Abstract
In Cameroon, a country which has undergone a double French/British administration (1916-1961), the cohabitation between Francophones and Anglophones since 1961 is far from having erased the intergroup differences linked to their respective colonial pasts. On the contrary, over time, it has generated what has been called the Anglophone problem. In this context, is the strong tendency towards the schooling of students from francophone families in schools of the anglophone sub-system of education likely to attenuate intergroups cleavages? From the theoretical perspective of social identity, this research suggests that the perceived similarity between Anglophones and anglophonized francophones generates a threat to the specific Anglophones' linguistic identity. To test this hypothesis, the optimal distinctiveness and intergroup threat scales were administered to 462 Anglophones participants of both sexes. The correlation and linear regression analyzes provide empirical support for the hypothesis of the study. An adjusted R2 index validates the existence of a causal relationship between perceived similarity and intergroup threat.
Highlights
IntroductionSocial cleavages are the avatars of the cohabitation of groups of different origins in a specific space
Descriptive, inferential statistics and reliability index of the optimal distinctiveness and intergroup threat scales relating to linguistic intergroup relations in Cameroon
This study tested the hypothesis that: the perceived similarity between Anglophones originating from the former British Cameroon and anglophonized Francophones constitutes a threat to the specific linguistic identity of Anglophones, which they persist in defining according to territorial markers resulting from colonization and not according to linguistic criteria
Summary
Social cleavages are the avatars of the cohabitation of groups of different origins in a specific space This cohabitation can even, in some cases, lead to intergroup conflicts based on ethnic markers. Language is considered as an identity marker because it is a criterion for the inclusion and exclusion of individuals in social groups In this vein, it constitutes a criterion of social categorization which participates in the definition of individuals’ group identity (Dragojevic et al, 2017). It constitutes a criterion of social categorization which participates in the definition of individuals’ group identity (Dragojevic et al, 2017) As such, it can have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of a group, as revealed in the literature, which reports that cohabitation between several linguistic groups is likely to lead to social instability and the establishment of a hierarchy, because it involves intergroup rivalry in the distribution of material and symbolic resources (Messanga, 2018b)
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