what point and to what extent these varieties of English deviate from the native or older varieties (typically British and American). Often considered and treated as outcomes of deficient or inadequate acquisition of the native and/or as heavil...

The eve of the ongoing Iraq war was a decisive moment for world leaders since they, given American pressure, had to choose between being with US or with the enemies. It meant treading on potentially threatening issues that could harm inter-national alliances and friendships. This paper illustrates using transcripts of Jacques Chiracs (then French p...

This paper tackles from a broad historical perspective the attitudes, media and strate-gies of transmission, and the interplay of English and identity in the world today. It traces the negative tendencies towards non-native Englishes resultant from British colo-nialism to the hangovers and strategic linguistic schemes adopted during colonialism. He...

Are the other varieties of English under threat from the United States? This paper reviews the place of the United States of America (her English and culture) in the contemporary world, especially with regard to the spread and use of the English language. World War II and its aftermath raised America to the height of political, economic, commercial...

THIS ARTICLE addresses differences in meaning that are current in English as it is used along the West African coast. It is not uncommon for an ESL teacher to be confronted with such questions as, ‘Is that what “stranger” means?’ or such responses as, ‘Sir, I do not have a “belly”!’ However, in this context, a sound knowledge (or simply an awarenes...

This paper discusses English language teaching (ELT) around the world, and argues that as a profession, it should emphasise pedagogical competence rather than native-speaker requirement in the recruitment of teachers in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) contexts. It establishes that being a native speaker do...

Research on New Englishes in the last thirty years was grossly directed at identifying at what point and to what extent these varieties of English deviate from the native or older varieties (typically British and American). Considered and often treated as fruits of deficient or inadequate acquisition of the native, these Englishes have been concept...

This paper seeks to establish at what point the language issue is relevant to the estab-lishment of a Cameroonian identity which is devoid of complications (difficult though it may be) and which reflects the ideal citizen in this multilingual setting. It traces some of the historically linked sociolinguistic problems encountered in Cameroon to the...