To dispel some the ignorance displayed below, this conflict in the Cameroons is not some primitive conflict over the use of language, and is no more tribal than disputes between political factions in the US (sadly).
The peoples of Ambezonia, when given no other choice voted to join the Federal Republic of Cameroon under the premise that they would retain a semi-autonomous government and remian a eperate state in a Federal style goverment not unlike the US, Canada, etc..
After the unification, federal system promises to the people of ambezonia was soon undemocrarically dismantled stripping the Ambezonians of any real voice or power in government.
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Fru,
You are the voice of reason. It’s like the commenters didn’t even read the article.
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Linguistic tribalism by inherited colonial languages. Wow that is rich.
Did you even read the article? It’s not just language but the institutions and cultures that developed under two different regimes.
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Syria? Yemen? Afghanistan? Boko Harum in African countries? Libya? The central American countries rife with gang violence? The north of Mexico with the drug cartels?
And Mr. Ngang wants the international community to do what exactly? Agree with everything he wants and suppress the opposition? Has he seen the casualty statistics in other places?
Sometimes instead of waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse to save the day, it's far simpler and realistic to simply save yourselves.
These Africans are funny. The resented the centuries of colonization by European countries, but they want the former colonizers to alight on their side and bring them their notions of justice and order.
"These" Africans you refer to did not sow the seeds of their misery through the brutality that was colonization. If the you westerners never had colonized them and then rip their lands of its resources (still happening till this very date) while supporting regimes that repress the same people they are there to protect, the conflict you see in Cameroon and most of Africa today will not exist. So knock it off with your shallow-minded, dog-whistling comments that show your ignorance of history and its impact on present day socio-political constructs of Africa.
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f I had to choose between English and French, I'd choose English in a heartbeat. The unartificially gendered grammar of English has had enormous benefits for Anglophone people, including the much lower levels of violence in Anglophone/Anglolegal-legacy jurisidictions than in those with artificially gendered language (and artificially gendered law/legal fictions).
This is part of the reason France has still not IN A THOUSAND YEARS had an adult female leader, while England has had almost too many to count, and this issue (plus latent and still unresolved issues of conflicts-of-law between England and France that trace from 1066) played more of a role in Brexit than I think people realize.
It's not unlike how the effects of Farsi (the only unartificially gendered Arabic language) can be seen in the history of Iran v. the other Arab countries.
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It may be a little more complicatedt han that. Do you not think female leadership in Europe had perhaps anything to do with Protestantism vs. Catholicism, mediterranean/latin societies vs. northern/saxon ones?
I speak and love English but am particularly fond of "Bless her and all who sail in her".
Americans and their gender studies looking glass ... **sigh**.
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It's not Farsi vs Arabic but Shia vs Sunni. While Farsi-speaking Iranians are Shia there are sizable Arab populations in Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen...that are Shia yet speak Arabic.
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Reader,
Do you really think the issue is the philosophical and pragmatic differences between French and English or are you going off on a tangent? Language is integral to national identity. Hebrew was reconstructed to unite the Jewish diaspora. Social conservatives want English to be declared America’s official language because they fear a Spanish language takeover. Quebec nationalism arose in part from the decline of French relative to English. There has been a linguistic aspect to almost every separatist movement in history.
Language represents cultural differences. For example, the article makes it clear that the Ambazonian way of life has been structured around English institutions like a common law legal system not the French civil law of the rest of the country.
Setting aside its symbolic importance altogether, language is fundamental to human interaction. It’s how people access all the institutions vital to a functioning society. Ambazonians aren’t thinking about their global competitiveness and the other abstract issues you focus on but their day-to-day lives.
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The signal sub-Saharan African tendency isn't coherence with intuitions that are carefully matured over time to promote binding of peoples despite differences: it's tribalism.
No surprise here.
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When you see pictures like this and read the story aren't you glad about the travel ban Mr. Trump has put in place. Would you want this here? I don't!
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In response to Mr. Anderson:
Southern Cameroon is mostly Christian. The Anglophone population is mostly Protestant. Mr. Trump's Muslim travel ban is based on ignorance and prejudice.
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What on Earth has an independence campaign for English speakers in a Christian country got to do with Trump’s ban on travel from Muslim countries?
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Cameroon isn't in the travel ban.
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There are many countries in the world who are officially bilingual or multilingual, and offer services in both or many languages. It isn't always easy, and there are often arguments, but it seems to me that Cameroon would do well to consult with these other nations to find better solutions than what is found at the end of a gun and further escalating tensions. Language is a tool for communication and it goes to the heart of how we define ourselves. Embracing bilingualism or multilingualism will only enrich a country and its people.
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The problem with Cameroon is not really about language; it is about political power and neglecting the needs of people in some regions of the country. Since independence, Cameroon has had only two presidents. The current one, Paul Bia, has been in power longer than any other African leader and his reign has been characterized by corruption and embezzlement of public resources. People in Anglophone Cameroon bear the brunt of his corrupt rule -- but many Francophone Cameroonians also dislike him.
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Why yes, it's working swimmingly well in Belgium!