TERMINOLOGY IN AFRICA

1. Specific characteristics of terminology in Africa

Terminology in Africa came as a result of language contact between the colonial languages and the native languages; it has however evolved in recent years and is getting towards a more systematic study. Moreover, talking of an effectiveness of terminology in Africa would be an overstatement, because terminology in Africa is being hampered by several factors, which if resolved would led terminology to the systematic and scientific discipline it ought to be. Nevertheless, there are basic characteristics that can be assigned to the concept of terminology in Africa:

• Many terms in the African languages are not standardized. There is therefore a need to standardize these terms in order to create a concrete terminological database.
• Colonial languages dominate over African languages. This domination needs to diminish, because it does not promote an effective modernisation of terminology in Africa.
• Terminology in Africa is not modernised. There is no clear differentiation between a terminologist and a translator.
• The influence of government officials and educational entities.

1. Case illustration in South Africa

South Africa, as a country located in the southern region of the African continent, is blessed with 11 official languages. The case languages use here are namely the English and Afrikaans. In addition, talking of terminology in South Africa, there are many factors influencing its development. At the moment, terminology still receives little attention in South African universities.  Nevertheless, the South African government through language planning and policy strive to promote African languages, it recently created, the Terminological division of national languages which aim at the modernisation and standardization of various African vocabularies. Added to that, terminology training is being influence by a lack of personnel, this problem is said to be resolve by the terminology division of national langauges, which has planned to hold various workshops with languages specialist, researches and student to work accordingly in order to provide a National term bank with terminology related to their various subject field.

1. The case of cameroon

Cameroon can  be considered a mosaic of cultures, peoples and languages that have a common destiny because of their common institutional culture. All these individual components of the Cameroonian polity are linked to one another and for this reason they need a cohesive element to bind them together. Translation/terminology can be considered to be that indispensable cohesive element which mediates between the over 280 different Cameroonian ethno-linguistic and cultural groups

Although not explicitly outlined in any official government instruments, different aspects of Cameroon's language policy show that terminology plays a key role in the translation and the preservation of Cameroon's national languages.Many word have been borrowed from French or English to native languages.for instance when a grand mother in a village which is given a phone that is completely strange to her culture won’t actually know how to call it and the best and easier way to call it will be the common name.

Terminology in Cameroon is limited and lay more emphasis on the two official languages that are English and French.They more take references on the Canadian terminology.Concerning native languages none of them have been standardise till date and there is a lack of material on each of them because they are more spoken and practically not in a written form.Nevertheless some terminologist vested some interest in developing their dialect terminology by trying to find some equivalents. They even made terminology a crucial element in the study of translation by making it an academic subject.For example advanced school of translators and interpreters(ASTI).Since in Cameroon the two official languages are English and french the account of the participative competition between official and non official languages and open-mindedness of cameroonians as well as their aspiration to a widening of higher linguistic functions to include home languages,functional literacy in local languages is recommended as a means to solve the necessary enhancement of endogenous languages with minimal confrontation with official languages as a consecration of an evolution from the cultural to the economic aspect of language.

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