In this series of articles we overview languages present in any given country. This time we are looking at the languages spoken in Cameroon

The biggest languages present in Cameroon include:

  • French – 21.24 million speakers;
  • English – 6.64 million speakers;
  • Bamum – 531 thousand speakers;
  • Basaa – 265 thousand speakers;
  • Bulu – 796 thousand speakers;
  • Eton – 265 thousand speakers;
  • Ewondo – 531 thousand speakers;
  • Ghomala – 265 thousand speakers;

The following languages are legally recognized as the “official languages” of the country:

  • French
  • English

Below you will find summaries for the languages supported by our translation services.

French

French is a Romance language, which is a branch of the Indo-European language family. It is one of the official languages of Cameroon, alongside 2 other.

French language summary
Number of speakers worldwide274 million
Language familyIndo-European
WritingFrench alphabet
Major French-speaking populations in:49 countries

Demographics and geographic distribution

There are major French-speaking populations in more than 40 countries of the world. Countries with a significant number of people speaking the language include:

  • Cape Verde
  • Vietnam
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Moldova
  • Haiti
  • Cameroon
  • Senegal
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia

Around 80% of the population of Cameroon speak French.

Writing

French uses the Latin alphabet. It employs the extended version of the script, however, with 16 additional symbols. It is written from left to right.

Translation services

If you intend to expand to the Cameroonian market via the French language, you might be interested in the following services:

English

English belongs to the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is one of the official languages of Cameroon, alongside 2 other.

English language summary
Number of speakers worldwide1.15 billion
Language familyIndo-European
WritingEnglish alphabet
Major English-speaking populations in:35 countries

Demographics and geographic distribution

There are major English-speaking populations in more than 30 countries of the world. Examples of countries, where English has a major presence, include:

  • Thailand
  • Switzerland
  • Algeria
  • Macau

Around 25% of the population of Cameroon speak English.

Writing

English employs the English script, which in itself is a sub-type of the Latin script. It is written in the left-to-right fashion.

Translation services

If you intend to expand to the Cameroonian market via the English language, you might be interested in the following services:

Related services

We hope you have found the answers to the question about what languages are spoken in Cameroon“. If you wish to know more about these languages or would like to inquire about our translation services, please contact us at [email protected].

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Translation and Desktop Publishing of Technical Drawings

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