NATIONAL LANGUAGES, TRANSLATABILITY AND INTERFERENCE

NATIONAL LANGUAGES, TRANSLATABILITY AND INTERFERENCE By Tikum Mbah Azonga (Dedicated to Dr. Taboh Blasius, PhD Linguistics, University of Buea, for whom linguistics is not just a chosen field for work and research but actually an indisputable passion) ----------------------------------------------- Although languages are interrelated and interwoven, they are also confusing. Sometimes, instead of serving as a unifying factor, they can cause regrettable confusion. Consider the following illustration: In Ngamambo (Baforchu), one can say “Me bo`o bo! Ne em mbe afeke fungwang” which if translated literally, would mean, “Please, ¬give me with a little salt”. The question here is, what are we to give the speaker? The answer is that it is the salt. But then the request is framed such that the interlocutor may be tempted to think the speaker wants “me” and “salt”. The interferences here can be far reaching when a Mgamambo speaker finds himself or herself in a different linguistic setting where he or she mixes with speakers of other languages. I remember that when I went to boarding school at Sacred Heart College, Mankon, I once asked a classmate to lend me his pen by saying in English: “Please, can you give me with your pen?” With that misleading Ngamambo interference in my utterance, my mate was lost and I had to rephrase my request for easier understanding. Recently I encountered an even more intriguing situation at Three Corners Bambili. I was at a provision store when a girl came in and said to the vendor in Agyi Meblighi (the Bambili language): “Feghe magi cube ne bye gu” which when translated into English, would mean: “Give magi cube with you and me”. Obviously, although this utterance would make sense to a Bambili speaker, it would be senseless to someone from another linguistic culture such as the English-speaking world. From that perspective, we can see how much tolerance and forbearance we need to be able to communicate and cohabit with others.