Features of Cameroon Francophone English in the Production of Bilingual Students
Keywords:
Cameroon Francophone English, Interlanguage, essay, interference, Francophones
Abstract
This paper examines the written production of bilingual Francophone students of tertiary level in Cameroon. The influence of French and local languages is observed in the free compositions in English, the second official language (SOL) of young Francophone Cameroonians. For this study, 47 informants were randomly selected and asked to write a 200-word essay in English. Selinker’s theory of Interlanguage was used as a framework for identifying, describing, and explaining the data. The findings reveal 167 instances of Interlanguage features, out of which 62 (37.1%) were from stabilisation, 57 (34.1%) from interference, 46 (27.5%) from overuse, and 2 (1.1%) from avoidance.
References
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Safotso, G. T. (2012). Aspects of Cameroon francophone English (CamFE) phonology. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(12), 2471-2477.
Safotso, G. T. (2016). Cameroon Francophone English: An atypical Example to Moag’s and Schneider’s Models. British Journal of English Linguistics, 4(5), 1-10.
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Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10(3), 209-231.
Simo Bobda, A. (2011). Understanding the innerworks of word stress in RP and Cameroon English: A case for competing constraints approach. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(1), 81-104.
Sala, B. (2003). Aspects of the Cameroon English sentence (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis). The University of Yaounde I.
Sokeng Piewo, S. C. (2014). Grammatical errors of bilingual 1 francophone learners of English in the University of Yaoundé I. Theory and Practice in Language: Academic Publisher, 4(9), 1778-1785.
Wang, Xin, & Fan, Lingling. (2020). An analysis of interlanguage features and English learning. Journal of Higher Education Research, 1(1), 31-37.
Yumoto, K. (1996). Bilingualism, code-switching, language mixing, transfer and borrowing: Clarifying terminologies in the literature. Kanagawa Prefectural College of Foreign Studies, 17, 49-60.
Al-Khresheh, H. M. (2011). An Investigation of interlingual interference in the use of ‘and’ as a syntactic coordinating structure by Jordanian EFL learners. European Journal of Social Sciences. 18(3), 426-433.
Al-Mutairi, M. A. (2020). Kachru’s Three Concentric Circles Model of English language: An Overview of Criticism & the Place of Kuwait in it. English Language Teaching, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v13n1p85
Atechi, S. N. (2011). Cameroon and Pidgin English. Journal of Applied Linguistics. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/19597473/Cameroon_And_Pidgin_English
Atechi, S. N. (2015). The emergence of Cameroon francophone English and the future of English in Cameroon. British Journal of English Linguistics, 3(3), 23-33.
Ayafor, M. I. (2005). Official bilingualism in Cameroon: Instrumental or integrative policy? In Cohen, J. McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., and MacSwan, J. (Eds), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. Cascadilla Press (pp. 123-142). Retrieved from https://www.lingref.com/isb/4/009ISB4.PDF
Carrio-Pastor, M. L., & Mestre-Mestre, E. A. (2014). Lexical errors in second language scientific writing: Some conceptual implications. International Journal of English Studies, 94(1), 97-108.
Chapetón, C. M. (2008). Cross-linguistic influence in the writing of an Italian learner of English as a foreign language: An exploratory study. Colombian Applied Linguistics, 10, 50-72.
Deni, R. F., & Ratna S. D. (2020). Interlanguage verb tenses study: A case study on Rena Aprilia. Elite Journal: Journal of English Linguistics, Literature, and Education, 2(1), 41-54.
Echu, G. (2004). The language question in Cameroon. Linguistik Online, 18(1), 19-33. Retrieved from http://www.linguistik-online.de/18_04/echu.html
Elyildirim, S. (2017). Avoidance strategy in foreign language production. Journal of Süleyman Demirel University Institute of Social Sciences, 3(28), 231-242.
Forsyth, H. (2014). The influence of L2 transfer on L3 English written production in a bilingual German/Italian population: A study of syntactic errors. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 4(3), 429-456. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2014.43036
González, Ruth Carolina B., & Elizabeth Alvarado M. (2020). The Interlanguage in learners of English as a foreign language: An error analysis approach. MEXTESOL Journal, 44(1). Retrieved from http://www.mextesol.net/journal/index.php?page=journal&id_article=17156
Hemaidia, M. (2016). Algerian Arabic varieties speakers’ errors in English writings: A contrastive error analysis study (Unpublished Ph.D). Thesis. University of Oran 2.
Kharitonova, A. (2013). Lexical transfer and avoidance in the acquisition of English phrasal verbs: Evidence from Russian and Norwegian learners of English (Unpublished MA-Thesis). University of Oslo.
Kouega, J. P. (1999). The influence of French on Cameroon English: A case study of the registers of administration and finance. Ed. George Echu. &Allan Grundstrom. Official Bilingualism and Linguistic Communication in Cameroon, 103-111.
Kouega, J. P. (2008). The English of francophone users in Cameroon: A phonological appraisal. Annals of the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences. Special Edition. Festschrift in honour of Professor Paul N. Mbangwana, 109-120.
Kouega, J. P. (2010). Official bilingualism at tertiary level education in Cameroon: the case of The University of Yaounde II (Soa). Kaliao, 2(4), 193-209.
Kouega, J. P. (2019). The English of francophone speakers in Cameroon. Munich: GRIN Verlag. Retrieved from https://www.grin.com/document/505457
Lakshmanan, U., & Selinker, L. (2001). Analysing interlanguage: How do we know what learners know? Second Language Research, 17(4), 393-420. https://doi.org/10.1191/026765801681495886
Mahmood, H. A., & Mohammed, A. I. M. (2018). Approaching the language of the second language learner: Interlanguage and the models before. English Language Teaching, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n10p95
Mammeri, S. (2015). A morphosyntactic study of EFL students' written compositions: A corpus-based analysis. Arab World English Journal, Bejaia University, International Conference Proceedings, 112-126.
Mbangwana, Paul N., & Sala, B. (2009). Cameroon English morphology and syntax: Current trends in action. LINCOM EUROPA.
Muñoz, R. L. (2010). Interlanguage in undergraduates’ academic English: Preliminary results from written script analysis. Encuentro, 19, 60-73.
Ngoungouo, Y. A., & Wokwendam, N. N. (2020). Speaking difficulties encountered by EFL learners: the case of Shupamem native speakers. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 10(7).
Richards, Jack, R. C, & Schmidt R. (2002). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. 3rd Edition. Longman.
Safotso, G. T. (2012). Aspects of Cameroon francophone English (CamFE) phonology. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(12), 2471-2477.
Safotso, G. T. (2016). Cameroon Francophone English: An atypical Example to Moag’s and Schneider’s Models. British Journal of English Linguistics, 4(5), 1-10.
Safotso, G. T. (2020). Neologisms and Cameroonisms in Cameroon English and Cameroon Francophone English. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(10), 1210-1217. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1010.04
Selinker, L. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 10(3), 209-231.
Simo Bobda, A. (2011). Understanding the innerworks of word stress in RP and Cameroon English: A case for competing constraints approach. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(1), 81-104.
Sala, B. (2003). Aspects of the Cameroon English sentence (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis). The University of Yaounde I.
Sokeng Piewo, S. C. (2014). Grammatical errors of bilingual 1 francophone learners of English in the University of Yaoundé I. Theory and Practice in Language: Academic Publisher, 4(9), 1778-1785.
Wang, Xin, & Fan, Lingling. (2020). An analysis of interlanguage features and English learning. Journal of Higher Education Research, 1(1), 31-37.
Yumoto, K. (1996). Bilingualism, code-switching, language mixing, transfer and borrowing: Clarifying terminologies in the literature. Kanagawa Prefectural College of Foreign Studies, 17, 49-60.
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