Apart from the 309 dialects and the 2 official languages spoken in Cameroon (English and French), 2 other Cameroonian vernaculars are slowly gaining ground in all cities of the country, namely Cameroonian Pidgin English and Camfranglais.
We will be focusing in this article on the former. You can find Duala words used in Camfranglais here or read this article in French here.
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Cameroonian Pidgin
Cameroonian Pidgin English is an amalgamation of English, Cameroonian local languages, and a little bit of French. As one will expect it is more widely spoken among anglophone Cameroonians. Though it could be spoken out of convenience, it has become the first language to many Cameroonians, usually from lower social classes.
Pidgin English is common to most ancient British colonies and was born from the twisting English by the indigenous populations. Therefore, the use of local languages in it is what makes the difference between the pidgin of each country. Furthermore, in Cameroonian Pidgin, you will equally find a few French words, streaming from the bilingualism of the country.
Duala
Mother-tongue to the indigenous population of Cameroon’s economic capital Douala, Duala saw itself adopted as the common language to many villages of the Cameroonian coastal line, making it the 1st most spoken dialect in the city and the 7th most spoken language in the country. This naturally made it incorporated in this Cameroonian creole.
The 9 words in their pidgin form
While some of the borrowed Duala words have maintained their meaning, a few have seen theirs changed.
Bole
Duala: From ‘Bole’, meaning to finish.
Pidgin: Used to mean the same thing.
Example: I dun bole. – I am done.
Bolo
Duala: From ‘Ebolo’, meaning work, job.
Pidgin: Used to mean the same thing.
Examples: A dun bolo sotey a taya! – I am exhausted from all that work!
Bwam
Duala: From ‘Bwam’, meaning good.
Pidgin: Used to mean the same thing.
Example: A dey bwam! – I am good! or I am fine!
Mbale
Duala: From ‘Mbale’, meaning truth.
Pidgin: Used to mean the same thing.
Example: Mbale! A no doam. – Truly speaking! I didn’t do it. or I swear! I didn’t do it.
Ndolo
Duala: From ‘ndolo’, meaning love.
Pidgin: Used to mean love, to love.
Example: Ndolo di cam finish me. – I am all head-over-heels.
Nika
Duala: From ‘Ninka’, meaning like this, like that and ‘Ninka so’ / ‘Ninka mene’, meaning that’s right! , yeah right!?
Pidgin: Used to mean yeah right!?
Nyama
Duala: From ‘Nyama’, meaning meat.
Pidgin: Used to mean meat, animal (insultive).
Example: Nyama!! – You beast!!, Dat nyama get taste. – This meat is tasty.
Nyango
Duala: From ‘Nyango’, meaning mother, mummy.
Pidgin: Used to mean girl, young lady.
Example: Na som nyango so. – It’s a random girl.
O bosso
Duala: From ‘O boso’, meaning in front, ahead, long live.
Pidgin: Used to mean keep going, long live.
Example: Cameroon O bosso! Long live Cameroon!
