ABSTRACT
It would be impossible, I think, to over-emphasise the role of Pidgin in the lives of the Bamenda people. As a language of inter tribal, intercultural and interracial value it has been adopted and adapted by the people, most of whom are as fluent in it as they are in their mother tongues. If one takes as a specific example a local 'park', that is a type of bus depot where people make their travel arrangements, one finds that greetings are almost invariably in Pidgin:
e! ma sista! (a greeting to a lady friend) mama! a di salut yu! (greeting to an older woman) na yu e? (i.e. Is that you?) ashia! (i.e. I emphathise with you!)
So too is the bargaining about prices and about who has the doubtful privilege of travelling 'first class' which means in the seat beside the driver. If a traveller is being insulted Pidgin's yu mami! (i.e. your mother!) is the most likely clincher. If the driver wishes to tease his female passengers Pidgin again supplies his material and, to pass the time on the journey, stories, jokes and songs are almost invariably in Pidgin.
