Current Perspectives on the Influence of Setting and Audience on Language Choices in Multilingual Cameroon

Authors

  • Colvis Niba Ngwa University of Yaounde I

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1203.05

Keywords:

language choice, multilingualism, setting, audience, current perspectives

Abstract

Cameroon is a dense multilingual setting in which many languages co-exist. Most of these languages are learned and are readily available for use by Cameroonians. This study probed into the complex notion of language use in a bid to ascertain in what ways context and audience influence language choice in a dense multilingual context like Cameroon. The analysis of data obtained from 100 informants in the city of Yaounde revealed that setting and audience significantly influence the language choice of a speaker and that the choice of a language reveals certain aspects of a speaker’s character, attitudes and perception of the world around them.

 

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Published

2021-05-01

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