CAMEROON VARIANT OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SOME SPECIFIC FEATURES

Abstract

Abstract. This article is devoted to the solution of several issues. The first one is the consideration of cultural linguistics as a modern science studying features of culture which are reflected in any language of any country. The second task is a research of the phonetic and lexical level of English and French variants in Cameroon. The article presents some cases of cultural influence on language development formation. As the subject of the research, we have chosen the English and French variants used in the territory of the Republic of Cameroon. The reason for the choice is explained by historical and cultural features of this country that had a serious impact on the formation and development of local languages, and the languages brought from some European states. The article shows some particularities of the variation of the English and French languages used on the territory of the Republic of Cameroon and their comparison with the English language of the United Kingdom and French language of France. The article provides some information on the history of the Republic of Cameroon as a state, information on the emergence of the languages, their development throughout history and a current condition of the languages’ variants in the state. The article also gives some facts on the phonetic and lexical level of the English and French variants. Keywords: cultural linguistics, Cameroonian variant of English and French, the Republic of Cameroon, language levels, phonetic level, lexical level.