Bilingually Enriched Learners

The study of language in a population is always fascinating.  In this instance this one is very fascinating especially for someone that is in English speaker from America. While most of the world that we know it speaks some kind of English or tries to bend to using English for business terms or what not it was quite the headline to see this. In Cameroon they have both French and English speakers, however French speakers heavily outweigh English speakers. 8 of the 10 counties in the country are French dominated, however they are trying to takeover the English speaking areas as well. The hostility has been built up as teachers claim that many of their jobs are now going to French speakers in the schools and other are arguing that there should be English speakings judges in English speaking areas. It is so strange to see a backlash versus the English language in this country and also to see such a heavy division.  Maybe its because we live in a world in which we believe the English world dominates, but seeing people discriminated against for speaking English comes shocking and  maybe can open our eyes and view what we are doing in this country or in other parts of the world. We read this article and believe that something needs to be done, but what do we do in this country or other parts of the world to help other people that speak different languages? Do we have Spanish speaking teachers in heavy Spanish areas? In cities that have a high Haitian population do we hire teachers and judges that speak Creole? Pieces like this should help us reflect on our own situation and always reflect on how the population of areas can eventually effect the social and cultural issues. 

This is a good example of the long term affects of colonialism even after independence.  Teachers in English speaking sections of Cameroon complained as more French speaking teachers began taking jobs in their regions.  The English speakers complained because the curriculum the French speakers were teaching is different.  Lawyers in the English speaking regions also raised the issue that the judges and other government officials were only speaking French, making their jobs difficult to do.  What’s more interesting is that the constitution of the country recognizes both English and French as official languages.  But since a majority of citizens speak French, those that speak English feel alienated and like they are being treated as second-class citizens.  The federal government also operates almost exclusively in French.  The long term build up of this tension has caused those in the English speaking regions to revolt, unfortunately they did it violently.  The opposition party in the country has taken advantage of this in order to help their party by claiming that they will help incite change if voted into office.  The party in power spun the situation to say that those revolting were being paid by foreign powers.  The effects of colonialism can be devastating and harm people long after colonizers leave.  This is a country where there are two official languages, yet the majority has been able to gang up on the minority.  It’s unfortunate because people cannot be happy in their own jobs or daily lives and the government and their fellow citizens are ignoring them.

A nation's language is incredibly important to it's geography. In Cameroon, there are mostly French speaking citizens, however, there are still many English speakers.The differences are seen as more French speakers are getting jobs than English. They see this as discrimination. A huge problem is also dealing with important jobs such as in the courtroom. People who cannot understand each other cannot decide on things together. Things like this cause a lot of conflict in countries. 

The study of language in a population is always fascinating.  In this instance this one is very fascinating especially for someone that is in English speaker from America. While most of the world that we know it speaks some kind of English or tries to bend to using English for business terms or what not it was quite the headline to see this. In Cameroon they have both French and English speakers, however French speakers heavily outweigh English speakers. 8 of the 10 counties in the country are French dominated, however they are trying to takeover the English speaking areas as well. The hostility has been built up as teachers claim that many of their jobs are now going to French speakers in the schools and other are arguing that there should be English speakings judges in English speaking areas. It is so strange to see a backlash versus the English language in this country and also to see such a heavy division.  Maybe its because we live in a world in which we believe the English world dominates, but seeing people discriminated against for speaking English comes shocking and  maybe can open our eyes and view what we are doing in this country or in other parts of the world. We read this article and believe that something needs to be done, but what do we do in this country or other parts of the world to help other people that speak different languages? Do we have Spanish speaking teachers in heavy Spanish areas? In cities that have a high Haitian population do we hire teachers and judges that speak Creole? Pieces like this should help us reflect on our own situation and always reflect on how the population of areas can eventually effect the social and cultural issues. 

This is a good example of the long term affects of colonialism even after independence.  Teachers in English speaking sections of Cameroon complained as more French speaking teachers began taking jobs in their regions.  The English speakers complained because the curriculum the French speakers were teaching is different.  Lawyers in the English speaking regions also raised the issue that the judges and other government officials were only speaking French, making their jobs difficult to do.  What’s more interesting is that the constitution of the country recognizes both English and French as official languages.  But since a majority of citizens speak French, those that speak English feel alienated and like they are being treated as second-class citizens.  The federal government also operates almost exclusively in French.  The long term build up of this tension has caused those in the English speaking regions to revolt, unfortunately they did it violently.  The opposition party in the country has taken advantage of this in order to help their party by claiming that they will help incite change if voted into office.  The party in power spun the situation to say that those revolting were being paid by foreign powers.  The effects of colonialism can be devastating and harm people long after colonizers leave.  This is a country where there are two official languages, yet the majority has been able to gang up on the minority.  It’s unfortunate because people cannot be happy in their own jobs or daily lives and the government and their fellow citizens are ignoring them.

A nation's language is incredibly important to it's geography. In Cameroon, there are mostly French speaking citizens, however, there are still many English speakers.The differences are seen as more French speakers are getting jobs than English. They see this as discrimination. A huge problem is also dealing with important jobs such as in the courtroom. People who cannot understand each other cannot decide on things together. Things like this cause a lot of conflict in countries.