Français camerounais
Cameroonian French
Romance
Cameroonian French (Français camerounais) is a variety of French spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. It evolved from Cameroon's colonial history under French administration (1916-1961) and represents one of the country's two official languages. The variety is primarily based on Metropolitan French but incorporates loanwords and grammatical influences from indigenous Cameroonian languages such as Ewondo, Duala, and Basaa. Approximately 11.957 million speakers (41.17% of [Provisional - limited documentation; pending native-speaker verification.]
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Cameroonian French
Water
eau
/o/
Fire
feu
/fø/
Sun
soleil
/solɛj/
Moon
lune
/lyn/
Mother
mère
/mɛʁ/
Father
père
/pɛʁ/
Eat
manger
/mɑ̃ʒe/
Drink
boire
/bwaʁ/
Love
aimer
/eme/
Heart
cœur
/kœʁ/
Tree
arbre
/aʁbʁ/
House
maison
/mɛzɔ̃/
Dog
chien
/ʃjɛ̃/
Cat
chat
/ʃa/
Hand
main
/mɛ̃/
Eye
oeil
/œj/
Hello
bonjour
/bɔ̃ʒuʁ/
Thank you
merci
/mɛʁsi/
One
un
/œ̃/
Good
bon
/bɔ̃/
Words compared
Compared with related Romance languages
| Meaning | Cameroonian French | French (Senegalese) | French (Ivorian) | French (Haitian) | French | French (African) | French (Belgian) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | soleil /solɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Mother | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| Eat | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| Love | aimer /eme/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Heart | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Tree | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Hand | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Eye | oeil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hello | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| One | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Good | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
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