Helping Communities Examine their Language Vitality Using a Practical Guide

Abstract

Abstract: The country of Cameroon is home to a wealth of languages: 283 according to Ethnologue (Eberhart, Simons and Fennig 2019). Until now, the vast majority have enjoyed healthy vitality, considering that 274 are still living languages and only nine are considered extinct. Of the living languages, 270 of them are indigenous languages, so, on the surface, that sounds like a robust palette of African languages being used in Cameroon. However, could language vitality be an issue in Cameroon? This author has become convinced over the last three years that many Cameroonian languages ARE becoming less vital – that is, they are losing speakers or richness or functions, often all of these together.