Papers by Herbert Rostand Ngouo
Herbert Rostand Ngouo and Beban Sammy Chumbow , 2017
L'année 2015 marque l'échéance pour la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développem... more L'année 2015 marque l'échéance pour la réalisation des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le Développement (OMD). Cet article examine comment la décentralisation au Cameroun est utilisée comme un outil pour accélérer le développement local et plus précisément, un aspect du développement local : la promotion des cultures et des langues locales traditionnelles. Français Cela se traduira par une interaction harmonieuse entre le gouvernement central moderne et les gouvernements locaux décentralisés existants (les municipalités, qui bénéficient désormais d'une plus grande autonomie locale. Selon Lutz et Linder (2004), un développement local réussi a été identifié comme essentiel pour atteindre les OMD définis lors du Sommet du Millénaire des Nations Unies en 2000 et la Stratégie de réduction de la pauvreté (PRSP) de la Banque mondiale. Cela implique de mettre davantage l'accent sur la décentralisation, l'autonomisation des communautés et la gouvernance locale dans le travail de développement. Après la colonisation et l'institution de nouvelles entités politiques, les institutions traditionnelles qui jouaient le rôle de berceaux des langues et cultures ethniques ont été soumises et remplacées par un nouveau gouvernement démocratique moderne, qui a renforcé l'établissement du principe occidental de gouvernement. Ces gouvernements, dans leur majorité, ont longtemps promu la culture occidentale et une politique linguistique défectueuse qui a mis en danger les cultures ethniques et les langues des minorités locales. Avec les tendances actuelles à transférer une partie du pouvoir aux communautés locales par le biais de la décentralisation, on peut espérer que cette nouvelle approche constituera une chance pour les cultures locales et les langues ethniques d'être préservées. Nous discutons ici de la complexité du processus de maintien et de renaissance de la langue et de la culture, en soulignant l'importance de la décentralisation dans le département des Bamboutos au Cameroun. Ces questions complexes sont discutées dans le contexte actuel de changement politique rapide vers une plus grande autonomie locale au Cameroun. Après quelques informations générales sur les objectifs et les réglementations de la décentralisation au Cameroun, la perspective d'un développement local durable à travers la préservation et la promotion des cultures et des langues autochtones par les conseils locaux est discutée sur la base des expériences de terrain de l'auteur, de l'analyse des feuilles de route de développement des conseils locaux et d'entretiens avec les autorités municipales ainsi qu'avec les institutions et les parties prenantes de la promotion des langues et des cultures. Les résultats montrent que, suite aux lois qui délèguent de nouvelles compétences du gouvernement central aux gouvernements locaux, les trois conseils étudiés ont commencé à inclure des programmes de préservation de la culture et des langues du patrimoine dans leur plan d'action. Cependant, certains obstacles doivent être levés pour traduire les intentions en véritables projets de développement. Nous suggérons que des mécanismes durables, en termes de conception participative, de mise en oeuvre et de gestion durable des langues et des cultures autochtones soient mis en place par les programmes autochtones pour préserver leurs langues et cultures menacées ; ceci en plus des activités génératrices de revenus tirées de la valeur ajoutée dérivée de la valorisation du patrimoine culturel.
Ngouo, H. R. , 2020
Le cadre juridique du Cameroun a évolué ces dernières années en faveur de la diversité linguistiq... more Le cadre juridique du Cameroun a évolué ces dernières années en faveur de la diversité linguistique et des langues patrimoniales camerounaises. Outre la Constitution camerounaise du 18 janvier 1996, trois lois camerounaises ont été adoptées : La loi n° 2004/17 du 22 juillet 2004, la loi n° 2004/18 de juillet 2004 et la loi n° 2004/19 de juillet 2004 fournissent un cadre juridique pour la préservation et la promotion des langues et cultures patrimoniales du Cameroun. Ces lois prévoient la dévolution (le transfert) de certaines compétences du gouvernement central au gouvernement décentralisé (municipalités et régions). C'est dans ce contexte que certains conseils municipaux du Cameroun ont commencé à intégrer des projets visant à préserver et à promouvoir les langues et cultures patrimoniales dans leur plan de développement communal . Cet article vise à faire une analyse du discours politique du PDC de cinq conseils de la région de l'Extrême-Nord du Cameroun qui sont les berceaux de six langues camerounaises, à savoir le mundang, le tupuri, le masana, le mafa, le giziga et le mada afin d'évaluer le niveau d'appropriation de ces dispositions légales prévues par les lois de décentralisation. En plus de l'approche méthodologique qui a consisté à f ai r e une analyse discursive des politiquesdes PDC des conseils d'accueil, des entretiens avec les responsables des conseils ont été menés afin d'élucider les causes de la faiblesse des réalisations.
De Gruyter eBooks, Jul 24, 2023
An Analysis of the Deployment of Religious Themes in the Discourse of Anglophone Nationalist and ... more An Analysis of the Deployment of Religious Themes in the Discourse of Anglophone Nationalist and Secessionist Leaders and Activists in Cameroon 1 My sincere gratitude goes first to Hanna Acke for her immense patience, warmth and scientific leadership. I also thank, through her, Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland, for funding my trip to Turku to attend the BTWS2 conference during which the preliminary findings of this paper were presented. I thank all the reviewers for their insightful comments which were very helpful in the revision of this paper. This article would not have been possible if not for all your support.
Herbert Rostand ngouo, 2023
Les mutations qui ont cours dans le monde, provoquant une redistribution des cartes géopolitique... more Les mutations qui ont cours dans le monde, provoquant une redistribution des cartes géopolitiques, un nouvel ordre mondial et de nouveaux équilibres géostratégiques qui commandent que l'on s'intéresse à tous les discours qui fondent, construisent, déconstruisent, reconstruisent, structurent et déstructurent les rapports de force entre les nations et les blocs géopolitiques. C'est dans ce sillage que la présente étude fait une analyse du discours de Nathalie Yamb prononcé au sommet Russie-Afrique de Sotchi le 29 octobre 2019. Cette analyse permet de montrer que loin d'être un simple discours comme les autres, cette sortie de Nathalie Yamb, par son ton, avait des élans de discours émancipatoire, voire subversif et révolutionnaire, permettant de redéfinir les relations entre la France et ses ex-colonies. Cette relation asymétrique assimilable à celle d'un état suzerain et d'autres vassaux a concouru à la définition de nouveaux statuts et équilibres par la dénonciation du discours déresponsabilisant et la promotion d'un discours autonomisant qui a toujours prévalu. En toile de fond de cette analyse se situe la dénonciation du néocolonialisme, et surtout la résistance des Africains de l'emprise de la France sur les affaires de ses ex-colonies par des accords de défense, les accords monétaires (le FCFA) et le réseau France-Africain.
European Journal of Language and Culture Studies
This paper sets out to investigate the attitude of native peoples of the Far North Region of Came... more This paper sets out to investigate the attitude of native peoples of the Far North Region of Cameroon towards the prospects of a MTBMLE and the use of Fulfulde as a medium of instruction (MOI) in the primary school of the region. The data were collected through a survey using a set of close-ended questions in a questionnaire administered to more than 467 informants. Some interviews were also conducted to gain more insight into the opinion of the population toward this educational paradigm. The findings show there is some support for the use of mother tongue and French in a transition model and there is stark support for primary school education in mother tongue and French but not Fulfulde as a substitute for French. In fact, there seems to be strong opposition to the idea of using Fulfulde as MOI in nursery school with natives of other ethnic groups. There is a mixed opinion regarding the use of ethnic language from year one to three and the use of the mother tongue to teach maths. ...
Journal of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences
The ongoing debate regarding the decolonisation of Africa should focus primarily on the domain of... more The ongoing debate regarding the decolonisation of Africa should focus primarily on the domain of education, as ideologies about languages are reflected, implemented and reproduced in the language in education policy (LIEP) of a country. Most African countries have inherited the Western model of LIEP giving primacy to ex-colonial languages as official languages and as languages of education, media, and administration. Some countries, like Cameroon (host to more than 270 African languages), have gone beyond preferring French and English as a medium of instruction, and have added more foreign languages (German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, and Arabic) in secondary schools and universities, to the detriment of national languages. Most studies on language policy address the issue of language as a medium of instruction and neglect to critically evaluate the pertinence and relevance of the generalised teaching/learning of foreign languages in schools and universities in Cameroon. This...
European Journal of Language and Culture Studies
languages in education, as well as their opinion about the option of their replacement with Fulfu... more languages in education, as well as their opinion about the option of their replacement with Fulfulde, a lingua franca of the Northern regions of Cameroon. The data were collected using a quantitative approach through a questionnaire administered to 525 informants, all residing in the Far regions of Cameroon. They originated from the three northern regions but the majority (90%) are native of the Far North. The multiple-choice questions (with 5 scales ranging from absolutely agree to absolutely disagree) aimed at eliciting the opinion of the respondents regarding the reformation of the LIEP by supressing the prevalence of foreign language over national languages, while upgrading the status of the latter in the secondary schools. The findings reveal an attitude inclined in favour of foreign languages as the perspective of the substitution of foreign languages by Fulfulde as subject is not opted for. Foreign languages are perceived as being important. As a result, their presence in th...
This study explores populations' evaluation of the relevance of foreign languages in education, a... more This study explores populations' evaluation of the relevance of foreign languages in education, as well as their opinion about the option of their replacement with Fulfulde, a lingua franca of the Northern regions of Cameroon.
This paper sets out to investigate the attitude of native peoples of the Far North Region of Came... more This paper sets out to investigate the attitude of native peoples of the Far North Region of Cameroon towards the prospects of a MTBMLE and the use of Fulfulde as a medium of instruction (MOI) in the primary school of the region. The data were collected through a survey using a set of closeended questions in a questionnaire administered to more than 467 informants. Some interviews were also conducted to gain more insight into the opinion of the population toward this educational paradigm. The findings show there is some support for the use of mother tongue and French in a transition model and there is stark support for primary school education in mother tongue and French but not Fulfulde as a substitute for French. In fact, there seems to be strong opposition to the idea of using Fulfulde as MOI in nursery school with natives of other ethnic groups. There is a mixed opinion regarding the use of ethnic language from year one to three and the use of the mother tongue to teach maths. This research points to the fact that indigenous languages still suffer some stigma.
Studies in Humanities and Education
The ongoing debate regarding the decolonisation of Africa should focus primarily on the domain of... more The ongoing debate regarding the decolonisation of Africa should focus primarily on the domain of education, as ideologies about languages are reflected, implemented and reproduced in the language in education policy (LIEP) of a country. Most African countries have inherited the Western monolingual LIEPs and have given prevalence to ex-colonial languages as official languages of education, media, and administration. Some countries, like Cameroon (host to more than 270 African languages), have gone beyond preferring French and English as a medium of instruction, adding more foreign languages (German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, and Arabic) in secondary schools and universities, to the detriment of national languages. Most studies on language policy address the issue of language as a medium of instruction and neglect to critically evaluate the pertinence and relevance of the generalised teaching/learning of foreign languages in schools and universities in Cameroon. This study looks at ...
is a lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of Bilingual Studies of the Faculty of Arts, Lette... more is a lecturer in Linguistics in the Department of Bilingual Studies of the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences in the University of Maroua in Cameroon. His primary research interests are Language Endangerment, mainly how to measure Ethnolinguistic vitality and sustainability of minority ethnolinguistic (authoctonous) communities.
Technological advances have decentralised public communication through networked digital communic... more Technological advances have decentralised public communication through networked digital communication. The present paper seeks to critically analyze Facebook contradictory discourses and conversations on the future of the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. In November 2016, the Anglophone population engaged in civil disobedience against the Government of Cameroon over nonchalant attitude towards its predicament or refusal to address its grievances. Focus is on trolls and polarized conversations and discourses made by Anglophone activists on Facebook regarding the socio-political crisis troubling Cameroon since the end of the year 2016. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a methodological and theoretical approach, this study shows that there are two opposing views on Facebook: the separatists’ and the pro-unionists’ positions. On the one hand, the separatist activists through their Facebook posts discourse repudiate the pan-Cameroonian identity which they associate wi...
The legal framework in Cameroon has been evolving in recent years in favour of linguistic diversi... more The legal framework in Cameroon has been evolving in recent years in favour of linguistic diversity and Cameroonian heritage languages. Beside the Cameroonian Constitution of 18 January 1996, three Cameroonian laws: Law No. 2004/17 of 22 July 2004 on the orientation of decentralization; Law No. 2004/18 of July 2004 to lay down rules applicable to councils; and Law No. 2004/19 of July 2004 to lay down rules applicable to regions, all provide a legal framework for the preservation and promotion of heritage languages and cultures of Cameroon. These laws provide the devolution (transfer) of some of the competences of the Central Government to the decentralised government (Municipalities and Regions). It is against this backdrop that some councils of Cameroon have begun integrating projects aiming at preserving and promoting heritage languages and cultures in their Communal Development Plan (CDP) (Ngouo and Chumbow 2017). This paper aims at making a policy discourse analysis of the CDP o...
The year 2015 marks the deadline for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Th... more The year 2015 marks the deadline for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). This paper examines how decentralisation in Cameroon is being used as a tool to accelerated local development and more precisely, one aspect of local development: the promotion of traditional local cultures and languages. This will result in smooth interaction between the central modern government and existing local decentralised governments (municipalities, now enjoying more local autonomy. According to Lutz and Linder (2004), successful local development has been identified as essential to meet the MDG outlined at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 and the World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP). This implies a stronger focus on decentralisation, community empowerment and local governance in development work. After colonisation and the institution of new political entities, traditional institutions which played the role of cradles to ethnic languages and cultures were subdued and superseded by new modern democratic government, which enhanced the establishment of western principle of government. These governments in their majority have long promoted Western culture and defective language policy that have endangered ethnic cultures and local minority languages. With the current trends to transfer some power to local communities through decentralisation, there is hope that this new approach will constitute chances for local cultures and ethnic languages to be preserved. Here, we discuss the complexity of language/cultural maintenance and revival process, highlighting the significance of decentralization in the Bamboutos division of Cameroon. These complex issues are discussed in the current context of rapid political change towards greater local autonomy in Cameroon. After some background information on aims and regulations of decentralization in Cameroon, the perspective of sustainable local development through the preservation and promotion of heritage (indigenous) cultures and language by local councils is discussed based on the author's field experiences, analysis of the local councils' development roadmaps, and interviews with municipal authorities as well as language and culture promotion institutions and stakeholders. The results show that, following the laws that devolve new competencies from the central government to the local governments, the three councils under study have started including programmes for heritage culture and language preservation in their plan of action. However, some obstacles must be lifted to translate the intentions into real development projects. We suggest that some sustainable mechanisms, in terms of participatory conception, implementation, and sustainable management of indigenous languages and culture be put in place by the indigenous programmes to preserve their threatened languages and culture; this in addition to income-generating activities driven by the added value derived from the valorisation of the cultural heritage.
Drafts by Herbert Rostand Ngouo
Ngouo, H.R., 2022
Most studies on language policy address the issue of language as medium of instruction and neglec... more Most studies on language policy address the issue of language as medium of instruction and neglect to critically evaluate the pertinence and relevance of the generalised teaching/learning of foreign languages in schools and universities in Cameroon. This study looks at the connection between the teaching of foreign languages and transnational aspirations of Cameroonians. The data were collected from discussions on two Facebook threads questioning about the topic, discussions with lecturers of foreign languages at university, and a meta-synthesis analysis of existing statistics about international migration for educational purposes. The findings reveal that there inbound international migration flux is associated to language but is not the most crucial factor. As a result, the study suggest either supressing the generalised teaching of foreign languages in the francophone subsystem of education, and setting up a public private partnership or at least suppressing the Spanish and Italian languages whose knowledge has not provided any direct benefit for the majority of learner. The cost of running those languages is not equivalent to the return.
Language management in Christian Church, 2022
Darquennes and Vandenbussche (2011) have provided a recapitulative of some approaches, theories a... more Darquennes and Vandenbussche (2011) have provided a recapitulative of some approaches, theories and studies that have been used in investigating language and religion as a field in sociolinguistics in recent years. In Cameroon, Kouega (2008) pioneered studies on language and religion from the same perspective. This study follows the same tradition. The researcher uses a participatory approach in ethnography, and the perspective of an insider, to discuss the challenges of language management in a small multiethnic and multilingual religious community in Maroua (Cameroon).
Ngouo et al, 2007
The analysis of the above state of affairs has revealed that the main problem which exists in Cam... more The analysis of the above state of affairs has revealed that the main problem which exists in Cameroon at the level of the rural population is that of ignorance in diverse domains of human life. These domains include: the socio-cultural, political and, economic.
At the political level, the illiterate rural population is ignorant on the meanders and mechanisms of power. They rely mostly on the elites as the sole means of political representation.
At the level of economy, this same group of people is ignorant of the diverse income generating activities that can be instituted in their region. They do not have access to the efficient modern techniques which can be applied in their agricultural activities. They equally do not have enough knowledge on the aspects of managing and organizing a business, as well as to means of investment and sustainable microfinance.
For about four years now, Cameroon has been going through a socio-political crisis in the form of... more For about four years now, Cameroon has been going through a socio-political crisis in the form of armed insurgency by some groups from the English-speaking regions. Aided by the ubiquitousness of the social media, the secession leaders in the diaspora who have been able to rally masses to their opinion. This has caused civil disobedience manifested through ghost towns, mass protests, as well as terrorist attacks. On the 1 st October 2017, the secessionists unilaterally declared through social media the independence of the two English region from the Republic of Cameroon, thereby establishing the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. In order to rally the Anglophone community to their secessionist move, the separatists use have used a variety of discursive arsenals, including religious deployment in their speech. This paper analyses the religious dimension of the discourse which has been prevailing amongst the English-Speaking regions regarding the insurgency promoting secession from Cameroon. Religion, whether African traditional, Christianity or Islam, is a very important element for Africans, and consequently it permeates all aspects of individuals lives and group identities. The data were collected from the Facebook posts of Anglophone diasporic leaders who have masterminded and instigated the armed conflict as reaction to Cameroon is alleged assimilation of the Anglophone communities. The data collected include biblical allusions in the form of lexicosemantic expressions, phraseologies and idioms used as speech acts of declarations, expressives and directives or representative, metaphors are used to imbue their discourse with Christian ideology. By so doing, they strategically weaponise religion (Christianity) for the sake of secession. The findings are similar to Vüllers (2011) regarding the role of religion in post electoral conflict in Côte d'Ivoire. 2
Ngouo, Herbert Rostand, 2020
Cameroon is by its constitutions (of 1961 and 1996) a bilingual country in which English and Fren... more Cameroon is by its constitutions (of 1961 and 1996) a bilingual country in which English and French have equal official status, alongside more than 250 heritage languages. Despite the legal provisions, sociolinguistic dynamics have established the prevalence of French over English, thereby causing a feeling of marginalisation by the English speaking minority. It has been reported that in some public offices, civil servants deliberately refuse to respond to the users in English. Many a studies have discussed the linguistic aspect of the Anglophone crisis, but none of those have used participant observation and interviews to investigate the language behaviour of workers, or even their feelings and reactions towards and Anglophone requesting services using English in work place in Maroua, where Fulfulde seems to be one of the competing codes. This paper is the report of a facts finding endeavour that aimed at evaluate workers readiness to embark on a conversation in English, or to simply respond to an Anglophone in English. Using a predominantly quantitative approach conducted through a three-stage process involving non participant observation, active participant observation an interviews, the researcher and some assistants went around public offices to elicit the language behaviour of service provider. The results show that French and Fulfulde are the languages of communication between most workers. English is conspicuously absent from routine conversations, and people are even reluctant to respond to English prompting. This study confirms the allegation that English is still relegated to the back in Francophone areas, even in domains where it ought to share equal status with French. This is explained by the low representation of Anglophones in the area, as well as the diktat of Fulfulde. The results also show that sociolinguistic dynamics in a setting might prevail over legal provisions if the law is not enforced by coercive measures.
Uploads
Papers by Herbert Rostand Ngouo
Drafts by Herbert Rostand Ngouo
At the political level, the illiterate rural population is ignorant on the meanders and mechanisms of power. They rely mostly on the elites as the sole means of political representation.
At the level of economy, this same group of people is ignorant of the diverse income generating activities that can be instituted in their region. They do not have access to the efficient modern techniques which can be applied in their agricultural activities. They equally do not have enough knowledge on the aspects of managing and organizing a business, as well as to means of investment and sustainable microfinance.
At the political level, the illiterate rural population is ignorant on the meanders and mechanisms of power. They rely mostly on the elites as the sole means of political representation.
At the level of economy, this same group of people is ignorant of the diverse income generating activities that can be instituted in their region. They do not have access to the efficient modern techniques which can be applied in their agricultural activities. They equally do not have enough knowledge on the aspects of managing and organizing a business, as well as to means of investment and sustainable microfinance.
This paper aims at making a policy discourse analysis of the CDP of five councils of the Far North Region of Cameroon which are the cradles of six Cameroonian languages, namely Mundang, Tupuri, Masana, Mafa, Giziga and Mada to evaluate the level of appropriation of these legal provisions provided by the decentralisation laws. The research questions is: What is the level of appropriation and implementation of the provisions of the laws on decentralisation by the councils of the Far North Region as far as heritage languages preservation and promotion are concerned? Beside the methodological approach which makes a policy discourse analysis of the CDPs of the host councils, interviews with council officials are used to elicit the entanglements causing low achievements.
The data show that emoticons to express feelings like love are used systematically by 90% of the participants irrespective of their age, personality and occupation. Other emotions were expressed using a variety of emoticons. The phrases and short sentences used were also compared with the emoticon used in each situation. They gave more cues to the emotions represented by the icons, thereby allowing the interlocutor to guess what the signer actually meant (signified) the visual form (the signifier) (De Saussure 1916).
Key works: emoticon, emotion, electronically-mediated communication, social personality