L'Américaine au Cameroun

Everyone here is very proud that Cameroun has two official languages. “Write that in English,” they say, “Le Cameroun est bilingue.” Cameroun’s bilingualism results from the uniting of a former French colony with parts of a former English colony. But it’s not really just bilingual: In addition to the official languages there are almost 300 local languages spoken. These languages developed long before the colonists ever arrived to impose European languages. Some languages spread over a large area and have a name because they are spoken by multiple chefferies. Some, like Bangou’s patois, may be quite similar to others but are really only spoken in one place. So when I got to post and asked people the name of Bangou’s patois, everyone gave me blank looks. Bangou, that’s the name of the language spoken in Bangou.

I’ve been trying to learn Bangou’s language. I have a Bangou tutor and know how to say some greetings and expressions. Basically, I can say enough in Bangou to make folks so excited that I speak their language that they then rattle off whole paragraphs that I don’t understand.

A few days ago I went to another volunteer’s post, Baham, to collect some materials I needed for another computer training at my bank. Baham speaks a language that is very similar to the language spoken in Bandjoun, where we did training, but quite different from Bangou. On our way back to Baffoussam in the bush taxi, I sat gazing out the widow while the other PCV I was with gazed as well and the two women next to us talked in patois. Soon, I began to recognize the rhythm and cadence of what they were saying. Then I recognized words. After a bit more eavesdropping, I recognized whole sentences.

“Hey, Andy. Either these women are speaking Bangou, or some other closely related language.”
“Well, say something to them, then.”

“Uh, mama. N’ge min de-ee?”
“Ah,” Confused looks at the white woman in the bush taxi.
“N’ge min de-ee, mama?”
“Ge fizzy!”

The women were from Bangou. They had been in Baham for a funeral but were returning back to Bangouville, where they farm. I was somewhere totally out of the area where Bangou’s patois is spoken, but I was able to recognize the language, say something to them in Bangou, and have them understand me and then reply back in Bangou. My French may be awful, but how many people can say they speak Bangou?