Bilingualism Commission’s Working Visit, To Some State Hospitals In the Littoral Region (Part 1):

Bilingualism Commission’s Working Visit, To Some State Hospitals In the Littoral Region (Part 1):

ABOUEM A TCHOYI Explains That the 2019 Law On The Promotion Of Bilingualism, Instituted The EQUAL USE OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH LANGUAGES IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

NTUMFOR BARRISTER NICO HALLE asserts that no English or French-speaking Cameroonian can become bilingual, IF HE FEARS TO MAKE MISTAKES WHILE SPEAKING THE OTHER OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Medical practitioners express the need for texts concerning the medical field, TO BE TRANSLATED BY ‘TECHNICAL TRANSLATORS’ WHO KNOW The MEDICAL LANGUAGE

The DG of Douala General Hospital, PROF LUMA HENRY NAMME, assures that English and French are the working languages at the referral hospital which he aptly describes as Cameroon in miniature

The Director General Of Gynaeco –Obstetric – Pediatric Hospital Douala, Prof Emile Mboudou, discloses that Bilingualism Days have been instituted at the hospital for all personnel

A delegation of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, NCPBM, commonly known as the Bilingualism Commission, visited a number of State hospitals in the Littoral Region, precisely in Douala (the nation’s economic capital), on Monday, October 2, and Tuesday, October 3, 2023. The NCPBM delegation during those two days, visited a total of three major hospitals in Douala, which included the Douala General Hospital which is one of the few referral hospitals in the country, Laquintinie Hospital which is the Littoral Regional Hospital, and the Gynaeco – Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital which as the name indicates is a specialized health facility.
The three-man delegation was comprised of: 1) A member of the NCPBM who was head of the Commission’s delegation, ABOUEM A ACHOYI DAVID, a former Governor as well as a former member of Government. 2) A member of NCPBM, NTUMFOR BARRISTER NICO HALLE, who is also a reputed peace, justice and anti-corruption crusader. 3) The Chief of the Littoral Branch of NCPBM, Ebondje Alexis Claude Dany. He served as NCPBM delegation’s Rapporteur during the two-day mission to some State-owned hospitals.

The Mission Of The NCPBM Delegation

The mission of the NCPBM delegation which as aforementioned was led by Aboiem a Achoyi, was to reinforce sensitization on the 2019 Law on the Promotion of Bilingualism and to carry out sensitization against the alarming rise of Hate Speech in the society or country. The NCPBM delegation was also out to assess the level of the implementation and use of the English and French languages in State-owned hospitals in the Littoral Region, as well as get the opinions, including challenges being faced by the personnel of the public health facilities, in the practice of bilingualism in their hospitals.

Douala General Hospital – Cameroon In Miniature

Meanwhile, the delegation of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism kicked off their two-day working visit to the Littoral Region at the Douala General Hospital. In his welcome address, the Director General of the Douala General Hospital, Prof Luma Henry Namme, briefly made a presentation of the big health facility which he said is at the service of the general public. He asserted that the Douala General Hospital in its recruitment policy takes into consideration both competence and regional balance, and thus the personnel are from all parts of the country. The regional balance, and thus the cultural diversity at the hospital that reflects Cameroon’s multiculturalism, is an asset t which fosters the spirit of national unity.
As regards the use of the two official languages at the Douala General Hospital, the Director General noted that English and French, as instituted in Cameroon’s Constitution, are the two working languages at the hospital. He said the management of the hospital does not condone any breach of that policy by any personnel.

Mission Of Bilingualism Commission

Taking the floor after the welcome address, Abouem a Tchoyi David, Head of the NCPBM delegation, explained to the personnel of the Douala General Hospital, the mission of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, which among other things is to promote bilingualism and peace, as we well as reinforce national unity and national integration in the country. He presented to the hospital management and personnel, a message from the President of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, HE Peter Mafany Musonge.
Talking about English and French being the two official languages in Cameroon, Abouem a Tchoyi recalled that in the 1960s and 70s, there was an unfortunate situation, where the French language had an upper hand over the English language, in Cameroon’s public service. He also honestly recalled that there was a time in this country when there were complaints that when an English-speaking Cameroonian went to a ministry in Yaounde and spoke in English to a French-speaking official or personnel of the ministry, the person would arrogantly say that he does not understand that his language, and that he should speak in French.
He was happy to note that things had since changed, with English and French languages being equal. Today the Law provides for sanctions against public servants who fail to respect the text that instituted the equal status or use of English and French in public service.

Promotion Of Bilingualism

Talking about the promotion of bilingualism in Cameroon, Abouem a Achoyi explained that the 2019 Law on the Promotion of Bilingualism has come to reinforce the practice of bilingualism in the country. He cited quite a number of sections or articles in that 2019 Law, which stressed the fact that a citizen has a right to receive information or to be served or attended to, in his or her own official language of choice. He stressed that all civil or public servants, or better still State employees, have an obligation to learn the two official languages, as they are supposed to serve the public in the two official languages.
Abouem a Achoyi brought out many interesting aspects in the 2019 Law on the Promotion of Bilingualism, that many people, including journalists, do not seem to know. He stated for example, that the Law on Promotion of Bilingualism obliges an authority that has to present an address at an official occasion in one of the two official languages, to also have a version of the speech in the other official language. At the end, copies of the speech in the other official language are given to journalists who need them. That is, if a member of Government for example has to present an address at an occasion or ceremony in the French language, he should have copies of the English version of the address, which at the end of the presentation of the address, are shared to English speaking journalists and local authorities in need.
The NCPBM member called on State employees who still have problems with bilingualism, to strive to put in extra effort to learn the other official language. He also cited an article in the Law on the Promotion of Bilingualism, that demands that the management of State institutions and establishments like public hospitals have the responsibility to assist the employees of their institutions and establishments, to reinforce or to build their capacities, to enable them to speak the two official languages.

Language Is A Culture

Barrister Nico Halle joined his colleague, Abouem a Achoyi, to stress the importance for a Cameroonian to be able to express himself in the two official languages of our country. He stated that language is culture and that Cameroon’s two official languages are linked to the history of Cameroon, as the country inherited English and French are languages from its two former colonial masters, Britain and France. Nico Halle also corroborated Abouem a Achoyi that nobody is saying that Cameroon’s local languages commonly known as mother tongues, are not important, for they are in fact very important, and are part of Cameroon’s rich cultural diversity.
They explained that If the NCPBM is only focusing on the two official languages, it is rather because the promotion of local languages in Cameroon is not part of the mission of the Bilingualism Commission. Rather it is the Ministry of Basic Education that is in charge of the promotion of local languages in Cameroon.

Don’t Fear To Make Mistakes

Meanwhile, Barrister Nico Halle touched on a key factor which holds back many Cameroonians from becoming bilingual, which is that they are afraid to make mistakes. He urged Cameroonians who are in that category to strive to overcome the fear of making mistakes, stressing that anybody who fears making mistakes in the other official language, will never be bilingual. He said a French-speaking Cameroonian should not be afraid to make mistakes when trying to express himself in the English language, and so also should an English-speaking Cameroonian not fear to make mistakes when trying to express himself in the French language. He said rather when somebody in such a situation makes a mistake and is corrected, he learns from that. He stressed the adage that, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
Taking his own case as an English-speaking Cameroonian as an example, Nico Halle noted that he studied in primary, secondary, high school and university in the English language. Now having settled in Douala as a lawyer, he found himself in a situation where he had to be doing part of his work using the French language, and so he had to force it. He said if he was afraid to make mistakes in French, he would never have learnt the language. He said there is absolutely no reason why somebody should fear making a mistake when trying to learn a language which is different from the one in which he studied in school.

The Need To Have ‘Technical Translators’

Meanwhile one of the major problems hampering the promotion of bilingualism, that was raised by the medical doctors at the three State hospitals in the Littoral Region, during the visit of the delegation from the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, was the issue of poor translation of several official texts concerning the medical field; be it from French to English or Vice Versa.
A perfectly bilingual Prof Pius Fonkam of the Douala General Hospital who first raised the issue, explained that several official texts concerning the medical field are translated by persons, who though professional translators, are however not versed with medical language or jargon. As a result, some of the translated texts make no sense or are misleading, and thus only help to confuse English or French-speaking medical practitioners. He and his colleagues called on the Bilingualism Commission to try and do something to redress the situation.
Worth noting that this same problem came up during the visit of the delegation of the National Commission on the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism to the Laquintinie Hospital later that day, as well as to the GynaecoObstetric–-Pediatric Hospital the following day.

NCPBM Agrees That The Issue Of Poor Translation Is Serious

In reaction, Abouem a Achoyi of the NCPBM said the complaint raised by the medical doctors about the poor translation of some official texts concerning the medical field, was genuine and serious. He said it is the same problem with a number of professions like that of lawyers, who use certain jargon in their communication that is best understood only by them. He said when a translator who does not know the ‘medical language’ or the “language of lawyers’ for example, is given a text written by some of the medical or legal professionals to translate into either English or French, there is likely to be a problem.
Abouem a Achoyi said the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, has been trying to make a proposal as a solution to the problem for now. He explained that what the Bilingualism Commission has been trying to do, has been to encourage ministries like that of Public Health, Justice, and Scientific Research among others, that they should look for ways to enable the translators in their different ministries, to learn the language of the professional groups under the ministries.
The member of the NCPBM, Abouem a Achoyi, also noted that translation is a complex issue, as there are many things that when translated directly into another language, do not make sense. He cited for example the case of the High Court in English which in French is known as ‘Tribunal de Grande Instance’. He said if there is a direct translation from French to English, ‘Tribunal de Grande Instance’, will be ‘Tribunal of Big Instance’, which is wrong, for that is not how it is known in the English language.

Capacity Building Workshops

Meanwhile, another common challenge as well as the question that was raised by medical personnel of the different State hospitals, was how the NCPBM can assist the hospitals in upgrading the capacity of their personnel in bilingualism. The medical personnel were in fact trying to find out if it was possible for the NCPBM to assist the hospitals with funds to organize capacity-building workshops in the English language for Francophone personnel, and capacity-building workshops in the French language for Anglophone personnel.
But even though the NCPBM member, Abouem a Achoyi, did not in his response directly say that the Bilingualism Commission does not, unfortunately, have the funds, the proposal he instead gave was understood to mean that the NCPBM does not have such funds. He rather advised the management of the different hospitals to contact the State-owned Littoral Branch of the Linguistic Centre in Douala, to arrange for the organization of such workshops, and that they could contact the Littoral Regional Chief of NCPBM, Ebondje Alexis Claude Dany, to help establish the contact with the Linguistic Centre.

Bilingualism Days

In an additional proposal, the other member of NCPBM, Nico Halle, did propose to the management of the hospitals that have not instituted Bilingualism Days in their health establishments, to try and do so. He said that will in a way also help to upgrade the capacity of the personnel of those hospitals in bilingualism, as practice makes perfect. He said there could be days at the hospitals when all personnel are obliged to speak only in English, or in French, among themselves, or there could be Bilingualism Days.
No doubt then that Nico Halle saluted the action that had been taken by the management of the Gynaeco-Obstetric Pediatric Hospital to institute Bilingualism Days, as was disclosed by the Director General of the hospital, Prof Emile Mboudou, during the visit of the NCPBM to the hospital located at the outskirt of Douala, precisely at the east entrance, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.