I asked Nyango how to say “hi” in Cameroonian Pidgin English.  Here’s what she wrote: Most people will greet you in pidgin with "How na?" which is actually "How now?" and actually means: "How are you?" "What’s up?". A lot more will say: "Good morning" or what ever the time of day is. Most people do...

Warning: This song is extremely catchy! All you have to do is listen to the mp3 below and then watch the video at the link and you’ll be singing it for weeks. This song is called “Marry Me” or “A Little Sailor Boy”. It’s about men in different professions coming to ask a young...

In Thread the Needle Games, the players stand in two rows across from each other. They hold hands in an arch with the person across from them. Players go under the arch and join the end of the line once they’re through the arch. Sometimes they’re played while singing a song. ...

In the past, I posted the Victorian poem “My Mother” written by Ann Taylor. Ann was the sister of Jane Taylor the author of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It turns out that 2 verses of this poem are sung by children in Cameroon, Africa as a song. I posted the poem My Mother...

Nyango Melissa, who has sent me many songs from Cameroon in Africa, sent me this email today… Hi, all: You can listen to some samples from African Harmony and watch them at rehearsal. Just scroll down the home page. African Harmony is the choral group of the Minnesota African Women’s Association, MAWA’s cultural program. African Harmony is made...

Nyango Melissa, originally from Cameroon, recently sent me these songs with a recording. Here’s what she wrote with the mp3 of the songs… Just thought of these the other day. The clock/time songs sound a lot like they’re of British origin: MP3 of Tick Tock Songs 1) Tick, says the clock, tick, tick, What you have to do,...

I woke up this morning with a cup of coffee and by listening to “Good Morning to You” in English, French and some African languages on my computer. What a wonderful way to wake up! The recording was done by recording a phone call over the internet. Thanks to Nyango Melissa for calling and...

Nyango M. Nambangi sent us this Cameroonian song from Africa. What’s even better is that we have a recording to go with it! Nyango wrote: “Here’s a song our mother taught us and her Middle School students. The tune is very British, in my opinion, but I have not been able to find...

I’ve been corresponding with Nyango Melissa Nambangi who’s originally from Cameroon. Nyango Melissa mentioned that children in Cameroon sing a lot, so I asked if adults do too. Her response was so interesting that I asked her permission to share it here: Yep! Cameroonian adults sing all the time. We sing while working –...

A significant part of the Mama Lisa sites is a large collection of songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. We currently have about 750 songs from around 90 countries and cultures. When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that’s a lot of information! In order to make...

I’m happy to announce that I’ve added Cameroon to Mama Lisa’s World! Here are links to the new pages, where you’ll find six new songs… Children’s Songs from Cameroon & Children’s Songs from Cameroon with French Translations I particularly like Bring Back, which you can sing with children when they’ve lost something, like a teddy bear. ...

Here are two versions of a song called Mr. cocoji I received from Cameroon. They’re in Pidgin English. I can understand parts of the lyrics, but not all. This is the version of Mr. cocoji from the north west province… Mr. cocoji (Pidgin English) Mr. cocoji ih begin di follow goat ih nack ih oneside jiga ih one...

I received this song from Cameroon a while back. It was identified as coming from the Bali tribe. Unfortunately, the language wasn’t identified, and an English translation wasn’t provided. The Bali tribe speaks Mungaka. But I’m not sure if they speak any other languages also. Here are the lyrics in...