Cameroon Na Cameroon
Friday 15 January 2010
Ma complice dem for Nkouloulou-o!
Ma tara dem for Moloko-o!
Ma mombo dem for Marché central-o!
Ma kombi dem for Kumba market-o!
Ma dong pipo dem for Kasala farm-o!
De wan dem for Camp Sic de Bassa-o!
Ma complice dem for prison de Tchollire-o!
De wan dem for ‘Maximum security
Prison’ for Mantoum-o!
Sef de wan dem for Kondengui.
I sei mek I langua wuna dis tori.
Some hymne national dUng commot
Just now for Ongola.
Da mean say some national anthem
Dung show head for we own kontri.
Da anthem dem di sing’am sei:
Le Cameroun c’est le cameroun,
Da mean say,
Cameroon is Cameroon.
In ala word,
Cameroon na Cameroon,ah!
You wan pass for any corner,
You di daso ya sei,
Le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun,
On va faire comment alors?
Da mean sei,
Cameroon is Cameroon,
We go na how-no?
Na so dat Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Grand katika tif all moni
Go put’am for bank for Switzerland,
We di daso sing sei,
Cameroon na Cameroon,
We fit do na wheti sef?
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Minister mof all nchou
For yi office go put’am
For banda for yi long,
Antoine Ntsimi,
We di daso sing sei,
Le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun,
Tu as déjà vu quoi?
Da mean sei:
You dong nye wheti?
Katika for CRTV
Bring yi kontri pipo come fullup
Office dem dei,
We di daso sing sei,
Cameroon na Cameroon,
Massa, wheti we fit do no?
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Mange mille katch driver
For road take all yi moni,
we go daso kop nye,
We di daso sing sei,
Bo,o garri dung pass wata-o!
Wheti we fit do no?
No bi na Cameroon dis?
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Docta nyoxer sick woman
For inside yi office for hopita,
Da woman yi massa go daso tok sei,
Ma broda, na dem get kontri,
You wan mek I do na how?
Cameroon na Cameroon.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Gomna deny for put coal tar
For Ngoketunjia road bekoz
SDF dei for dei,
Pipo go daso shake head,
Dem tok sei,
Kontri man, we go do na how no?
Cameroon na Cameroon.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Dem compresser wok pipo
For Cameroon Marketing Board,
For CDC, or for Socapalm
Dem go daso wrap dem tail
For dem las like tif dog,
Tok sei: Papa God we go do na how-eh?
Cameroon na Cameroon.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Pikin commot for University,
Yi no get wok,
Yi papa wit yi mami
Go daso put dem hand for dem head,
Dem tok sei: you must go drive bendskin,
We go do na how?
Cameroon is Cameoon.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Grand Katika change constitution
Bekoz yi wan die for office,
Pipo go daso tok sei,
Frères on va faire comment alors?
Est-ce que les gens
De Bamenda vont accepter ça?
Le Cameroon c’est le Cameroun.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Mbere-khaki shoot bendskin driver kill’am
Bekoz yi dung deny for tchoko,
Ala bindskinneur dem go daso,
Run go for inside matango club,
Begin cry sei,
Weh! Mon vieux,
Le dehors est mauvais,
On va faire même comment?
Le Cameroon c’est le Cameroun, non.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Chop Pipo Dem Moni party
Tif election for Opposition,
Pipo dem go daso bend head
For grong dem cry sei:
Weh! Weh! Na how we go do-eh?
Cameroon na Cameroon
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Grand katika,
Tif moni go build hopita
For Baden-Baden for mukala kontri,
Camers dem go daso knack hand, jua jua!
Dem cry sei: God dei!
Some wan dem di tok sei:
Mon Dieu! Ne criez pas trop fort!
Le cameroun c’est le Cameroun.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Le Père de la Nation,
Da mean say Father of the Nation,
Go carry ashawo come put’am
For palais l’unité,
Sei na First Lady,
Ongalais dem go soso knack mop sei:
Vraiment le cameroun est formidable,
Vivons seulement.
Da mean sei:
Cameroon na las,
Mek we begin nye daso.
C’est le comble!
Cameroon na Cameroon
Some kokobioko professor be see’am so,
Yi shake yi head two taim,
Yi sei: “This is the last straw
That broke the camel’s back,
Cameroon is Cameroon”
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Ngomna for Renouveau
Dem cut pipo dem salary
Sef ten taim for one year,
Ma kontri pipo dem go daso
Run go for mimbo hose,
Begin knack tori sei:
Massa, I never see dis kain
Wan before. Yi dung pass we.
Na which kain barlok dis-no?
Cameroon na Cameroon.
Na so da Cameroon National Anthem dei!
Clando ngomna tcha Lapiro de Mbanga
Go put’am for ngata,
Mek yi ton prison without no crime!
All ndinga pipo dem for Ngola
Dem go daso tok sei:
Caaaa! On n’a jamais vu ça!
Mais on va faire comment alors?
No be Cameroon na Cameroon?
Yeye Katika for Ngola
Katch Joe la Conscience,
Alias Kameni Joe de Vinci
Go lock’am for Kondengui,
Afta dem send soja dem go meng
Yi pikin—Aya Kameni Patrick Lionel,
All ‘freedom fighter’ dem for Cameroon,
Dem go soso bend head for dem armpit,
Dem tok sei: upside dung wuowuo,
Any man fain yi long
Cameroon na Cameroon!
I dung ya dis ninga anthem sotai,
I shake ma head.
I check for ma head sei,
Dis Cameroon wey dem di tok so,
Yi dei daso for dis grong,
Or na for ala planet?
I di wanda!
Na bob marley bi sing yi own anthem sei:
“Liberate yourselves from mental slavery!”
I gring gi’am for Bob
Forseka sei mbutuku na Slave Number One!
By Peter Vakunta
copyright vakunta 2010 See online : Cameroon Na Cameroon
21
Book Reviews
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...I have been grappling with mental images how ’this’would be received, if the author were to stand with a microphone in hand and then recite this to a form 3 poetry class of 200 students in Sacred Heart Mankon....
....the look on the faces of the kids,
some of whom may have received corporal punishment for speaking in this vernacular...
...would they cheer, would they memorize and recite, would they then march to the Principal’s office, chanting: we are free, ’botoukou’, to hell with you...How would they receive this vernacular?
...assuming they loved it, and there were a question in the end of year exams, ’to write down your best poem’....60 students present this...what would be the look on the teacher’s face....
....just wondering aloud......
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Wow! a posting from The Entrepreneur without insults???? Please pinch me!!!! Or is he just holding his fire until he eats dinner?:-)
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thats the jargons camerounese invented to retard our kids in primary schools after unilaterally cutting the school length from seven years to six without our authorization, yet knowing fully well the world appeal of english, they are quick to send their children to our schools , when we have no control on the education department, which used to be run from buea. they call it camfranglais, some idiots are copying them
up to a point of posting it here on intellectual board.
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I don’t think Vakunta’s choice of language should be of any concern. He has a message he wants to impart on the general cameroon public, and he does so quite succinctly through this version of camfranglais,or whatever. Just for the record, Vakunta has published an array of creative works, both in English and pidgin!
He is not an idiot!
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This is communication at its best! majority of the population in Cameroon will understand this. The author is not trying to impress anyone but simply to reach out and be heard and undertsood.
Goog job. This is so real and I understood everything.
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...yeah you are right, reaching maximum public..
...when you have your company and you are recruiting, and a candidate walks in, and greets you: Ma complice dem for inside office, wuna good morni oh, big olga haw naw, Sef de wan dem for da shide for ofice, i salut u too oo...
...he is trying to communicate, with the maximum number of workers in the office, so recruit him!
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The idea of reaching to the public in written pidgin doesn’t hold to me. We could try that through oral means but then how do we harmonise the far-fetch varieties of Pidgin?
The instrumental motives of learning Pidgin are not that compelling. If the "buyam-sellam" is at the benefitting end, English wouldn’t be much of a problem to him/her. Politicians may need their votes but how many of them are interested...? How do we get them involved? At the moment, I think speeches in what ever language will get it.
VaKunta is till one of those who think Pidgin doesn’t have a negative effect on non-native users of English. I strongly oppose this view.
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Correction please,
At the moment, I don’t think speeches in what ever language will get it.
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...Your are right..
...And ever heard of Negro Dialect? ’Obama could speak one, when he wants,’ (sen. Harry Reid)
...Sounds as if Negro dialect is pidgin vernacular...some run-down broken english by people who are too lazy to either learn any other structured language, such as English, French, German, etc....
...How come semi illiterate Cameroonians can speak structured French when they reside in French Speaking Cameroon, yet same people from English speaking Provinces can’t speak structured English when they return to Buea and Bamenda? They resort to pidgin vernacular...
....something is missing somewhere...I can’t figure it out. Very strange...Help
...if you don’t want to speak colonial language, e,g, english or french, then not pidgin, for pidgin is remnant of english, french, portuguese, german etc...
...so, why not start our own structured language. Our ancestors left us with huge language capital that Vakunta and others could refine, and write his poetry in Ngemba, per se ! Sell millions of books, literature, films, etc in African language (perhaps called Afro) and keep the money in our community? Just like the Afrikaaners who decided to start a new language, and today what a dozen caucasian started, 10 million people now speak it, and its economically enriching to their community....
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I am a strong supporter of Pidgin,English is not my first language.If you want to speak english or french,Please kindly migrate to UK or France.
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...Sounds as if Negro dialect is pidgin vernacular...some run-down broken english by people who are too lazy to either learn any other structured language, such as English, French, German, etc....
Another classic from our teacher-in-chief.
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I claim mastery in both. The problem is failure to properly instruct kids. I think Vakunta has no problem discoursing in English, but he has fun in pidgin as well. Who said Pidgin has no structure? As any linguist worth his salt, and he will differ vigorously. The level of self-contempt of some gas bags here is troubling. Keep your toxicity to yourselves.
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I’m surprised that all comments have focused on the medium of expression (pidgin English) and no mention has been made of the content. Vacumta has, in a nutshell, x-rayed the Cameroonian society and enabled us to see it for what it is: a society with a pervasive and pervading form of corruption; corruption which has eaten into the very fabric of the society; corruption that is nauseating, firmly lodged in every nook and cranny. There is no hiding place. No one is immune, no one can stand aloof. We’re all dragged into it, willy nilly; for you can’t live in a sewage and expect to be clean. If you don’t take, you’ll be forced to give, either directly or by proxy through a niece, nephew or some other relative who takes your money and bribes to obtain service that is theirs by right. This poem equally depicts a defeated or should I say, a "defeatist" people; a people that is resigned; a people that has been pushed to the utter limit; a people held hostage by the very persons responsible for their welfare and security; a people with an inordinate propensity to take punches, but lacks the will to throw back a few: On va faire comment? Cameroon na Cameroon. This attitude sums it all. We have all become passive and willing victims of a situation from which any people with the least sense of dignity will strive to unshackle itself. Thank you Vacumta for holding up the mirror that brings the situation once again into sharp focus. I must confess that when I look into that mirror I do not like what I see. There is no point bickering over the medium of expression, for I believe the poet chose this medium for special effect and has amply achieved his goal. By the way, ever heard of poetic licence?
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A few points worth noting Mr Entrepreneur:
There are thousands of young Cameroonians today, whose mother tongue is pidgin-English. They do not speak the traditional African (Cameroonian) languages of their parents. Speaking pidgin-English to them is not about being lazy, or being unable to learn structured speech in English and/or French. Pidgin is their First language!
We have been (mis)-educated to construe our own as inferior. We don’t encourage our kids to speak in our native tongues - for fear of affecting their English or French. Surely we are being protective to ensure that they find a space today’s globalised business world. Fair enough.
But the Chinese have become one of the biggest economies in the world (2nd or 3rd?)while speaking Mandarin. Indians speak Hindi but are among the fastest growing techies around the world. People who think speaking English or any other international language is an advantage in business, make the effort to learn it but continue to use their national languages.
We chide our own and belittle what we grew up using because we think it is inferior and doesn’t make us modern enough.
In Sierra Leone, Krio (their variant of the language), is the national language. After many years of disdain they are gradually including it in curricula and there are schools using it.
People learn better when they are taught in the language they understand best. Instead of criticising the likes of Vakunta by saying that written forms of Pidgin cannot work or are not structured to be a language, we should be urging them (linguists) to work on the codes, grammar, etc to make it a usable.
It could take ages, but it is possible to get there. Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa, is neither pure dutch nor English; it is not even Zulu or Xhosa. Yet, it is a language today and people are proud of it.
Mr Vakunta,
thanks for that description of Cameroon. Some of the points hurt so bad but they clearly depict who we are and how we have decided to react to our country’s misery.
You may offer this piece to Lapiro de Mbanga as the lyrics for his next Album. On va faire comment? No bi Cameroon, c’est le Cameroun?
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...who cares about the content? The content is the author’s perception. millions of people in Cameroon are poor. Millions are also well-to-do and are having a swell time: many wives, many children, many beer bottles, many everything, throwing away food, etc....So, too in America or UK. Millions have food, whilst thousands live in soup kitchens, food stamps, welfare etc, can’t afford warmth in winter, etc....So both groups can write anything they want. You won’t force me to accept his content, when its his perception and his agenda.
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You are full of trash Entrepreneur, wonder how someone like you could even pose with a newspaper.
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I now understand why people who cannot engage themselves in any form of creativity can only resort to one thing: bringing others down.
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Entrepreneur, with the newspaper reminds me of impostor Ekumu in Nsanda Eba’s The Good Foot. Ha ha ha
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Just a line to all those arguing against pidginisation or the profuse use of Pidgin English in Cameroon. It may be interesting for these guys to note that at least two Nobel Prize winners in literature viz. Wole Soyinka and Derek Walcott have both written works in Pidgin English or Creole in the case of Walcott. This did not stop Walcott from being appointed professor of poetry at Bristol and currently at Oxford. Or better still labeled the "Best Poet the English Language ever produced in the twentieth Century."
I won’t elaborate a lot on this. As I read through the postings put up by those strongly against the use of Pidgin English, I realize that their use of Pidgin English is responsible for the plethora of grammatical misuse of prepositions and English writing conventions.
Again, I wonder why all the poems written by many a Cameroonian poets (me inclusive) in an English so impeccable that would stun many a British and have been posted on this same forum have received the attention they deserve and have been carefully analyzed and appraised by the anti pidgin squad.
I thought I would stop at that but I have the obligation and responsibility as an authority in the areas of the History of languages (precisely the History of the English and the French languages), History of ideas and mentalities to point out that the language(s) most belonging to the anti pidgin squad claim to defend tooth and nail were all once pidgin forms of other standard languages. The use of pidgin is language in evolution! So, let the young grow! Long live Pidgin English! Long live its use in Cameroon poetry and everyday life! Kudos my broda and partner in crime. We are the pidgin English use warriors!
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