Nguh Nwei Asanga Fon
Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Famagusta, North Cyprus

Part of the book: Bilingualism and its Benefits

Abstract

The Westphalian system is characterized by many linguistic and ethnically heterogeneous states. Globalization and rapid urbanization have rendered most cities across the globe more cosmopolitan. Diversity can be a blessing and a curse depending on the ability of a country to harness its potential. When mismanaged, diversity can engender racism, ethnonationalism, and xenophobia within a country which can ignite political instability or secessionist struggles involving violence like the cases of the Sudanese Civil war (1983-2005) and the Catalonia Crisis (2017-2018). An efficient means of managing linguistic and ethnic diversity is through the institution of official bilingualism. In countries with linguistic diversity and ethnic pluralism, official bilingualism can be used to appease ethnic, cultural, and linguistic tensions, instil a sense of unity and solidarity, and act as a catalyst for national integration. This chapter examines the concept of official bilingualism and its application in the administration with reference to two of the world’s most prominent examples of countries practising official bilingualism: Cameroon and Canada—the only two bilingual countries with membership in both the Commonwealth and la Francophonie.

Keywords: official bilingualism, biculturalism, cultural integration, linguistic cohabitation, unity in diversity

References

Abouem A Tchoyi, D. 2021. Interview with Mr. Abouem A Tchoyi, member of Cameroon’s
National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.
Alesina, Alberto, Arnaud Devleeschauwer, William Easterly, Sergio Kurlat, and Romain
Wacziarg. “Fractionalization”. Journal of Economic Growth 8, no. 2 (2003): 155-194.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1023/a:1024471506938.
Allen, Mary. 2013. “Youth bilingualism in Canada”. www150.statcan.gc.ca. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-004-x/2008004/article/10767-eng.htm.
Atabong, Amindeh Blaise. 2019. “Promotion of Bilingualism: New Law in Gestation”.
Cameroon-tribune.cm.
https://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/article.html/29441/fr.html/promotion-of-bilingualism-new-law-in.
Ayafor, Isaiah Munang. “Official bilingualism in Cameroon: Instrumental or integrative
policy.” In Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, pp. 123-142. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press, 2005.
Baaboh, Feh Henry. 2021. “Cameroon Legal System”. Hg.org. https://www.hg.org/legal articles/cameroon-legal-system-7155.
Belcourt, Senator NA. “The French Canadians Outside of Quebec.” The ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science 107, no. 1 (1923): 13-24.
Bilcam. 2021. “Bilingual Training Programme | Programme de Formation Linguistique
Bilingue”. Bilcam.net. http://www.bilcam.net/historique.html.
Blakemore, Erin. 2018. “Canada’s Long, Gradual Road to Independence”. History.
https://www.history.com/news/canada-independence-from-britain-france-war-of 1812.
Cameroon-Tribune. 2017. “National Commission for the promotion of Bilingualism and
Multiculturalism: Keeping to Promises”. Cameroon-tribune.cm.
https://www.cameroon-tribune.cm/article.html/6740/fr.html/national-commission-for-the promotion-of-bilingualism-multiculturalism-keeping-promises.
Canadian Heritage. 2021. “Government of Canada Unveils Plan to Modernize Official
Languages Act”. Newswire.ca.
https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/government of-canada-unveils-plan-to-modernize-official-languages-act-825216021.html.
Cardinal, Linda. “The limits of bilingualism in Canada.” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics
10, no. 1(2004): 79-103.
Chan, Kai. 2016. “These are the most powerful languages in the world”. World Economic
Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/12/these-are-the-most-powerful languages-in-the-world/.
ÇINAR, Kürşat. “Dismemberment of Yugoslavia: Lessons for the Ethnic Conflict
Literature.” Balkan Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 8, no. 15 (2019): 15-27.
Constitute. 2021. “Cameroon’s Constitution of 1972 with Amendments through 2008”.
Constituteproject.org.
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Cameroon_2008.pdf?lang=en#:~:text=The%20Official%20languages%20of%20the,protect%20and%20promote%20national%20languages.&text=5.,-Its%20flag%20shall.
D’Acierno, Rosaria Maria. 1990. “Three Types of Bilingualism”.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED321574.
Dicks, Joseph, and Fred Genesee. “Bilingual education in Canada.” Bilingual and
multilingual education 10 (2017): 453-467.
Dissake, Endurence MK and Gratien G. Atindogbé. 2020. “Analyzing Court Discourse in
a Multilingual Setting.” In African Multilingualisms: Rural Linguistic and Cultural
Diversity, edited by Pierpaolo Di Carlo and Jeff Good, 155. London: Lexington Books.
Dze-Ngwa, Willibroad. “Rethinking Cameroon’s national anthem and the challenges to
internal cohesion: A historical review, fifty years after independence and
reunification.” International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science 2, no. 7
(2014): 91-101.
Eberhard, David; Simons, Gary F. & Fennig, Charles D. 2021. “What is the most spoken
language?” Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/most-spoken languages.
Echu, George. “Official Bilingualism and the Policy of Translation in Cameroon.”
Translation and Meaning Part 5 (2001): 335-343.
Edwards, John. 2004. “Foundations of bilingualism”. In The handbook of bilingualism,
edited by Bhatia TK, Ritchie WC, 7-31. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing.
Esman, Milton J. “The politics of official bilingualism in Canada.” Political Science
Quarterly 97, no. 2 (1982): 233-253.
Fearon, James D. “Ethnic and cultural diversity by country.” Journal of economic growth
8, no. 2 (2003): 195-222.
Fon, Nguh Nwei Asanga. “Official Bilingualism in Cameroon: An Endangered Policy?”
African Studies Quarterly 18, no. 2 (2019).
Fouda, Simplice Magloire Essomba. “Evaluating the Degree of Individual Bilingualism in
Yaounde.” Research on Humanities and Social Sciences 3, no. 17 (2013): 23-31.
Franson, Charlotte. 2009. “What is Bilingualism?” Naldic.org.uk. https://www.naldic.org.uk/Resources/NALDIC/Initial%20Teacher%20Education/Documents/B1.pdf.
French for Life. 2008. “History of Bilingualism in Canada”. Frenchforlife.ca.
http://www.frenchforlife.ca/documents/Canadian%20Heritage%20-%20History%20of%20Bilingualism%20in%20Canada.pdf.
Gottardo, Alexandra, and Amy Grant. “Defining bilingualism.” Encyclopedia of language
and literacy development (2008): 1-7.
Hudon, Marie-Ève. Bilingualism in Canada’s Court System: The Role of the Federal
Government. Library of Parliament, 2017.
ICTY. 2021. “What is the former Yugoslavia? | International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia”. Icty.org. https://www.icty.org/en/about/what-former-yugoslavia.
ISTIC. 2020. “The Contribution of the Association of Translators and Interpreters to the
Development of the Translation Profession in Cameroon.” Istic-cameroun.com.
http://istic-cameroun.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/
Kouega, Jean-Paul. “The Implementation in the University of Yaounde I of Cameroon’s
French-English Official Bilingualism Policy.” Alizés: Revue angliciste de La Réunion
33 (2010): 263-285.
Laing, G and Celine Cooper. 2019. “Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism”
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-commission-on-bilingualism-and-biculturalism.
Larocque, François and Stéphanie Chouinard. 2021. “Bilingualism and diversity: The
Supreme Court can — and should — have both”. The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/bilingualism-and-diversity-the-supreme-court-can-and-should have-both-161859.
Levesque, Catherine. 2021. “Federal government unveils 56 proposals to modify Official
Languages Act”. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-federal-government-unveils-56-proposals-to-modify-official-languages/.
MacCharles, Tonda. 2021. “Diversity is on a collision course with bilingualism at Canada’s
top court”. thestar.com. https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2021/03/06/search-for-next-supreme-court-judge-sets-bilingualism-on-a-collision-course-with-diversity.html.
Macdonald, Roderick A. “Legal bilingualism.” McGill LJ 42, no.1 (1996): 119.
Moradi, Hamzeh. “An investigation through different types of bilinguals and bilingualism.”
International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies 1, no. 2 (2014): 107-112
N., Sam M.S. 2013. “What is Coordinate Bilingual? Definition of Coordinate Bilingual
(Psychology Dictionary)”. Psychology Dictionary.
https://psychologydictionary.org/coordinate-bilingual/.
Nana, Genevoix. “Official bilingualism and field narratives: does school practice echo
policy discourse?” International journal of bilingual education and bilingualism 16,
no. 1 (2013): 64-99.
Ndille, Roland. “English and French as official languages in Cameroon: The Intentionality
of Colonial Representations and the Failure of a Cameroon-centric Identity; 1884 and
after.” European Journal of Language Studies Vol 3, no. 2 (2016).
Ndji, Georges. 2021. “À La Découverte Du Berceau De L’hymne National Du Cameroun”.
Cameroon Radio Television. https://www.crtv.cm/2021/05/a-la-decouverte-du berceau-de-lhymne-national-du-cameroun/.
Ngwane, G., 2021. Interview with Mr. George Esambe Ngwane, member of Cameroon’s
National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.
Postan, Liraz. 2020. “What are The Two Types of Bilingualism? | BLEND”. Localization
Services by BLEND. https://www.getblend.com/blog/types-of-bilingualism/.
Poushter, Jacob, Janell Fetterolf and Christine Tamir. 2019. “A Changing World: Global
Views on Diversity, Gender Equality, Family Life and the Importance of Religion”.
Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project.
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/04/22/a-changing-world-global-views-on-diversity-gender-equality family-life-and-the-importance-of-religion/.
Rea, J.E, Jeff Scott and Andrew McIntosh. 2021. “Manitoba Act | The Canadian
Encyclopedia”. Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/manitoba-act.
Ricento, Thomas. “The consequences of official bilingualism on the status and perception
of non-official languages in Canada.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural
Development 34, no. 5 (2013): 475-489.
Roberts, Maddy Shaw. 2021. “What are the lyrics to the Danish national anthem, and why
does Denmark have two official songs?”. Classic FM. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/national-anthems/denmark-lyrics-why-are-there-two anthems/.
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. 1967. “Report of the Royal
Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Book I: The Official Languages”.
Publications.gc.ca. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/bcp-pco/Z1-1963-1-5-1-1-eng.pdf.
Smart-Carvalho, Constancia. “The Enactment of Bill 5, the Francophone Community
Enhancement and Support Act: A Proud Moment for Manitoba.” Man. LJ 41 (2018): 479.
Sone, Andrew Ewang, ed. Readings in the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code.
Presses univresitaires d’Afr, 2007.
Szmigiera, M. 2021. “Most linguistically diverse countries worldwide 2021 | Statista”. Statista.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1224629/the-most-linguistically-diverse countries-worldwide-by-number-of-languages/.
Takam, Alain Flaubert. “Bilinguisme officiel et promotion de la langue minoritaire en
milieu scolaire: le cas du Cameroun [Official bilingualism and promotion of the
minority language in schools: the case of Cameroon].” Revue électronique
internationale de sciences du langage SudLangues 7 (2007) : 26-48.
Tande, Dibussi. 2007. “Can Cameroon’s New Criminal Procedure Code Deliver “Justice
with a Human Face”? Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den.
https://www.dibussi.com/2007/01/can_cameroons_n.html.
Tatangang, Henry N. “Education-Training-Employment, the key to Africa’s Development
in the Era of Globalization.” Xlibris Corporation, 2011.
Teke, Elvis. 2019. “National Assembly: Specificities of The Bill on The Promotion Of
Bilingualism – Cameroon Radio Television”. Cameroon Radio Television.
https://www.crtv.cm/2019/11/national-assembly-specificities-of-the-bill-on-the-promotion of-bilingualism/.
Tuttle, Myrna El Fakhry. 2019. “Why is Canada a Bilingual Country?”
https://www.lawnow.org/why-is-canada-a-bilingual-country/.
u Ottawa. 2021. “The Constitution Act, 1867”. Compendium of Language Management in
Canada (CLMC). https://www.uottawa.ca/clmc/constitution-act-1867.
United Nations. 1998. “‘A Society that cuts itself off from its Youth serves its Lifeline’,
Secretary-General Tells Ministers for Youth World Conference | Meetings Coverage
and Press Releases”. Un.org. https://www.un.org/press/en/1998/19980810.sgsm6670.html.
Vesey-Byrne, J. (2017). A map of the world according to the number of languages.
Retrieved 21 July 2021, from
https://www.indy100.com/discover/world-according number-of-languages-india-england-official-7825456
Wolf, Hans-Georg. English in Cameroon. De Gruyter Mouton, 2013.
Yaro, Loveline. “Optimising Post-Colonial Bilingual Education in Cameroon’s Primary
and Secondary Schools: A Critic on School Practice.” Asian Journal of Education and
Social Studies (2020): 39-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.9734/ajess/2020/v9i330250.