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Full Description
'Once upon a time' is the English translation of the title of this collection of twenty-eight Pidgin tales from Cameroon in West Africa, first published in 1979. These are richly illustrative of the various folklore genres of the region and are presented in a modified standard orthography, with an English translation facing the original Pidgin text. Notes are provided on each tale with the intention of illuminating some of their unique stylistic and linguistic patterns. The tales are often witty, never protracted, and are pleasurable in their own right. They also provide linguistic and folkloristic material not available elsewhere. In a lengthy introduction, Dr Todd discusses the history of Cameroon and the development and use of Pidgin English there. A simple grammar of Pidgin English is included to aid scholars not already familiar with the language to make full use of the Pidgin texts.
Contents
Part 1. Introduction Background to Cameroon. What is a Pidgin? Characteristics of a Pidgin. The Development of Cameroon Pidgin. Collecting the Tales. Orthography Employed. Part 2. The Tales 1. Let No One Ever Laugh At His Friend 2. A Good Action May Bring Trouble 3. Tortoise and Elephant: Smallness is not an Illness 4. Tortoise and Hare: Intelligence Beats Strength 5. Tortoise, Goat and Leopard: A Corpse has few Desires 6. Tortoise and His Mother: The Eye Does Not Always See Accurately 7. Tortoise and His Mother: When a Wise Man Dies, A Wise Man Buries Him 8. Greed Will Be Your Downfall 9. Stubbornness Does Not Pay 10. There'll Always Be a Tomorrow 11. A Fated Animal Does Not See the Hunter 12. When the Hand Rubs the Foot, The Foot Rubs the Hand in Return 13. Wisdom Belongs to Everyone 14. Sun, Night, and Moon 15. Cunning-mouth 16. The Scabby Child 17. God's Court, No Appeal 18. The Supernatural is not to be Played With 19. Genius 20. I Won't Forgive You 21. My Mother Warned Me... 22. The Young Boy and the Dwarf 23. Bibaiyibaiyi and the Papa-water 24. Rain for Bongi Part 3. The Structure of Cameroon Pidgin English The Sentence in Pidgin. The Pronominal System. The Verb Phase. The Be-verb. Serial verbs.
