Teaching of - and Research on English Pronunciation in Africa: A Multi-Model Approach

This paper describes a novel way to conduct research on English pronunciation in Nigeria in particular and in Africa in general Thus far research in the continent consisted in identifying the characteristic features of the English used in each nation-state using one target model i e RP it can be said today that such research used a one-model approach In this study a multi-model approach is proposed The target model for research should not necessarily be RP but any varieties used in a given country s major business partner countries The central element in this multi-model approach is therefore international transactions This means that if a country like Ghana has India as its major trade partner country then the features of Indian English will have to be described in Ghanaian classrooms as well as research laboratories The present study focuses on Nigeria whose major business partner states are China India and the USA For this reason the features of the English spoken in these countries need to be highlighted in the pronunciation lectures and in research laboratories in Nigeria Familiarity of Nigerian citizens with these varieties is likely to enhance intelligibility as well as understanding in international interactions with the citizens of these countrie

Some Aspects of Cameroon English Prosody

International audienc

The Implementation in the University of Yaounde I of Cameroon's French-English Official Bilingualism Policy

International audienc

Loans from some Indigenous Languages in Cameroon English

International audienc

Pidžino – maišytos anglų kalbos – vartojimas anglų kalba parašytuose kūriniuose Kamerūne

This study, which deals with code-switching and language choice in multilingual contexts, describes the use of Pidgin in creative works in English in Cameroon, with the focus on the forms that this language takes in the works, the types of characters who are made to speak this language, and the functions that this language plays in these works. The data comprise three plays and two novels, all published between 2000 and 2006 by experienced writers who have a good command of English and yet make their characters speak in Pidgin. The analysis shows that Pidgin in the corpus takes the form of individual lexemes like salaka (libation, sacrifice) and relatively short utterances like This sun fit kill man (This sun is so hot that it can kill someone.). The characters who speak Pidgin in these literary works are generally low-ranking and rural people, illiterates and other people who are hardly looked up to in the Cameroonian society. Finally, Pidgin helps writers to realise some stylistic effects such as variations on the scale of formality, with English being used when addressing a superior person and Pidgin when addressing an inferior person. Most importantly, creative writers reproduce in their works what is observed in the Cameroonian society and this can be regarded as a formal way of enhancing their readers’ plurilingual competence.Šiame darbe, kuriame tiriama kodų kaita ir kalbos pasirinkimas daugiakalbiuose kontekstuose, aprašoma maišyta vietinė ir anglų kalba – pidžinas –angliškuose kūriniuose Kamerūne, ypatingą dėmesį skiriant šios kalbos formoms, randamoms kūriniuose, ir veikėjų tipams, kurie kalba tokia kalba, bei jos funkcijoms kūriniuose. Tyrimo objektas – dvi pjesės ir trys romanai, išleisti patyrusių, puikiai anglų kalbą mokančių rašytojų, tačiau savo veikėjus verčiančių kalbėti pidžinu. Tyrimas rodo, kad pidžino atvejus šioje duomenų bazeje sudaro pavienės leksemos, pavyzdžiui, salaka (aukojami gėrimai, auka), arba sąlyginai trumpos frazės, kaip This sun fit kill man (Saulė tokia kaitri, kad gali ką nors pražudyti.). Veikėjai, kalbantys maišyta kalba, paprastai vaizduojami kaip žemos klasės kaimo žmonės, neraštingi asmenys ir tokie, į kuriuos kamerūniečiai paprastai nesilygiuoja. Be to, pidžinas rašytojams padeda atskleisti kai kuriuos stiliaus bruožus, pavyzdžiui, formalumo lygio pokyčius, kai anglų kalba vartojama kreipiantis į viršesnį asmenį, o pidžinu – kalbant su menkesniais už save. Svarbiausia, kad savo darbuose rašytojai atspindi Kamerūno visuomenę, taip galbūt formaliai stiprindami savo skaitytojų daugiakalbystės kompetenciją