FRU NDI`S USE OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH

FRU NDI`S USE OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH

A lot has been written and said about how President Paul Biya used both English and French in his keynote address yesterday in Buea, Thursday 20 February, during celebrations marking Cameroons reunification fifty (fifty three) years ago.

However, that linguistic prowess cannot be limited to Paul Biya. John Fru Ndi who as Chairman of the SDF party is the leader of Cameroon`s opposition, once flexed his muscles too, although in his own way.

In preparation for one of the numerous elections that have taken place since multi-party politics was re-allowed in Cameroon and the SDF was formed, Fru Ndi toured the whole of today`s South Region for his campaign.  I happen to have been the Anglophone Journalist who accompanied him throughout the trip for CRTV television news in English.

Wherever we went and he addressed the crowds, he used an interpreter. So he spoke in English and the interpreter spoke in French. However, at one point the Chairman surprised his audience because after he heard the interpreter`s rendition of what he had just said, he stepped in and told the interpreter: “That is not what I said. What I said was that…” Consequently the interpreter was obliged to revise his translation. The chairman got a loud round of applause from the crowd which was proof to them that he understood French. I think this happened in Ma`an Sub Division of Ntem Valley Division. That was for French.

Concerning English, those who know the chairman closely will acknowledge that he has good mastery of the English language. It is not just his diction (choice of words) but also and perhaps very much so - his pronunciation.  In fact when I was in High School (CCAST Bambili), there was a group of us friends who loved the chairman`s English so much that whenever he was on campus as he was the main supplier of books to CCAST at the time, we would hurry to the administrative block just to hear him speak English.