Central Africa, English in

After independence, most African countries maintained the colonial language as their official language. French was maintained in most of the former French and Belgian colonies in Central Africa, so was English in the British sphere of influence. In Central Africa English was, however, chosen as a school subject in most of these countries. Today's Central Africa coincides more or less with the former French Equatorial Africa. A Central African economic grouping – Communauté Economique des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale (CEEAC) or Central African Economic Community – was formed to include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo‐Brazzaville, Gabon, Rwanda, and South Sudan. In the CEEAC the French language is widely used as the working language. Quid English in this space? This entry reviews the standing and use of English in Central Africa. In Central Africa, English is very minimal (if not inexistent), except in Cameroon where it is one of the two official languages.