Language Use and Language Choice in the Mosques in the Multilingual Northern Regions of Cameroon: A Structural-Functional Approach to Language Selection
This article outlines the structural-functional theory for language selection in multilingual communities, together with the frame of analysis that goes with the theory. The theory and the frame are applied to the study of language use and language choice in multilingual religious settings, with the focus on the mosques of the three northern regions of Cameroon. The study was guided by four research questions: 1) What is the structure of the Jumu’ah salat (Friday Prayer) in the mosques of the three northern regions of Cameroon, specifically the towns of Ngaoundere (Adamawa Region), Garoua (North Region) and Maroua (Far North Region)? 2) What languages are used during the Friday Prayer in the mosques of Ngaoundere, Garoua, and Maroua? 3) What factors motivate the choice of these languages in contexts where several other languages co-exist? 4) If Government decide to promote indigenous languages in northern Cameroon, which language could they start with at the local, divisional and regional level? The data were collected in six mosques and their analysis revealed four relevant facts. First, a Friday Prayer session in northern Cameroon comprises roughly 16 parts. Second, the languages used in the mosques in these three regions include: Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, Kanuri, Wandala, and Shuwa Arabic. Third, these languages were chosen for various reasons including the fact that they were the language of the Islamic religion (Arabic), and they were languages for wider communication in various localities (Fulfulde, Hausa). Fourth, regarding the promotion of these languages by Government, Fulfulde and Hausa were selected for the Adamawa Region (Ngaoundere), Fulfulde, Kanuri and Wandala for the North Region (Garoua), and Fulfulde, Shuwa Arabic and Hausa for the Far North Region (Maroua). By extension, as Fulfulde is dominant in the three regions, it could serve as a national language if these three regions were an autonomous state.
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