About Me

I spent my childhood years in a richly multilingual and multiethnic environment in my country of origin, Cameroon, so I have personal knowledge of Camfranglais, and I share some of the respondents’ issues of language choice and identity.

An award-winning career in music and the performing arts (Radio France Internationale 1996 Prize; German Critics' Best World Music Album Award in 2001; nominee for the BBC Radio 3 2002 World Music Awards; Live 8 performance in Cornwall by invitation of Peter Gabriel in 2005) did not hamper my interest for languages. I was further sensitised to multilingualism and linguistics by my 18-year-long professional experience as a translator and an interpreter.

Lastly, in addition to research methods, during my MRes, I conducted a study on ‘Language Practices of Francophone Cameroonians in London’, and I took a ‘Language contact & bilingualism’ course which sharpened my interest for, and my knowledge of, these areas of research.


My research interests:

-Camfranglais
-Hybrid urban linguistic registers with a special interest in Pidgins/Other African hybrid registers
-Language and Identity/Ethnicity in Post-Colonial Diasporic Populations
-Super-diversity in European and African urban contexts

My thesis:

My research is about Camfranglais, a hybrid urban register (which is a mixture Cameroonian national languages, mainly Beti-Fang, Bamileke and Duala languages, French, English, Cameroon Pidgin English, as well as other African languages), in use by diasporic adult professional Cameroonians living in Paris and London. This register was originally created and used mainly by the urban youth in Cameroon. It is still often referred to as a ‘youth’ language but is now also used by adults living outside Cameroon.


My study aims at:

- Clarifying and/or overcoming some of the terminological, theoretical and methodological anomalies and contradictions in the study of Camfranglais;
- Examining what happens to Camfranglais once it is relocated in Europe, structurally, interactionally, ideologically, and symbolically.
- Uncovering and discussing the implications of the use of this counter-hegemonic speech form by middle-aged diasporic Cameroonian professionals for the prolific research focusing on mixed urban registers among marginalised youth in Europe, and stereotypical notions of ethnic minority and diversity in Western megacities.


Academic background:


-Masters in Research/King’s College London
-Chartered Institute of Linguists’ Diploma in Translation (English-French)
-British Institute Certificate in French and English Translation


Work experience:

I have been working for over 18 years as a translator/interpreter, and I have been teaching French and Translation to adults regularly since January 2010.

I have recently undertook Research Assistant work for a project led by Dr Nwajiaku-Dahou (University of Oxford) on ‘Being and Becoming Ethnic in Africa and Europe’.
http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/projects/being-and-becoming-ethnic-homepage.html