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Cameroon: Where are the Interpreters?

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Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)

OPINION
12 March 2008
Posted to the web 12 March 2008

Tche Irene Morikang

The quality of English on some billboards in our towns and placards paraded during events is simply disgusting.

Take the case of this message displayed by some ladies at the May 20th Boulavard during the recent Women's Day celebration in Yaounde. It read: "Investigating in the woman child is promoting education". Who could have written such a piece of jargon? And by the way, what did this group of apparently learned women mean? Were they talking about investing in girls?

Whatever the case, there is simply no excuse for exhibiting such a message; a disgrace to our bilingualism. All those diplomats of English expression present at the Women's Day celebration in Yaounde certainly wondered why the Queen's language should be so brutally tortured.

The question is: who designs messages meant for the public? Do people turn to professional translators or simply improvise? Anyway, it is high time we get serious and stop ridiculing a language which we ought to master. For, aren't we in a bilingual country?

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