Civilisation francophone: Cameroon and the French-speaking world
This part tests factual knowledge about Cameroon and la Francophonie, usually through vrai/faux, matching, short definitions or a sentence to complete. Questions are concrete: names, dates, symbols, geography, institutions, cultural figures.
Cameroon: the essentials
- Ten regions; political capital Yaoundé, economic capital Douala - there is only one capital.
- Two official languages, French and English, plus some 250 national languages and Cameroon Pidgin English in the North-West and South-West.
- Flag: green, red and yellow vertical bands with a yellow star. Motto: Paix – Travail – Patrie. Anthem: Ô Cameroun, berceau de nos ancêtres. Currency: franc CFA.
- Dates: independence 1 January 1960; reunification 1 October 1961; national day 20 May, commemorating the 1972 referendum that replaced the federal state with a unitary one; Youth Day 11 February.
- Presidents: Ahmadou Ahidjo (1960–1982), then Paul Biya from 1982.
- Institutions: Président de la République, Assemblée nationale, and a Sénat installed in 2013.
Geography and culture
- Mont Cameroun rises to about 4 100 m, the highest point in West Africa; the Sanaga is the country's main river; Lac Tchad lies to the north, where the climate is Sahelian, while the south is equatorial with two rainy seasons.
- Culture: makossa and bikutsi music (Manu Dibango), writers Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono, dishes ndolé, poulet DG, koki, and the Lions Indomptables, African champions in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and 2017.
La Francophonie
Cameroon is a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie; 20 March is the Journée internationale de la Francophonie, and the Jeux de la Francophonie bring together French-speaking countries in sport and culture.
Worked example
Item: Le Cameroun a deux capitales : Yaoundé et Douala. Reasoning: Yaoundé is the seat of the presidency and the institutions; Douala is the economic capital and largest port. There is one political capital. Answer: Faux.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing independence (1960, from France) with reunification (1961, with Southern Cameroons); mixing 20 May with 11 February; writing Yaounde without the accent; inventing dates or heights instead of using the figures you know; describing Douala as the capital.