Languages of Cameroon

Languages of Cameroon
Sign in Rumpi Hills in French and English
Official	French, English
National	55 Afro-Asiatic languages, 2 Nilo-Saharan languages, and 173 Niger–Congo languages
Signed	American Sign Language (Francophone African Sign Language)
Keyboard layout	QWERTY
Lingua franca(s)	French, English, Camfranglais, Cameroonian Pidgin English, Fulfulde, Chadian Arabic

Cameroon is home to at least 250 languages,²³ with some accounts reporting around 600.⁴ These include 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, four Ubangian languages, and 169 Niger–Congo languages. This latter group comprises one Senegambian language (Fulfulde), 28 Adamawa languages, and 142 Benue–Congo languages (130 of which are Bantu languages).⁵ French and English are official languages, a heritage of Cameroon's colonial past as a colony of both France and the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1961. Eight out of the ten regions of Cameroon are primarily francophone and two are anglophone. The percentage of French and English speakers is estimated by the Presidency of Cameroon to be 70% and 30% respectively.⁶

Cameroon is a predominantly Francophone country, though English is the official language of the former Southern Cameroons. As of 2024, 11.957 million (41.17%) out of 29.124 million people spoke French.⁷⁸

The nation strives toward bilingualism, but in reality a small minority (11.6%) Cameroonians are literate in both French and English, and 28.8% are literate in neither.⁹ The government has established several bilingual schools in an effort to teach both languages more evenly; however, in reality most of these schools separate the anglophone and francophone sections and therefore do not provide a true bilingual experience.¹⁰ Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie. German, the country's official language during the German colonial period until World War I, has nowadays almost entirely yielded to its two successors. However, as a foreign language subject German still enjoys huge popularity among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010. Today, Cameroon is one of the African countries with the highest number of people with knowledge of German.¹¹

Most people in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions speak Cameroonian Pidgin English, also called Kamtok, as a lingua franca.¹² Fulfulde serves the same function in the north, and Ewondo in much of the Center, South, and East provinces.¹³ Camfranglais (or Frananglais) is a relatively new pidgin communication form emerging in urban areas and other locations where Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians meet and interact. Popular singers have used the hybrid language and added to its popularity.¹⁴

Education for the deaf in Cameroon uses American Sign Language, introduced by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster.¹⁵

There is little literature, radio, or television programming in native Cameroonian languages. Nevertheless, many Cameroonian languages have alphabets or other writing systems, many developed by the Christian missionary group SIL International, who have translated the Bible, Christian hymns, and other materials. The General Alphabet of Cameroon Languages was developed in the late 1970s as an orthographic system for all Cameroonian languages.

In the late 19th century, the Bamum script was developed by Sultan Ibrahim Njoya to write the Bamum (Shüpamom) language.¹⁶

Literacy in French for individuals of age 12 and above rose from 41.3% to 57.6%¹⁹ between 1987 and 2005 while that of English rose from 13.4% to 25.3%.²⁰ The global proportion of individuals literate in official languages has thus markedly increased between 1987 and 2005, rising from 53.3% to 71.2%.²¹

In 2005, the probability to be literate in French while being anglophone was 0.46 while that of being literate in English while being francophone was 0.20, resulting from the predominant status of the French language in Cameroon as a whole.

Most of the 260 languages spoken in Cameroon are indigenous languages. With a population estimated in 25 million people, UNESCO classified the country as a distinctive cultural density. The National Institute of Statistics of Cameroon reported that four percent of the indigenous languages have disappeared since 1950. Currently, ten percent of them are neglected, and seven percent of them are considered as threatened.²²

The following list of languages in Cameroon is mostly based from Ethnologue.

The Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM, or "Linguistic Atlas of Cameroon") lists about 250 languages in Cameroon. The list is provided below.¹⁸³

The 2012 edition of the Atlas linguistique du Cameroun (ALCAM) provides the following classification of the Niger–Congo languages of Cameroon.¹⁸³

Adamawa

• Samba
• Daka
• Kobo-Dii (Vere-Duru)
  • North: Doyayo, Longto
  • South: Peere
• Mumuye
• Mbum
  • North: Tupuri, Mundang, Mambay
  • South: Mbum, Pana, Kali-Dek, Kuo, Gbete, Pam, Ndai
• Fali: North, South
• Nimbari

Ubangian

• Gbaya; Bangando
• Baka

Benue-Congo

• Jukunoid: Mbembe, Njukun, Kutep, Uuhum-Gigi, Busua, Bishuo, Bikya, Kum, Beezen Nsaa
• Cross River: Korop; Efik
• Bendi: Boki
• Bantoid (see below)

Bantoid

• Mambiloid: Njoyame, Nizaa, Mambila, Kwanja, Bung, Kamkam, Vute
• Tivoid: Njwande, Tiv, Iyive, Iceve, Evand, Ugare, Esimbi, Batomo, Assumbo, Eman, Caka, Ihatum, Amasi
• Ekoid: Ejagham
• Nyang: Denya, Kendem, Kenyang
• Beboid
  • Western: Naki, Bu, Misong, Koshin, Muŋgɔŋ, Cuŋ
  • Eastern: Bebe, Kemezuŋ, Ncane, Nsari, Noone, Busuu, Bishuo, Bikya
• Grassfield (see below)
• Bantu (see below)

Grassfield

• Western
  • Momo
    • Ngwɔ, Widikum
  • Menchum
    • Modele, Befang
  • Ring
    • West: Aghem
    • Central: Mmen
    • East: Lamnso'
    • South: Kənswei Nsei, Niemeng, Vəŋo, Wushi
• Eastern
  • Ngemba: Bafut, Mundum, Mankon, Bambili, Nkwen, Pinyin
  • Bamileke-Central: Ngomable, New; Kwa', Ghomala', Fe'fe', Nda'nda'
  • Noun: Mamenyan, Shüpamem, Bangolan, Cirambo, Bamali, Bafanji, Mungaka, Medumba
  • Northern: Limbum, Dzodinka, Yamba, Mbe', Central Mfumte, Southern Mfumte

Bantu

• Jarawan: Ngoŋ-Nagumi, Mboŋa
• Mbam (see below)
• Equatorial: A, B, C, D (partial) (see below)
• Zambeze: D (partial), E, F, G, H ,I, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S

Mbam

• ex-A40b
  • Ndemli, Tikari
  • Ninyoo, Tunan, Nomande, Atomp
  • Nigi
  • Bati
• ex-A60
  • Yambasa: Nugunu, Nuasua, Nubaca, Dumbula
  • Sanaga: Tuki

Equatorial Bantu

• North
  • A
    • Bafia (A50): Təbɛya, Lefa', Dimboŋ, Ripɛy, Rikpa
  • B
    • Coastal
      • A10: Oroko (West, East dialects), Lifɔ'-Balɔŋ, Nsose, Akoose
      • A20: Bakɔlɛ, Wumbuko, Mokpwe, Isu, Bubia; Duala
      • A30: Yasa, Batanga
    • Basaa (A40): Bankon, Basaa, Bakoko
    • Beti (A70): Bəti-Faŋ, Bəmbələ, Bəbil
    • Meka (A80): Məkaa, Sɔ, Bikele, Kwasio, Bagyɛli, Kɔɔzime, Mpo
    • Kakɔ (A90): Polri, Kwakum, Kakɔ
• South: B, C, D (partial)