A Socio-phonological Study of the Language of Mechanical Discourses: The Case of Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon

Abstract

Although the language policy of Cameroon is in favour of official bilingualism in English and French, its practical application remains somewhat biased. This is reflected in different walks of life, one of which is the field of engineering where trained engineers working in English-speaking regions of Cameroon tend to make more reference to the French terms rather than English appellations of the tools in their field, thereby causing communication problems and lack of coordination both in the field and in office spaces as well as the consumers at large. This paper therefore seeks to do a socio-phonological appraisal of discourses in engineering in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon with the aim of unearthing the specific linguistic challenges that engineers and consumers face. Guided by the question “how do the phonological discourses affect language in the field of Mechanical Engineering?” this paper upholds the Critical Discourse Analysis theory of Van Dijk (1985) and Michel Fairclough (1995). Data for the study are quantitative in nature and were obtained from a total of sixty (60) English speaking engineers and consumers from the southwest and northwest regions of Cameroon. The research targeted 70 participants from both regions (35 from each) but only sixty (60) questionnaires were returned, giving a percentage of 85.71%. The data of this study were collected through the use of Questionnaires, interviews and focus-group discussions. The findings demonstrate that while technical competence remains paramount, communicative accuracy significantly influences professional effectiveness, safety outcomes, and career advancement opportunities. The systematic patterns revealed in pronunciation challenges, and adaptation mechanisms indicate that engineering professionals have developed sophisticated approaches to managing multilingual technical communication. The findings equally suggest that integrated approaches combining technical content with communication skills training could substantially improve professional effectiveness while respecting the multilingual realities of contemporary engineering practice.