The two national languages of Cameroon are French and English. The majority of the country is French-speaking, but the western part of Cameroon where we will conduct most of our fieldwork is English-speaking. However, Cameroon has more than 200 different languages and many of these languages are found in the western regions in which we will be working. In rural areas in the western regions, people usually do not speak french and many people do not speak English. In order to communicate, it is often necessary to speak another language: pidgin English.

As an English speaker, it is often possible to pick up snippits of what someone speaking pidgin is saying. However, pidgin is truly a different language with a defined grammar and vocabulary in which the roots are from Portuguese, English, French, and nearly every local language! Different forms of pidgin are spoken throughout West Africa and several different pidgin dialects are spoken in Cameroon. Many West African musicians sing in pidgin, including as the late Nigerian musician Fela Kuti (one of my favorite musicians).

Pidgin is full of expression and wit. In some cases, the same word is found in english but the meaning is different. Below are some vocabulary words with a few brief phrases in pidgin.

Acknowledgments
This pidgin vocabulary and examples are based on materials developed by Vincent Che as part of a course taken by Dave in 2006.

• Abeg: please
• Akamu: corn meal, a breakfast food
• Anyhau: shoddy (Wen a bi doam, a nehva doam jus anyhau: When I did it, I didn’t do it in some shoddy way)
• Ashia: A greeting to an elder
• Awoof: a freebie
• Bad bad: severe (Pepu dem tok sei sohm bad bad rain di come: People are saying that a severe storm is coming)
• Benga: palm tree or palm tree fruit
• Belle: stomach (Mai belle di bait bicos a bi chop sohm bad chop: My stomach hurts because I ate some bad food)
• Betta follow: good luck (Betta follow me tudei!: I got lucky today!)
• Bif: animal (Wusai wi go fain sohm smohl bif dem weh dem di stai foh wata?: Where are we going to find some small animals that live in the water?)
• Bohning fish: grilled fish (Mi a wan chop bohning fish an dodo: I want to eat grilled fish and plantains)
• Bottom box: a treasured outfit only worn for special occasions
• Byah byah: beard
  Carbon copy: exact resemblance (Dat pikin na sohm carpon copy foh yi papa: That kid looks exactly like his dad)
• Charge: to loose one’s temper
• Chassis: a nice brand new car
• Chop: to eat; food (A chop chop: I eat food)
  Chop life!: “Enjoy life!”
• Chop money: an allowance
• Chuku-chuku: thorny
• Clear: to finish a meal; slid tackle in football
• Commot: get away or to leave (A bi commot foh Yaoundé tudei: I came from Yaoundé today)
• Craw-craw: a skin rash
• Dash: gift
• Dia: expensive (E eh! Dat mango dem bi tu dia!: What?! Those mangoes are too expensive!)
• Drai: empty or skinny
• Ehnta trohble: to get into trouble
• Everidei everidei: daily
• Fain: to find; good (Tudei na sohm fain dei: Today is a fine day)
• Fit: Able to (A fit waka foh dat hill: I’m able to walk to that mountain)
• Fufu: one of the most common of Cameroonian foods—ground corn that is mixed with hot water and formed into a very firm paste (similar to stiff mash potatoes) and eaten with a variety of meats and sauces.
• Geht belle: pregnant (Dat wuman geht belle plenti: That woman is really pregnant)
• Geht skin: to be overweight
• Geht rohd: to have the right of way
• Geht sehns: intelligent (Dat pikin geht sens pass plenti pepu dem: That kid is smarter than a lot of people)
• Hala: to raise your voice or scream (Wai dat man di hala so?: Why is that man screaming?)
• Hambug: to bother (Last nait a no bi slip bicos mosquitos dem bi hambug mi plenti: Last night, I didn’t sleep because the mosquitos were really bothering me)
• Hed no kohret: crazy
• Hau yu dei?: How are you?
• Jam: collision or to meet up with someone informally (Wi go jam foh dei foh ivinin taim: We will meet up there in the evening)
• Jazz: nonsense
• Juju: black magic or witchcraft
• Kata-kata: restless
• Kik moto: turn on the car (A wan mek dat draiva go kik moto: I want the driver to go start the car)
• Mes: fart (Na hu dohn mes jus nau?: Who just farted?)
• Mbeh: a polite way to address a chief
• Monki coat: a fanciful women’s coat
• Na so?: Is that so?
• Na yu o!: You’re the man!
• Oyibo: White guy
• Paddy: good friend
• Palava: a problem
• Pass: More than (Dat pikin na big pass mi: That kid is bigger than me)
• Pikin: kid, child
• Big buk pikin: student (Mi a bi sohm big big buk pikin weh i di go foh Cameroon foh wok: I’m a graduate student that is going to Cameroon for work)
• Puff puff: fried balls of flour (a good snack!)
• Put faya: to stir up trouble
• Rein: in style
• Sabi: to know (A sabi sei dat man bi sohm jazzman: I know that guy just talks nonsense)
• Shain: look well or glamorous (Dat mami di shain tudei!: That lady looks glamorous today!)
• Shidohng: to sit down or to stay in a place (Tunait a go shidohng foh dat wait haus: Tonight I will stay at that white house)
• Skin: health (Hau foh yua skin?: How’s your health?)
• Soya: barbeque beef with spices and pepper
• Waka: to walk
• Wok: to work
• Yab: to make fun of (A beg, no yab dat smohl pikin!: Please, don’t make fun of that small kid!)

Sayings

• A beg, no spoil mai gari!: Please, don’t spoil my gari (food made of grated fried cassava) (Please don’t ruin things for me!)
• Condition mek crayfish yi back bend: This bad condition makes the crayfish bend backwards
  (These conditions are so bad that they are making me do things that I don’t want to)
• Monki di wohk baboon di chop: The monkey works and the baboon is eating
  (Those that are doing all of the work are not getting the benefits of that work)
• Wi go wear wan fut trousa: We’re going to wear pants with one leg
  (If this keeps up, we’re going to end up fighting each other)