On this March 20, 2023, International Francophonie Day, I share with you some expressions of local Cameroonian French. I call that the CAMEROUNAISERIES. They are forged on the basis of certain French words or taken from local languages.
Cameroon’s history has gone through various ups and downs that have made it move from German influence to English influence and then to French influence. Although in common expressions in Cameroon, there are many Anglicisms and even German words, French still has a good place.
On this March 20, 2023, the day of the celebration of the 53 years of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), what could be more normal than to introduce you to some particular French expressions, specific to Cameroon. And to stay true to myself, I take care to link each expression presented to the current context. I hadn’t planned it that way at the start, but don’t we say that “everything changes and we have to live with the times”? Here are these cameroonaiseries:
And “djansang”
You know you dance ? It is an ingredient very popular with Cameroonians. It is a tiny yellow ball, widely used in the preparation of Mbongo’o Tchobi, a Cameroonian dish originating from the Bassas; coastal people. But when we say “She/he does the djansang” , this in no way refers to this honorary meal. On the contrary, it designates a man or a woman who, being black in nature, has deliberately decided to change his said skin color.
All I can tell you is never change the color of your skin. Be proud of whatever they tell you.
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“Gombiste”
In Cameroon, as soon as you demand to be paid before doing a job, you are called gombiste. Arising from the word « roll », a food or rather a vegetable that is eaten with several types of supplements. If you arrive in Cameroon and you say “give me my okra”your interlocutor will understand that you are claiming your due.
“Chilli”
who does not know chilli ? Person ! Whether it is green, red or yellow, you have to be very careful when you use this word in a sentence in Cameroon.
Because with us, pepper rhymes with sex, prostitution… Yes yes, when we say of a person that he/she “sells the chilli”, is that this person trades his sex for money. Women who do so are generally taxed with “pimentiers”.
As Alex Du Chamber (Cameroonian artist of French origin) in his album « Muna Mboa » released in 2019 (which means child of the country), I hope that in 2035, ” djansang, okra and chilli » will have become food again.
«Tobassi»
It is the second title which fits in the spirit and the theme of this opus. The term Tobassi means the charm, the bewitchment and the artist speaks of this natural charm that Cameroon would have given him. He could not get rid of it and answered Djess Panebo’s question by saying: “Cameroon”. The album was certainly released 4 years ago but Cameroon is still sick. Sick of unnatural spells. Bewitchments are legion in Cameroon, some bewitch either to dominate, to be married or to take revenge.
If you get here and you have some money, watch out! We could bewitch you, if not Suggar daddy or Suggar mamy.
« Suggar daddy »
If you hear that word coming out of a young girl’s mouth, don’t think too much. She talks about her money bank, her financier… A man who could be her father but whom she meets and with whom she has intimate relations, all this just to benefit from her material generosity.
It’s deplorable I know, it pains me to say it but unfortunately, it’s the sad reality. Almost all young girls today have Suggar daddy and young boys talk about Suggar mamy.
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« Your wanda »
Here is another extract which is in line with the title of this masterpiece of Alex. The term Your wanda is a local expression specific to the Cameroonian context which is commonly used. This expression marks astonishment, observation and the artist is surprised by the behavior of certain people in life. Being Cameroonian is a full job, lol.
« LOL »
Lol it’s especially when you have nothing good to say. Well I think. Because when I chat with some acquaintances, there are some who always answer me Lol. Even when I ask if they ate at noon or if they watched the classico, they will always answer me Lol whatever question I had just asked them… Tsuip!
In fact, I’ve come to realize that it’s an abbreviation for riddance. Because if you really want to chat with a suitor, are you going to settle for his Lol? Are you going to take the risk of crashing your conversation in the middle of a no man’s lol, when you can answer him with other expressions that are, how to say that… more significant? Lol !
« MDR » (Die of laughter)
This amuses me a lot. Not because it’s funny, but because I usually read this when I just cracked a joke that I thought was funny. That’s when you’re going to see people answer you with Mdrsmileys, emoticons, funny pictures, et cetera.
Brief, Mdr makes me laugh a lot. The Cameroonians have even transformed it into “ddl” (die de lap) and the Togolese into “Mkl” (go ask them what that means). But what really makes me think that I’m already “never”, that is to say to be off-topic, is when I am sent derivatives like “Ptdr” or “Xptdr”. Why doesn’t the academy of abbreviators think of establishing a real universal dictionary for us, so that retarded people like me are no longer completely left behind? Because otherwise it will end up in a jargon that even the children who were born during the February 2008 riots will no longer be able to master…
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“It’s my Crush”
We no longer say have a soft spot, an admiration or an inclination for someone but have a crush “. The word comes from the English To crush means “to crush, grind”, borrowed from the old French cruisir, one of the many variants of “croissir”, “to break, break, break, destroy”, specifies the French Academy. How a word with such a meaning could describe a feeling of attraction?
“Life will teach you”
Because when we talk to you, it’s because ooo I’m in control… Wait, life will teach you… A way of saying that life always gives us lessons, that we must listen to the advice and opinions of others people no matter what we do.
In the end, the CAMEROUNAISERIES are so numerous that listing them all in one article remains impossible.
Moi, Badal FohmohI prefer sentences that are well done, well constructed, and with zero spelling and grammatical errors.
