The spread of Fula as lingua franca in northern Cameroon

Abstract This chapter investigates the spread of Fula (Fulfulde), which is the African language with the widest geographical distribution through the continent. In this study, which focuses on the variety spoken in northern Cameroon (Adamawa Fula), I discuss the extralinguistic factors which have favoured the spread and development of this vernacular language into a vehicular language or lingua franca. Through an investigation combining interviews, recorded speech, and historical sources, I establish the sociopolitical factors which have facilitated the emergence of Fula as lingua franca in northern Cameroon. The most important ones are the conquests of jihadist Fulani in the nineteenth century and their resulting economic power. These factors are flanked by the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the area and the adoption of the language as medium of evangelization by all Christian denominations established in the region.