Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Literature and Media Studies
type: channel
description: JOURNAL AIME AND SCOPE (Ethical considerations, scope dynamics) The Journal aims to provide a highly readable and valuable addition to the literature which will serve as an indispensable reference tool for years to come. It has an interdisciplinary scope focusing on the issues relevant in our contemporary world. It provides a platform for scholars and researchers from diverse academic disciplines to share their works, exchange ideas and explore the interconnectedness between different fields of study. The scope of this journal is intentionally broad, encompassing a wide range of subject areas that may include, but not limited to, the humanities, social sciences, and applied sciences. This journal has the following specific objectives: Facilitating Interdisciplinary Collaboration: It provides a dedicated outlet for researcher to cross-pollinate knowledge and engage in interdisciplinary dialogues. Promoting Methodological Pluralism: It encourages the use of diverse research methods, from qualitative to quantitative, from empirical to theoretical, to capture the multifaceted nature of the topics under investigation Explore Emerging Interdisciplinary Domains: It identifies and highlights new and evolving interdisciplinary fields of study that hold the potential to generate innovative solutions to complex societal, environmental and technological challenges Fostering Intellectual Diversity: it embraces a wide range of perspectives, ideological framework, and cultural backgrounds to enrich the intellectual discourse that challenges dominant paradigms Indiginisation of knowledge: It recognizes the worth of indigenous knowledge and provides a platform for scholars to indigenise knowledge by highlighting new knowledge systems from the global South.
publisher: Department of English, Faculty of Arts- The University of Bamenda
language: en
publication name: Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Literature and Media Studies
issn: 3078-6223
items: Indigenous Perspectives and Ecological Knowledge in the Conservation of the Ecosystem: Exploring Shadrach Ambanasom’s Forest of the Gods
items: Fragments of Freedom: Tracing Democratic Tensions in Some Selected Novels by Arundhati Roy, Russel Soaba and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
items: INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE AND ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONSERVATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM: EXPLORING SHADRACH AMBANASOM’S FOREST OF THE GODS
items: Language Barriers and Health Communication in Rural Cameroon: The Case of Babessi
items: Postcolonial and Diasporic Intersections: Cultural Identity and Alienation in Chibundu Onuzo’s Welcome to Lagos and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers
items: Diasporic Experience and Identity (Re)Construction in Fatou Diom’s The Belly of the Atlantic
items: The Portrayal of Indigenous Beliefs and Religious Conflict in Yoruba: The Case of Tunde Kelani’s Agogo Èèwò
items: The Ideological Implication of Negation in Crisis Discourse: The Case of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis (2016-2021)
items: AI-Driven Innovation in ESL Instruction: Exploring the Frontiers of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning in Bamenda
items: A Socio-phonological Study of the Language of Mechanical Discourses: The Case of Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon
items: From Jargon to Clarity: Understanding the Language of Law by non-Legal experts
items: The challenges and benefits of Cameroon Pidgin English in education: A postmodernist perspective
items: Borders in the Age of Interconnectedness: An intertextual Reading of Nic Stone’s Dear Martin, Dear Justyce and Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give
items: Monophthongal Peculiarities of Audio-visual Cameroon and NigerianEnglishes Compared: the NURSE, STRUT, TRAP and START Vowels
items: Examining Textual Patterns in Cameroonian Book Blurbs
items: New Englishes as Retaliation against Colonial Norms in Selected Postersin Bamenda
items: From Kashmir Through Biafra to Webaz: Decolonisation and Spatial Negotiation in Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Julius Angwah’s Before Our Eyes
items: A Comparative Analysis of the Structure of English and Awing
items: Rethinking Afrofuturism in African Postmodernist Art: EngagingPostcolonial Perspectives for New Empowering Pathways
items: Modernism on three Continents: Recalcitrance, Canon, and Appropriation
items: Anarchism in a Postmodernist Approach to Cameroon PidgincreoleStandard Orthography: An Abortive Search for Relevance

Indigenous Perspectives and Ecological Knowledge in the Conservation of the Ecosystem: Exploring Shadrach Ambanasom’s Forest of the Gods
type: item
description: This study looks into the cultural and ecological importance of sacred groves and shrines among the Dudum people of the Grassfields as reflected in Shadrach Ambanasom’s Forest of the Gods. It shows that these holy places are not only centres for spiritual rituals but also natural spaces that preserve indigenous ecological wisdom and keep the people connected to their environment. Through a close reading of Forest of the Gods, this research exposes how Ambanasom uses images, myths, and storytelling to warn the people about the dangers of neglecting their natural heritage. The study also relates that what the Dudum people are doing in preserving nature aligns with the modern Sustainable Development Goals, such as good health, sustainable communities, climate action, and biodiversity conservation. It further points out that while many studies have written generally about African traditional conservation systems, very few have examined how Ambanasom’s ecological messages in Forest of the Gods connect with the wider call for sustainable development. This study fills that gap, as it uses the concepts of Ecocriticism and New Historicism to blend textual analysis with cultural understanding and show how the Gassfields’ traditions can inform the contemporary protection efforts of the environment. The research concludes that although the Dudum people once lived in harmony with nature, the pressures of modern life have pushed them away from these values, causing damage to their spiritual connections with nature. The study therefore calls for a return to the respect and balance that once existed between humans and nature.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Indigenous Knowledge, Sacred Groves, Ecocriticism, New Historicism
  topic: keywords
creator: Musa Aruna Chemnchu
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Chemnchu M. A (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 116
ending page: 133

Fragments of Freedom: Tracing Democratic Tensions in Some Selected Novels by Arundhati Roy, Russel Soaba and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
type: item
description: The implementation of democratic principles, especially in the former colonies, has come with challenges and writers have often projected such realities in their literary texts. This work analyses the manner in which Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Russel Soaba’s Maiba: A Papuan Novel and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun represent the practice of democracy. The study is guided by the following research question: How do Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Russel Soaba’s Maiba: A Papuan Novel, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun depict the practice of democracy? It is hypothesized that the three novels portray democracy as an aspirational system of government that faces serious challenges. Using the Democratic Theory, it seeks to unveil the manner in which democracy is practiced in the texts and the difficulties evident in the process. This two-part paper demonstrates that, although both the populace and - albeit partially - the leadership express a desire to establish democracy in former colonies, as reflected in political dialogue and consultation, the democratic process remains deeply hindered by neo-colonial pressures and ineffective or corrupt governance. Recognizing that there is no universal concept of democracy that should fit all nations, the article concludes that each part of the former Empire should adapt its unique version of democracy that ties with its context and values.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Democracy, Global South, Practice, Challenges, Consequences, Democratic Theory, Empire
  topic: keywords
creator: Amadou Danlami
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Danlami A. (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 81
ending page: 96

INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE AND ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE CONSERVATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM: EXPLORING SHADRACH AMBANASOM’S FOREST OF THE GODS
type: item
description: <a title="Indigenous Perspective and Ecological Knowledge in the Conservation of the Ecosystem: Exploring Shadrach Ambanasom's Forest of the. Gods" href="https://ijollims-uba.com/index.php/cm/Abstract This study examines the significance of groves and sanctuaries within the Dudum society of the Grassfields, as illustrated in Shadrach Ambanasom’s Forest of the Gods. It looks at how these holy places are depicted and stresses Ambanasom’s plea for their preservation. Though are reserved for cultural rituals and revert cultural practices, present-day tendencies of excessive and geocentricism endanger their conservation. The paper points out the Forest of the Gods’s connection to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their benefits to the Dudum community and the Grassfield society at large. These SDGs are healthy lives for communities (SDG 3), sustainable human settlements (SDG 11), climate change mitigation (SDG 13), biodiversity conservation (SDG 15), and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (SDG 16). Methodologically, the researcher reads and textual analyses the Forest of the Gods to identify themes and symbols related to sacred groves and sanctuaries. Also, the researcher uses articles, cultural studies, and a brief historical accounts of the Grassfields and Dudum people at length to contextualise and enhance the analyses. Ecocriticism serves as a key conceptual framework. It is one of the enabling theory for an examination of the relationship between the Dudum people and their natural environment. It highlights ecological myths and the cultural imperative of protecting these sacred spaces. Moreover, New Historicism offers insights into the historical and cultural contexts of the selected poem to reveal the deeper message of environmental protected as highlighted by the poet. The study concludes that while the protection of sacred trees and groves is an innate cultural practice among the Dudum people, contemporary challenges such as greed and selfishnes…
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Culture
  topic: keywords
subject: Ecosystem
  topic: keywords
subject: Conservation
  topic: keywords
subject: Ecocriticism
  topic: keywords
subject: New Historicism
  topic: keywords
creator: Musa Aruna Chemnchu
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Musa Aruna Chemnchu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 117
ending page: 134

Language Barriers and Health Communication in Rural Cameroon: The Case of Babessi
type: item
description: In Babessi (Ngoh-Ketunjia, Ndop Plain, Cameroon), healthcare messages are predominantly delivered in French and English, with Pidgin English used only occasionally to interpret them for local populations. Field observations and semi-structured interviews with local households reveal that this linguistic mismatch reduces comprehension, particularly among elderly villagers, and limits the uptake of essential services. For instance, when sickle-cell test fees were reduced from 6000 FCFA to 3000 FCFA between May and December 2024, announcements using the French term drépanocytose were largely disregarded, with approximately nine out of ten elderly women failing to understand them. When official communication fails, villagers often turn to soothsayers, traditional doctors, or herbalists who communicate in local languages. While these practitioners provide culturally resonant explanations, reliance on them can delay biomedical interventions and exacerbate health risks. The study highlights the critical need for linguistically and culturally inclusive healthcare strategies, including training health personnel in local languages and Pidgin English, giving a broad medical insight to liaison workers, co-creating health messages that resonate with indigenous cultural frameworks, and promoting local-language literacy in health contexts. By addressing language barriers, such strategies can improve comprehension, uptake, and outcomes for malaria, sickle-cell disease, and HIV/AIDS in Cameroon’s multilingual communities. Drawing on sociolinguistic and cultural competence frameworks, the study examines how language choice shapes comprehension and trust in health communication. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how linguistic inclusivity in public health communication enhances service effectiveness and supports health literacy in rural, multilingual populations.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Language, Barriers, Health, Communication and Culture
  topic: keywords
creator: Roger Njebuh Nzembayie
creator: Visi Sumbom Tubuo
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Nzembayie Njebuh Roger, Dr. Tubuo Visi S. (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 153
ending page: 171

Postcolonial and Diasporic Intersections: Cultural Identity and Alienation in Chibundu Onuzo’s Welcome to Lagos and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers
type: item
description: This study explores cultural identity and alienation in Chibundu Onuzo’s Welcome to Lagos and Imbolo Mbue’s Behold the Dreamers through a postcolonial and diasporic framework. Set in the postcolonial metropolis of Lagos and the diasporic hub of New York, the novels depict African characters navigating hybrid identities and urban marginalization. Drawing on Frantz Fanon, Homi K. Bhabha, Edward Said, Paul Gilroy, and Stuart Hall, the analysis examines how Onuzo portrays Lagos as a site of cultural conflict and resilience amid Nigeria’s postcolonial challenges, while Mbue critiques the American Dream’s racial and economic barriers. Through comparative literary analysis, including close reading and socio-historical contextualization, the article highlights shared themes of hybridity, exclusion, and community-driven agency, alongside distinct critiques. Onuzo targets Nigeria’s governance failures, while Mbue exposes the inequities of global capitalism. The study argues that both novels redefine African identity in urban contexts, contributing to postcolonial and diaspora studies by bridging local and global narratives. Findings emphasize how Lagos and New York differently shape identity and alienation, yet both affirm resistance through solidarity. This article underscores the significance of these two novels in challenging hegemonic narratives and amplifying African voices globally.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Postcolonial, Diasporic Intersections, Cultural Identity, Alienation
  topic: keywords
creator: Francis Tiambei
creator: Jemia Ngome
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Francis Tiambei , Jemia Ngome (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2026-01-18
publication date: 2026-01-18
starting page: 37
ending page: 59

Diasporic Experience and Identity (Re)Construction in Fatou Diom’s The Belly of the Atlantic
type: item
description: Abstract The research investigates the diasporic experience and identity construction in Fatou Diom’s novel The Belly of the Atlantic, focusing on the dichotomy between appearance and reality in the lives of individuals living in the diaspora. The study aims to explore the challenges faced by diasporic individuals in reconciling their lived experiences with the perceptions of their identities held by those back in their home countries. The objectives of this research are to analyze how diasporic individuals navigate the difficulties of maintaining their cultural heritage while adapting to new environments, and to examine the effect of societal expectations and stereotypes on their sense of self. The hypothesis posits that there is a significant discrepancy between the outward portrayal of life in the diaspora and the internal struggles faced by individuals, leading to a fragmented sense of identity. Drawing on theories of diaspora studies and postcolonial literature, this research seeks to shed light on the tough process of identity formation within the context of migration and displacement. The study is important as it contributes in understanding the difficulty of diasporic identities and the ways in which individuals negotiate their sense of self within transnational spaces. The findings disclose that people in the diaspora often wrestle with conflicting versions of their identities, as they struggle to unitetheir personal experiences with external expectations. Finally, this research focuses on the complex nature of identity (re) construction in diasporic communities and highlights the need for representations that handle the diverse realities faced by individuals living between cultures.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Diaspora, Identity Construction, illusion, Reality, postcolonial
  topic: keywords
creator: Emerencia Beh Sih
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Emerencia Beh Sih (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 97
ending page: 115

The Portrayal of Indigenous Beliefs and Religious Conflict in Yoruba: The Case of Tunde Kelani’s Agogo Èèwò
type: item
description: This paper examined the portrayal of indigenous beliefs and religious conflict in Tunde Kelani’s Agogo Èèwò. Guided by cinema theory, which viewed African films as tools for cultural resistance and identity preservation, the paper adopted a qualitative design with content analysis. The film was purposely selected because it directly engaged Yoruba traditional religion and its encounters with Christianity. Key scenes showing rituals, oath-taking, divination, and interfaith clashes were analyzed and grouped thematically. Findings revealed that the film affirmed the role of Yoruba spirituality in kingship, morality, and justice, with Ifá divination and sacred oaths presented as systems of accountability. The indirect presence of deities was portrayed as a moral force, while the enchanted drum symbolized checks on corruption. At the same time, the film highlighted conflicts between Christianity and traditional religion, reflecting wider tensions in Yoruba society. The paper concluded that Agogo Èèwò functioned as a cultural archive and recommended that cinema be used to preserve indigenous heritage, foster dialogue, and strengthen cultural identity in Nigeria.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Agogo Èèwò, Yoruba spirituality, religious conflict
  topic: keywords
creator: Wahab A. Ibrahim
creator: Olúwákẹ́mi (Aya) Adéfowópè
creator: Aanuoluwapo Segun Olaniyan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Wahab A. Ibrahim, Dr Olúwákẹ́mi (Aya) Adéfowópè, Olaniyan Aanuoluwapo Segun (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 1
ending page: 18

The Ideological Implication of Negation in Crisis Discourse: The Case of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis (2016-2021)
type: item
description: Language has many purposes of usage which determine how a speaker or writer chooses words and plays a great role in conflict and crisis resolution.The present study analyses the types of negations used by three state personalities in Cameroon: the former Prime Minister (Philemon Yang), the current Prime Minister (Dion Ngute) and the Head of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multilingualism (Peter Mafani Musonge) in their speeches delivered from 2016-2021 and seeks to identify the ideologies behind the use of negations and how the negations contribute in solving the present Cameroon Anglophone crisis. A purposive sampling technique was used to sample fifteen speeches of the three above mentioned personalities. Textual conceptual functions as given by Jeffries (2010) was used as the analytical tool, uncovering ideologies expressed by the different types of negations using the apparatus of negation.The findings revealed that, the three personalities make use of syntactic, lexical, morphological negations and also negative pronouns in their discourse to qualify and condemn the atrocities perpetrated in the present crisis by the fighters. However, it was observed that, negation in some instances was used in a pejorative way to qualify the fighters especially on the side of the Anglophones which somehow contribute to incite and inflame the crisis. Thus, negation was used both to promote peace and to inflame the crisis. It was further recommended that, anyone invited to make a speech on the Cameroon Anglophone crisis should avoid words that may cause people who are already angry to be to hurt and avoiding taking side. In so doing, tension may calm down and a platform for dialogue and reconciliation may be established.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Anglophone crisis, discourse, ideology, critical stylistics, negation
  topic: keywords
creator: Kohole Carine Peukeu
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Kohole C. Peukeu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 135
ending page: 153

AI-Driven Innovation in ESL Instruction: Exploring the Frontiers of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning in Bamenda
type: item
description: The rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in global education has transformed language learning by providing learners with personalized feedback, adaptive instruction, and increased opportunities for autonomous practice. In many developing contexts, however, the integration of AI into classroom instruction remains unexplored. This study investigates the awareness, use, and challenges surrounding AI integration in English as a Second Language (ESL) learning in Bamenda, Cameroon. The study involves 60 Upper Sixth students who possess the cognitive and technological maturity to meaningfully engage with AI tools and 10 English language teachers, purposively selected from secondary schools. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Constructivist Learning Theory, the study examines how perceptions, ease of use, and learner-centred interaction shape AI adoption in the ESL classroom. Data collected through structured questionnaires and classroom observations was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings reveal high student awareness and engagement, with 92–95% reporting familiarity with AI tools, positive perceptions, and regular use across vocabulary, grammar, speaking, and writing tasks. Teachers demonstrated moderate awareness and adoption (60–90%), indicating a notable gap between student and teacher engagement largely linked to limited training, exposure, and institutional support. Key challenges included unreliable internet, electricity shortages, technical difficulties, inadequate training, and occasional discouragement from teachers. Both students and teachers strongly recommended the introduction of more AI tools and the development of AI applications tailored to context specific needs. The development of specific policies to fully harness AI’s potential will enhance ESL learning outcomes in Bamenda.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: AI-driven innovation, ESL instruction, technology-enhanced learning, multilingualism, adaptive learning
  topic: keywords
subject: digital infrastructure
  topic: keywords
creator: Louis MBIBEH
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Mbibeh Louis. (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 60
ending page: 80

A Socio-phonological Study of the Language of Mechanical Discourses: The Case of Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon
type: item
description: 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 skil…
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Phonological Discourse, Engineering Discourse, Effective Communication
  topic: keywords
creator: Shu Philip Ngwasi
creator: Atoh Julius Chenwi
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Mr. Shu Philip N., Prof. Atoh Julius C. (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 172
ending page: 188

From Jargon to Clarity: Understanding the Language of Law by non-Legal experts
type: item
description: This paper investigates the intricate relationship between law and linguistics, grounded in the premise that lawyers work intimately with the English language. Despite this shared linguistic medium, legal English is often perceived as highly complex and inaccessible to non-specialists. Given that legal language permeates many aspects of human life, especially in situations involving legal processes, this linguistic gap may disadvantage individuals who are not legally trained. The study therefore seeks to examine the extent to which the language of law can contribute to lack of clarity, misunderstanding, disputes, and feelings of alienation among members of the public interacting with the legal system. The analysis draws on Darwin’s theory of legal obfuscation (2009) and Greenberg’s communicative theory. A mixed-methods approach was adopted: a quantitative component involving 150 targeted respondents who completed a ten-item questionnaire, and a qualitative component consisting of interviews with fifteen participants (ten legal practitioners and five non-legal participants). Findings indicate that features of legal English significantly hinder effective communication with the public, thereby reinforcing the need for simplification. The study concludes that adopting plain English within legal communication can help bridge the gap between legal professionals and laypersons, fostering improved understanding. The paper therefore advocates stronger interdisciplinary collaboration between sociolinguists and legal practitioners to support on-going efforts toward simplifying legal language. Such a bridge upholds a more profound cooperation between socio-linguists and legal professions. Interdisciplinary research of this nature can facilitate the task of simplification of the language of law.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Legal Jargon, language clarity; legal communication; legal obfuscation
  topic: keywords
creator: Atoh Julius Chenwi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Prof. Atoh J. Chenwi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 19
ending page: 36

The challenges and benefits of Cameroon Pidgin English in education: A postmodernist perspective
type: item
description: Cameroon Pidgin English (CPE) is a mixed language or multi-language variety, deserving of a lingua franca in Cameroon, yet expressively dialectic in the realm of education. Its users desire to connect to, or disconnect from certain dialogues in specific contexts, a routine that challenges the dynamics in language policy and biases that have emerged due to the scepticism about Pidgin in education in multilingual Cameroon. From a postmodernist perspective, the aim of this paper is to identify the challenges and benefits of CPE in education in Cameroon, appraise the implications of postmodernist tendencies toward it, and propose mechanisms that minimise the challenges and maximise its sociolinguistic potential. The generic question focuses on what the challenges, benefits, and implications of postmodernist tendencies toward CPE in education are, and the strategies to regulate them, whereas the main objective is entrenched in the aim. Secondary sources of data are extracted from blogs, students’ translated English into Pidgin English texts, and a collection of on-campus anti-CPE in education slogans. The data is analysed qualitatively at different linguistic levels and discussed on the basis of some postmodernist tendencies such as globalisation, fragmentation, tenets of scepticism, relativism, and an argument against method and evaluation. In conclusion, findings prove that CPE, like other languages, shares language universalities, nonetheless, retains its specificities. CPE is a purpose-specific language that communicates as concisely as possible, without introducing unnecessary ambiguity in its grammar. Its lexicon is inclusive, its morphology is cropped, and significant variation in its phonology. Its discourse gives its users the desired switch within context, in realtime; and like other languages, valid to be studied in academia, especially in a postmodernist digital age.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: challenges, benefits, Cameroon Pidgin English, education, postmodernism,
  topic: keywords
creator: Kelen Ernesta Fonyuy
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Fonyuy Ernesta Kelen (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-07
publication date: 2025-07-07
starting page: 205
ending page: 228

Borders in the Age of Interconnectedness: An intertextual Reading of Nic Stone’s Dear Martin, Dear Justyce and Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give
type: item
description: This paper sets out to engage shared elements that reveal racial borders as an intertext in Dear Martin, Dear Justyce and The Hate U Give. The focus is to trace these textual connections and conversations, highlighting the intertextual dialogue that ironically reveals borders that continue to exist and influence experience in the United States at the age of networks and interconnectivity. The study problematizes that, though the United States is seen as a melting pot of cultures or a "new promised land", there still exists racial borders revealed across the texts, suggesting that the texts are responding to a common, historical, cultural and experiential contexts they are situated in. The paper assesses the different boundaries that still exist in the age of interconnectedness which brings about power struggle, uneasy conversation and discrepancies between the races. The thrust of this paper is to demonstrate that racial borders are still evident in the United States in the age of networks and collaboration, in spite of new trends like the "Black Lives Matter" and the "All Lives Matter". The study makes use of the theoretical backdrop of intertextuality. Stone (2017) will be interpreted in connection with Stone (2020) and Thomas (2017). This theoretical position is fundamental as interpretation becomes flexible when the text, the pre-text and the post-texts connected to it are placed side- by-side. The paper demonstrates how the texts form an ongoing dialogue, with each work building upon, responding to and reimagining the racial narrative in the age of connectivity.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: American society, intertextuality, interconnectedness, racial borders, racial narratives, young adult Literature
  topic: keywords
creator: Emmerencia Beh Sih
creator: Eunice Fondze-Fombele Fonyuy
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Beh Sih Emmerencia, Prof. Fondze-Fombele Fonyuy Eunice (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 183
ending page: 204

Monophthongal Peculiarities of Audio-visual Cameroon and NigerianEnglishes Compared: the NURSE, STRUT, TRAP and START Vowels
type: item
description: This paper sets out to comparatively describe the features of four RP monophthongs in Audiovisual Cameroon English (henceforth AVCamE) and Audio-visual Nigerian English (henceforth AVNigE) as produced by characters, preachers and musicians. The paper describes the realisations of the NURSE, STRUT, TRAP and START vowels and correlates them with interlinguistic, extralinguistic and intralinguistic features such as roleplay, L1interference and graphology. Data for the paper constitutes excerpts gleaned from One-hundred and fifty Cameroonian and Nigerian audiovisuals (movies, musicals and sermons); seventy-five from Cameroon and seventy-five from Nigeria. One-hundred and sixty consultants were sampled for this paper, with eighty male and female from Cameroon audiovisuals (henceforth CAs) and eighty from Nigerian audio-visuals (hereafter NAs). The data were collected from 2010 to 2022 and were qualitatively analysed using Comparative Linguistics and Phonostylistics. Findings reveal that despite the many similarities between AVCamE and AVNigE, several differences exist in the realisations of the NURSE, STRUT, TRAP and START vowels.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Audio-visual, Cameroon English, Monophthongal peculiarities, Nigerian English
  topic: keywords
creator: Raphael Tegha Ketcha
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Ketcha Tegha Raphael (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 167
ending page: 182

Examining Textual Patterns in Cameroonian Book Blurbs
type: item
description: This paper examines Cameroonian book blurbs, with a focus on identifying and analysing the various textual patterns used by Cameroonian book writers in rendering their blurbs. Data for the study are collected from 80 book blurbs written in English and published in Cameroon. The books are randomly selected from four main fields: language, social sciences, hard sciences and fiction. The data are analysed based on the multidimensional perspective of the genre theory, with an inclination on grammatical and textual features of genres. The analyses focus not only on identifying and describing the various textual patterns used in the blurbs, but also on determining their communicative functions in the texts. The findings reveal that Cameroonian blurbers employ description, narration, exposition, characterization and instruction in the various moves of their blurbs in order to realize the different communicative intentions of the moves, which combine to realize not only the conventional academic and promotional communicative purposes of the genre, but also the ‘non-conventional’ private intentions of the blurbers.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Textual patterns, description, narration, characterization, exposition, instruction
  topic: keywords
creator: Marcel Fornkwa
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Marcel Jaff Fornkwa (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-07
publication date: 2025-07-07
starting page: 146
ending page: 165

New Englishes as Retaliation against Colonial Norms in Selected Postersin Bamenda
type: item
description: A major aspect of colonial rule in Africa was the imposition of an alien culture through the English language which unleashed a deadly blow on the African culture. The main aim of this research is to explore the business linguistic landscape of Bamenda in the Northwest region to discover how advertisers use language differently from the imposed English language. How can New Englishes be a form of retaliation or affirmation of the Africanness? How is this being managed in the business linguistic landscape of Cameroon? What linguistic strategies are employed by business persons to lull their clients and maximize profits? Through purposeful sampling methods, the linguistic landscape of the Bamenda in the Northwest region is exploited with focus on collecting posters used in advertising products or services. The Culture Code Theory of Design, Wen et al. (2022) helped to analyze the posters; examining the strategy aspect, meaning aspect, and the technical aspect. We see the adherence to New Englishes as the start of significant changes by the people in the study area to reintroduce their concepts and thoughts into their daily activities as a major retaliatory action. The results indicate that advertisers use New Englishes in their own creative ways and as retaliation to Standard English and culture dominance.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
creator: Rita Tenjoh
creator: Lucas Afutendem Nkwetta
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ms Tenjoh Rita , Prof. Afutendem Nkwetta Lucas (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 106
ending page: 145

From Kashmir Through Biafra to Webaz: Decolonisation and Spatial Negotiation in Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Julius Angwah’s Before Our Eyes
type: item
description: This paper examines why three strips of land whose demand for independence led to bloody conflicts, ethnic cleansing and unprecedented displacements. It focuses on Kashmir’s attempted secession from India and Pakistan, Biafra from Nigeria and Webaz (which is a metaphor for British Southern Cameroons) asked to return to her initial federal state. The paper hypothesises that these led to militancy resulted from the change in world order after the Second World War which exposed the ineffectiveness of the British policy of Indirect Rule in her colonies and the later postindependence multifaceted dynamics. These complexities transformed Kashmir, Biafra and Webaz into bloody theatres for ethno-religious and political conflicts that have been going on for over fifty years now. Using Salman Rushdie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Angwah Julius in Shalimar the Clown, Half of a Yellow Sun and Before Our Eyes, it indicts how the cultural imprints left by British colonisation and the multifaceted problems intersect with local resistance, economic interests, and cultural shifts to create secessionist movements. Drawing from the Postcolonial theory, it assesses how decolonisation creates cultural pluralism, hybrid identities and resistance in subaltern groups. The paper engages local voices, policy proposals, reimages educational and transnational networks, resource exploitation, ecological changes and environmental justice movements to evince that Rushdie, Ngozi and Angwah blend history, fiction, setting and style through characters that negotiate new North-South and South-South spaces. This leads to new hybrid economic structures and cultural identities that align with post-colonial aspirations for inclusive and equitable development that address historical disparities.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Contestation, Decolonisation, ethnic cleansing, indirect rule, negotiation, non-conformism
  topic: keywords
creator: Marcel Ebliylu Nyanchi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Nyanchi Marcel Ebliylu (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 27
ending page: 58

A Comparative Analysis of the Structure of English and Awing
type: item
description: No language exists without a structure. Structure here, implies the arrangement of grammatical elements in languages. English and Awing, as well as other West African Languages exhibit certain grammatical structures in common. This paper preoccupies itself with a comparative analysis of the structure of English and Awing in respect to grammar. It focuses on determining the extent to which words and sentences are organised in both languages by looking at their similarities and differences. The paper offers a description of English plural morphemes and shows how they differ from those of Awing. It also reveals that even though, the basic order of elements in a sentence in both languages is subject, verb and object (SVO), Awing also has subject-object and verb (SOV) as far as negative sentences are concerned. The difference in their grammatical patterns brings about difficulty and confusion in the use of both languages. The analysis is done using the structuralism approach of Routledge, (1993, p. 262), which states that, Structuralism is, “any approach to linguistic description which views the grammar of a language primarily as a system of relations.” The research is quantitative and qualitative. Having worked as a linguist in the Awing language for twelve years, the researcher made a lot of inputs in developing the language. So, she provided data for this research. Due to their differences in structures, we have come to realise that there is the transfer of the first language (L1) on to the second language (L2) and vice versa, which hinders the good mastery of both languages.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Comparative analysis, structure of English and Awing, grammatical elements, morphemes
  topic: keywords
creator: Helen Shedmankah Akem
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Akem Shedmankah Helen (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 74
ending page: 86

Rethinking Afrofuturism in African Postmodernist Art: EngagingPostcolonial Perspectives for New Empowering Pathways
type: item
description: This paper is premised on the hypothesis that African Futurism, and the newer concept of Afro-Nowism, may be more progressive theoretical and creative frameworks capable of capturing the dynamic and diversified African identities in indigenous settings than Afrofutuism. Weaving these concepts into a more sustaining vision of the future anchored more firmly in an African sense was the starting point of its hypothesis. The main aims of the paper were to explore the options of substituting Afrofuturism with African Futurism and Afro-Nowism in postmodern African works of fine arts, music, drama, poetry, film, crafts and autobiography. The research question that drove this investigation was: In what way can African Futurism and Afro-Nowism reformulate Afrofuturism in African postmodern art, by adding nuances to the understanding of the African post-colonial socio-economic, cultural, and political realities? The theoretical framework was postcolonial theory, which equips us with critical resources highlighting dimensions of colonial legacies on identities of Africa. We used this framework to analyze African Futurism and Afro-Nowism as the embodiment of African experiences and future visions due to Afrofuturism’s potential shortcomings. The study paved the way for a fresh front in assessment of Afrocentric artistic forms and contributed to the ongoing discussions on African art and its associated colonial channels of development.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Afrofuturism, African Futurism, AfroNowism, Postmodern Art, Indigenous culture, Postcolonialism
  topic: keywords
creator: Alfred Ndi
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Alfred Ndi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2025-07-07
publication date: 2025-07-07
starting page: 59
ending page: 73

Modernism on three Continents: Recalcitrance, Canon, and Appropriation
type: item
description: The cultural history of Euro-America has so influenced discussions in academic circles for the last one hundred years or so that we ignore how the cultural affinities which they bracket and disseminate carry a universal potency that cannot - or is not meant to - be challenged. This was true, and seems to remain so, as long as the pedagogy and diplomacy of mimicry maintained a stranglehold on especially the African nation- state. However, the revaluations which have been inspired through appropriations of the modernist allure and simultaneous romancing of postmodern ambiguities, have eased access into nativist cognition. If modernism subverted traditional aesthetics and provided amazing liberty to the imaginative output of Euro- American writers in particular, it was not the same for the emerging Afro-Oriental counterpart whose art was at the crossroads of a radical shift in political and intellectual cultures. I am therefore interested in the extent to which perceived limitations in Euro-American modernism motivated new perspectives in the western periphery, so that meaning was reaffirmed through seductive experimentation with bioethical data, the anticolonial synergy from “writing back" to postindependence dewriting, and the Africanaissance imaginary in Afrofutures.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Modernism and/as canon, cultural recalcitrance, appropriation and/or mimicry, postindependence, dewriting, Africannaissance/Afrofuturism.
  topic: keywords
creator: Mbuh Tennu Mbuh
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Professor Mbuh Tennu Mbuh (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 1
ending page: 26

Anarchism in a Postmodernist Approach to Cameroon PidgincreoleStandard Orthography: An Abortive Search for Relevance
type: item
description: Cameroon Pidgincreole is the oldest contact language in Cameroon spanning through the various colonial periods. It is also one of the few languages where people write in without any formal training or instruction. This freedom has generated a lot of documentation, published and unpublished, in CPc to a wide readership, but with no two having exact orthography as it is in other languages where literacy programmes are developed and taught. This paper is of the opinion that this anarchy is a modernist approach where people want to identify themselves independently, ignoring a traditional collective movement towards a common goal. This paper makes use of various published and some unpublished documents in CPc to show this anarchy even among those who opt for the same orthographic system. Some of these documents include- the Pidgin English Bible, grammar books in Pidgin and Literary works. With the use of Chaos Theory, this paper holds that if this anarchy continuous, even in the next hundred years, CPc will not have a standard orthography. This paper calls for the creation of an Association of Cameroon Pidgincreole Scholars (ACPicS).
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: orthography, anarchy, Modernist, standard, Chaos, Cameroon Pidgincreole
  topic: keywords
creator: Hans M Fonka
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Dr Hans Mbonwuh Fonka (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
date: 2024-12-31
publication date: 2024-12-31
starting page: 87
ending page: 105