Open AccessCurrent Perspectives on the Influence of Setting and Audience on Language Choices in Multilingual Cameroon
Author(s) -
Colvis Niba Ngwa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of language teaching and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-0684
pISSN - 1798-4769
DOI - 10.17507/jltr.1203.05
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , perception , linguistics , first language , character (mathematics) , target audience , multilingualism , computer science , psychology , sociology , geography , advertising , business , mathematics , philosophy , geometry , archaeology , neuroscience
Cameroon is a dense multilingual setting in which many languages co-exist. Most of these languages are learned and are readily available for use by Cameroonians. This study probed into the complex notion of language use in a bid to ascertain in what ways context and audience influence language choice in a dense multilingual context like Cameroon. The analysis of data obtained from 100 informants in the city of Yaounde revealed that setting and audience significantly influence the language choice of a speaker and that the choice of a language reveals certain aspects of a speaker’s character, attitudes and perception of the world around them.