r/Cameroon • u/Personal-Course-8281 • 12d ago

CULTURE Diaspora

Cameroonians in America: I’m 25, and my parents didn’t teach me Cameroonian Pidgin. Now I have a daughter, and I want her and any future children I have to know it.
What has your experience been with passing Pidgin or your family’s traditional language on to your children? How much does it matter to you?

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u/wadleo 12d ago

Just invite your parent(s) in to your home for one month and ask them to communicate only in pidgin, you will get it in less than 2-3weeks. Bring up several activities during this time, so that you guys have much avenue to discuss in pidgin.

Also, if they can stay for longer during summer holidays, get them to teach you their traditional dialect which has more relevance than even pidgin.

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u/Relative_Algae7854 12d ago

Traditional dialect doesn't have more relevance than pidgin. In the nw and sw, the only place where you can speak your traditional dialect is in your literal village and depending on where you are from, many young people won't speak it. Pidgin serves as the lingua franca in the NW/Sw and is what people use everywhere to communicate.

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u/Relative_Algae7854 12d ago

because Pidgin derives from english, once you learn the conjugations it is rather easy to understand. However, like every language speaking is the harder part because your pronunciations will sound like english.

I think the easiest way to learn is through skits and movies. I'd recommend popular anglophone content creators on Tiktok, Facebook, and IG like, CG, Aunty Felicia, Senior Pastor, caro and copees. There are a lot more depending on the types of content you are into. It's a natural way to here the language in common day to day situations.

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u/Relative_Algae7854 12d ago

Also your parents might feel strange speaking pidgin to you or your kids, because in cameroon, pidgin informal and educated parents speak it mostly to their friends and not their childen. Likewise, if your parents are educated, it would almost be seen as disrespectul for you to speak pidgin to your parents because it's informal. Pidgin is mostly learned from the streets, grandparents, or boarding school.

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u/slickont 11d ago

My parents didn't went to school so I can't really blame the that much couse the belly can speak sweet language 😅