It is apostcolonial variety of English, long in use in the territory (Southern Cameroons, now split into Northwest and Southwest). Over the years, it has developed characteristic features, particularly in lexis but also in phonology and grammar. Those characteristics were once regarded as errors but are now increasingly accepted as distinctive Cameroonian contributions to the English language.
There are differences between the formal, "institutional" variety of Cameroonian English, which is based onBritish English and is taught in schools in Cameroon, and theindigenised "communal" variety, which is the moreinnovative form spoken in Anglophone communities.[6] Varietal differences also exist betweenspeaker communities of variousindigenous languages such asNso andAkoose.[7]
The phonemes/ɔː/,/ʌ/ and/ɒ/ tend tomerge to/ɔː/, making "cot", "caught" and "cut" homophones.[8] Similarly, "lock" and "luck" are pronounced alike, and "white-collar worker" sometimes becomes "white-colour worker" in Cameroon.[9]
Kouega, Jean-Paul (April 2004) [7–9 November 2003]."Influence of Contacts between Western and African Cultures on English in Cameroon".TRANS Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften [Online journal for cultural studies] (15). Research Institute for Austrian and International Literature and Cultural Studies (INST).Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved30 July 2025.
Kouega, Jean-Paul (2005) [30 April–3 May 2003]."The Effects of French on English L2 in Cameroon"(PDF). In Cohen, James; McAlister, Kara T.; Rolstad, Kellie; MacSwan, Jeff (eds.).ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism.Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press. pp. 1201–1210.Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 December 2021.
Kouega, Jean-Paul (2006a).Aspects of Cameroon English usage: a lexical appraisal.München: Lincom Europa.ISBN9783895868771.
Kouega, Jean-Paul (2006b). "Interplay of Accent and Orthography in L2 English in Cameroon".Annales de la Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines de Yaoundé [Annals of the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences].1 (5).Yaoundé:University of Yaoundé:183–197.
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