This dissertation examines the interaction between music, politics and the Cameroonian media in the production and role of the popular music called bikutsi. In the context of Cameroonian music, bikutsi had long been associated solely with the Beti region surrounding the capital of Yaoundé, and as such considered a marginal music patronized by the “villageois.” Nevertheless, after Paul Biya assumed the presidency of Cameroon in 1982, and his subsequent inauguration of the Office de Télévision Nationale du Cameroun (Cameroon Radio and Television-CRTV) in 1985, bikutsi acquired the importance of a national music, and indeed a minor global phenomenon. Using the politico-economic backdrop of capital at the millennium, I show how the ethos of neoliberalism has helped turn African nation-states such as Cameroon into what has been called “regimes of unreality,” divorced from economic control, dependent on a multitude of development projects in the manner of contemporary cargo cults, and left with only the semblance of fetishism with which to connect to its people. In recent years, however, the process of media liberalization has taken away the state media’s ability to enact that message, and thus the regime’s power of persuasion. Instead the populace is left with a new type of cargo, in the form of sounds and imagery to go along with the narrative of global consumer culture. This has left an opportunity for those with the skill and imagination to make use of the new information, allowing artists, musicians and writers to be the next members of a new civil society. This is what I refer to as the emancipatory promise of the new cargo cult, where instead of capital accumulation there is only ephemera—signs, sounds and images that multiply and intensify in unpredictable and sometimes dangerous ways. I use the national lens of bikutsi to analyze these dynamics on a local and global level, in the city, the quartier and the village. Ultimately, understanding the media process and cargo has the ability to allow individuals to overcome the narrow vision of political machinery, and act as another potential cog in the civil society of meaningful relationships. / text

Le présent travail questionne la place des acteurs diasporiques dans les processus de production et des usages de l’information sur Internet via les sites web d’informations générales. Des supports électroniques qui émergeraient dans un contexte au sein duquel l’espace médiatique serait « reconfiguré » par les TIC. À cet effet, les sites web camerounais d’information générales nous ont servi d’étude de cas. En effet, notre travail s’est axé autour d’une question centrale : qu’est-ce qui explique la multiplication des sites d’informations camerounais alors qu’existe déjà la presse en ligne ? Une presse en ligne qui peine déjà à s’affirmer et/ou, à développer des modèles économiques viables et indépendants. Comment et selon quelles logiques ces acteurs réagissent-ils ? Répondre à ces deux questionnements nous a conduit à montrer ou démontrer que des jeux et des stratégies d’acteurs se construisent sur et autour de ces sites web, afin de « légitimer » (Charaudeau, 2005, p. 123) leurs choix et orientations/opinions dans les contenus médiatiques.La grille théorique mobilisée pour rendre compte de cela a tourné autour des paradigmes d’agenda building et/ou construction de l’actualité (Esquenazi, (2002), Charaudeau (1997, 2011), de constructivisme social (Bernard Delforce, p. 208, Sismondo, Mucchieilli) et d’identité éditoriale avec Roselyne Ringoot (2014). Nous avons opté pour une étude quali-quantitative. Ainsi, nous nous sommes inscrit dans une logique de recherche empirico-inductive. Les outils méthodologiques usités sont l’observation indirecte, la recherche documentaire, l’entretien semi-dirigé adressé aux promoteurs des sites web camerounais d’informations générales, questionnaire adressé aux internautes et l’analyse de contenu des titrailles des dits sites, du 15 janvier 2014 au 15 janvier 2015.Les résultats de cette étude montrent aussi bien que les diasporas camerounaises ont pris conscience de l’inéluctabilité des medias électroniques et du « webjournalisme », en attestent leurs pratiques communicationnelles et interactions autour de ces sites web. Cependant les promoteurs des sites web camerounais d’informations générales rencontrent des difficultés de financement et font rarement appel à des professionnels de la communication. Cet engouement pour Internet et le développement des TIC augurerait donc la mise en place d’un espace sociétal en formation (si l’on prend acte de la fragmentation de l’espace public, traité par Miège) au sein duquel les citoyens seraient « libres » de s’exprimer sur des questions sociétales. / The present work questions the place of diasporic actors in the production process and uses of information on the Internet through general information websites. Electronic media that would emerge in a context in which the media space would be "reconfigured" by ICT. To this end, the Cameroonian websites general information we have served as a case study. Indeed, our work is focused around a central question: what explains the proliferation of Cameroonian news sites while already exists online news? An online press that is already struggling to assert themselves and / or to develop viable and independent business models. How and by what logic these actors react? Answering these two questions led us to show or demonstrate that games and player strategies are built on and around these sites in order to "legitimize" (Charaudeau, 2005, p. 123) their choices and orientations / opinions in media contents.The theoretical grid mobilized to realize this has turned around the building agenda paradigms and / or the news’ construction (Esquenazi, (2002), Charaudeau (1997, 2011), social constructivism (Bernard Delforce, p. 208 , Sismondo, Mucchieilli) and editorial identity Roselyne Ringoot (2014).We opted for a quali-quantitative study. Thus, we registered in empirical-inductive search logic. Our methodological tools are indirect observation, documentary research, semi-structured intervieuws assigned to promoters of general information Cameroonian websites , surveys to users and content analysis of such websites titrailles of 15 January 2014 to January 15, 2015The results of this study show that as well as the Cameroonian diaspora have realized the inevitability of electronic media and the "webjournalisme" as attest their communication practices and interactions around these websites. However promoters of Cameroonian general informations websites have difficulty financing and rarely make use of communication professionals. This craze for Internet and ICT development thus would cause the establishment of a societal space training (if one notes the fragmentation of the public space, treated by Miege) in which citizens would be "free "to speak on societal issues.

Le Cameroun est une mosaïque de tribus qui s'enchevêtrent par, entre autres, le jeu d'alliances se concrétisant par le souci du "vivre-ensemble". Au regard de la structuration sociétale qui particularise les populations camerounaises, la cohésion sociale constituait et constitue encore de nos jours, le meilleur moyen d'assurer leur sécurité. C'est ainsi que, dans leurs cultures traditionnelles, les Camerounais estimaient que la transaction efface l'infraction plus que le châtiment. Et lorsque les liens sociaux étaient fragilisés par un acte ou un comportement asocial (infraction, délit,…), tous les mécanismes et méthodes de répression devaient avoir pour finalité la réinstauration de la cohésion sociale. Pendant la colonisation, les administrateurs coloniaux avaient mis en place un autre système de sanction qui privilégiait plutôt la rétribution, imposant ainsi aux Camerounais la rupture avec leur conception et leurs méthodes de répression et de la peine. Le Cameroun indépendant hérite cette méthode coloniale de sanction. Les dysfonctionnements qui incarnent et minent l'actuelle institution carcérale camerounaise ne sont que le reflet ou la résultante de son inadaptabilité au contexte socio-culturel camerounais. Il serait donc opportun, sinon primordial, de déplacer la problématique de la réforme du système pénitentiaire camerounais sur un terrain autre que celui de la simple amélioration des conditions de détention au Cameroun. Il est évident que cet aspect ne devrait pas être négligé. Néanmoins, le plus urgent serait de chercher comment faire en sorte que l'institution pénitentiaire soit un instrument de la réinstauration de la cohésion sociale, garante de la sécurité des Camerounais ? Sur cet angle d'approche de réflexion sur la réforme du système pénitentiaire camerounais, plusieurs paramètres entrent en jeu, regroupés en deux axes : celui de la redéfinition de la notion de sécurité en prenant en compte tous les contours du vivre-ensemble au Cameroun ; celui du réaménagement d'un cadre de référence législatif et d'un cadre de référence judiciaire pluraliste, nécessaires au bon fonctionnement de l'institution pénitentiaire camerounaise. / Cameroon is a mosaic of tribes which become muddled or entangled, between others, by the game of alliances being translated by the concern of to “live together”. With regard to the societal structuring which particularizes the Cameroonian populations, the social cohesion had constituted and constitutes even nowadays, the best way to insure their security. It is for it that, in their traditional cultures; the Cameroonians had considered that the transaction erases the breach more than the punishment. So, when the social links were weakened by the effects of an antisocial act or an antisocial behavior (breach, offense), all the mechanisms and the methods of repression had, again, to have for purpose the instauration of the social cohesion. During the colonization, the colonial administrators had set up another system of penalty which privileged rather the exemplary correction, imposing to the Cameroonians of give up their idea and their methods of repression and the punishment. Independent Cameroon inherits this colonial method of punishment. The dysfunctions which embody and undermine the current Cameroonian prison institution are only the reflection or the resultant of its impossible adaptability in the Cameroonian sociocultural context. It would be thus convenient, otherwise essential, of to move the problem of the reform of the Cameroonian prison system on a ground other one than that of the simple improvement of the conditions of detention in Cameroon. It is obvious that this aspect should not be neglected. Nevertheless, the most urgent would be to look how the institution of prison can be an instrument of the instauration of the social cohesion, the guarantor of the security of the Cameroonians. On this angle of approach of reflection on the reform of the Cameroonian prison system, several parameters come into play grouped in two axes : that of the redefining of the notion of security by taking into account all the outlines of to live together, and that of the reorganization of a legislative framework reference, and of a pluralist judicial reference framework necessary at the smooth running of the Cameroonian prison institution.

Nondiabetic immigrants from Cameroon who migrate to Minnesota lack knowledge of risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes and face challenges accessing health care services. Nondiabetic immigrants from Cameroon lack culturally appropriate health care services and therefore find it difficult to follow providers' recommendations. This phenomenological study explored the perceptions and experiences of nondiabetic immigrants from Cameroon regarding access to affordable, quality health care services as well as their behaviors, beliefs, and knowledge of type 2 diabetes self-management. Bronfenbrenner's social ecological model provided the theoretical framework. Research questions addressed access to affordable health care services, knowledge, and perception of type 2 diabetes, dietary and activity behaviors, and awareness of diabetes self-management. A purposive sample of 13 nondiabetic Cameroonian immigrants participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth personal interviews. Interviews were hand-coded, and NVivo was used to identify emerging themes. A key finding for this study is that participants leave their appointments without adequate information and continue living in poor health because they lack understanding of medical recommendations. The participants expressed concerns that their health care providers did not address their psychosocial needs in conjunction with physical needs. They also expressed interest in learning about healthy eating. Participants prefer to learn how to count carbohydrates and nutritional values of traditional food to help manage portion size. The social change implications indicate further training for health care professionals in physical and emotional needs of immigrant population from Cameroon.

<p>This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses. Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural&nbsp / frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way. The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data&nbsp / collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely / meetings, workplaces,&nbsp / homes, restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored. The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are&nbsp / translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Negotiation of Identities and Language Practices Cameroonian ways of doing things. Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities. It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by &lsquo / disorder of discourse&rsquo / in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings. Ultimately, the study concludes that Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed. The major&nbsp / contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked world transformed by the mobility of endless flows ofinformation, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems / identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as code-switching,&nbsp / speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues.</p>

<p>This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses. Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way. The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely / meetings, workplaces, homes, restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored. The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Cameroonian ways of doing things.&nbsp / Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities. It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by &lsquo / disorder of discourse&rsquo / in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used&nbsp / separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings. Ultimately, the study concludes that&nbsp / Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and&nbsp / spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed. The major contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism&nbsp / and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked&nbsp / world transformed by the mobility of endless flows of information, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which&nbsp / language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems / &nbsp / identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as&nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / code-switching, speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues. <br /> &nbsp / </p>

This work argues that Cameroonian cinema is in the thick of cultural reclamation and human rights debates in the country. The crux of the problem is this: in a country colonized for over a century by three major western powers (Germany, France and Great-Britain), what is left of Cameroonians and their indigenous culture? Did colonialism demolish them into a mass of emasculated cultural bastards led by self-loathing elites locked into the country colonial archives, or did some withstand that colonial onslaught to reclaim their humanity, from within, consistent with a genuine, homegrown progressive indigenous culture? To answer these questions, this author argues that three propositions have to be considered: first, for any forms of cultural reclamation and human rights, denials of the past mixed with official thought control do not work in the case of Cameroon. Second, within, this logic, only grassroots democratic and marginal media communication theory can help the viewer to understand how Cameroonian cinema interrogates and critiques the naturalizations of a neo-colonial political order through the construction of counter hegemonic voices. Third, it is essential to show how these counter hegemonic cinematic narratives are building new forms of democratic archives out of the colonial ones. Consequently, this author claims that Cameroonian cinema, one of the few independent media of communication, that for decades has both managed to resist dictatorship and thrive, is keeping a steady drumbeat of freedom on behalf of ordinary Cameroonians by consistently targeting the state in order to demonstrate the dangers of an institution uninterested in the work of cultural reclamation by not allowing proper conditions for artists to create original work. These confrontations with the state give Cameroonian cinema a cachet to voice human rights questions as well. As a result, cinema blurs the line between art and social activism. It brings a new mystic to human rights' work because these filmmakers demonstrate that culture and human rights can no longer be consigned to the margin of Cameroonian society. What is at stake, it is the knowledge that the road ahead, Africa’s future, lies with those with the skills to take advantages of technologies and the contemporary global discourse of human rights, democracy and globalization not the same old beaten paths of neo-colonial clientelism and patronage, lower standards of governance, defining actual Cameroon’s neo-colonial state practices. With this background, both filmmakers and human rights activists are forcing the state to take notice. This work indicates that arguing against technologies and global flows in our contemporary world is akin to try carrying a cat by the tail. / text

<p>This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses. Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way. The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely / meetings, workplaces, homes, restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored. The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Cameroonian ways of doing things.&nbsp / Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities. It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by &lsquo / disorder of discourse&rsquo / in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used&nbsp / separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings. Ultimately, the study concludes that&nbsp / Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and&nbsp / spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed. The major contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism&nbsp / and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked&nbsp / world transformed by the mobility of endless flows of information, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which&nbsp / language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems / &nbsp / identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as&nbsp / &nbsp / &nbsp / code-switching, speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues. <br /> &nbsp / </p>

<p>This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses. Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural&nbsp / frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way. The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data&nbsp / collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely / meetings, workplaces,&nbsp / homes, restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored. The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are&nbsp / translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Negotiation of Identities and Language Practices Cameroonian ways of doing things. Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities. It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by &lsquo / disorder of discourse&rsquo / in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings. Ultimately, the study concludes that Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed. The major&nbsp / contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked world transformed by the mobility of endless flows ofinformation, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems / identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as code-switching,&nbsp / speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues.</p>

This thesis is an exploration of the historical, socio-cultural, economic, and political settings in which identities are negotiated and performed among Cameroonian immigrants in Cape Town. Focusing on language as localized practices and different interaction regimes, the thesis investigates how Cameroonian immigrants maintain and reconfigure the Anglophone/Francophone identity options in novel and hybrid ways. In addition, the study examines how ideologies favouring different languages are reproduced and challenged in translocal and transnational discourses.Guided by the poststructuralist theories the thesis explores the stance that reality is socially constructed, based on symbolic and material structural limitations that are challenged and maintained in interaction. That is, whatever we do or believe in, is supported by some historical or cultural frames of meanings in our lived world, which often gives room to some manoeuvre to do things in a new way.The study adopts a multiplex interpretive approach to data collection. This entails a qualitative sociolinguistic approach where interviews, discussion and observations at different socio-economic places namely; meetings, workplaces, homes,restaurants, drinking spots and many sites from all over Cape Town, were explored.The study suggests that Cameroonians have a multiplicity of identity options, which are manifested and negotiated performatively through language, dress code, song, food, business, and other practices that comprise their lifestyles. These identities are translocal and transnational in nature, and tend to blend South African, Cameroonian, and even American traits. It is also suggests that the different identity options which they manifest are highly mobile, enabling Cameroonians to fit into South African social structures as well as the Cameroonian ways of doing things. Additionally, the multiplicity of identities that Cameroonians manifest, blur the fault-line between Anglophone/Francophone identities.It is evident from the study that hybridity and the reconstruction practices are not only confined to languages. Hybridity also extends to discourse orders especially in terms of how meetings are conducted. The Cameroonian meetings captured through the activities of Mifi Association and CANOWACAT are characterised by ‘disorder of discourse’ in which both formal and informal versions of English and French are used separately or as amalgams alongside CPE and their national languages, not only in side talks, but also when contributing to the meeting proceedings.Ultimately, the study concludes that Cameroonians are social actors making up an indispensable part of the social interaction in the Cape Town Diaspora. Just as they influence the languages, the entrepreneurial practices, and spaces in which they interact, the Cameroonian immigrants are also transformed.The major contribution of the study is that it adds to the recent debates about the nature of multilingualism and identities in late modern society. It emphasises that languages and identities are fluid, complex, and unstable. The distinction or boundaries between the various languages in multilingual practices are also not as clear-cut. This leads to a reframing of voice and actor hood as meaning is constructed across translocal and transnational contexts and domains in a networked world transformed by the mobility of endless flows of information, goods, ideas, and people. Thus, the study contributes to those arguing for a paradigm shift in sociolinguistic theory in which language is not a property of groups, nor is it an autonomous and bounded system fixed in time and space. Thus, identities, languages and the spaces of interaction are not fixed systems; identities, languages, and spaces are dynamic and in a state of flux. This in turn questions the notions of multilingualism and language itself, as well as the veracity of concepts such as code-switching, speech community, language variation, as the search for a sociolinguistic framework that can deal with phenomena predicated by motion, instability, and uncertainty, continues. / Philosophiae Doctor - PhD