LINGUISTIC UNDERTONES OF PROTEST, COMMITMENT AND ALIENATION: THE CASE OF PIDGIN ENGLISH IN ANGLOPHONE CAMEROON LITERATURE

Abstract

Cameroon literature of English expression has gained its ‘lettres de noblesse’ thanks to an accumulation of several cultural, political, religious, economic and sociolinguistic facts which the writers here have addressed following different approaches. This write-up probes the sporadic but significant use of a hybrid code – Pidgin English in the imaginative experiences of these writers. This is the language which has proven its worth both in personal and intergroup communication, as well as in bridging communication gaps across cultures. Through Giles’ Accommodation Theory, the data for this study, obtained from the Pidgin English excerpts of prominent Cameroon anglophone writers’ texts, were scrutinised with the aim of determining the effectiveness of its use in different contexts. Based on the hypothetical premise that, though the language constitutes an incontestable linguistic resource, its use and total existence is marked by alienation at several levels. The study reveals that through the language, the writers protest; show their commitment through linguistic alienation. This multi-pronged buffer code embedded in active and popular techniques such as songs, proverbs, rhetorical expressions and metaphors, rekindles their artistry, reinforces their poetic license as they lash out against societal foibles and revalorise some socio-cultural habits. Evidently, against the backdrop of linguistic alienation, this paper instigates a review of linguistic  policies in favour of this invaluable linguistic resource and pre-empts that Pidgin English holds the future of Cameroon Anglophone Literature.