The languages of Cameroon

Parlez -Vous Francais?

Well, you might if you lived in Cameroon, French is one of two official languages (English is the other) but it is also only one of the 230 different languages spoken in Cameroon.  Much of the French spoken by the Cameroonians would probably be very different from that on the streets of Paris, but I couldn't find any websites with the breakdown so we are going to learn French French not Cameroonian French :) The pronunciations are in parentheses. 

Hello- Bon jour (bone zhour)   Good bye - Au revoir (oh rer-vwahr)Yes - Oui (wee)   No - Non    Please - S'il vous plait (seel voo play)
Thank you- Merci (mare-see)  I Love You- Je T'aime (zhuh- tem)

red- rouge (roozh)  yellow- jaune (zhawn)   green- vert (vair)
blue- bleu (bloo)   purple - violet (vee-o-lay)  white- blanc (blan)
black - noir (noo-ar)

1- un     2- deux (do)    3- trois (twa)   4- quarte (ka-tre)
5- cinq (say-n-kay)  6- six (sees)   7- sept (set)   8- huit (weet)
9- neuf (noof)   10- dix (deese)

I was surprised how much French I actually knew once I started looking at the words, and also a little ashamed of myself that I had a Great- Grandmother and Grandmother who spoke fluent French and I didn't know more.  Of course, they lived in Wisconsin and I lived in California but I still should have learned it as a tribute to them!! Well, la pour vous Grandmeres!!  (Here's to you Grandmothers!)

On the Menu: Cameroonian Food

Well, kind of...

I have every intention of making a traditional Cameroonian dish but I wanted to share this little kid-friendly dish using common ingredients grown in Cameroon.  It's a simple little smoothie that is great for breakfast- some protein, some fruit, a little chocolate and milk- all the food groups :)  Now a real traditional breakfast in Cameroon is probably more along the lines of porridge, but I bet if they tried this smoothie they'd be enjoying it right along with my kids.

The Lucky Monkey Smoothie

For the recipe you will need:

• Bananas
• Peanut Butter (in Africa they are called groundnuts)
• Cocoa or chocolate syrup
• Milk
• Blender

1. Put a cut up banana, a tablespoon or so of peanut butter, some chocolate syrup or a little cocoa. and some milk in the blender.
2. Combine and serve.  Add ice or some vanilla ice cream to make it slushier and even more delicious!

YUMMY and NUTRITIOUS!! 







What lucky little monkeys I have :)